One Way Rails

Before Michael shoots McCluskey and Sollozzo, an loud whistle of a train is heard -- a noise so overbearing that it was meant to be noticed: almost as if Coppola is telling us, "Look at this, it's important! It means something!"

The whistle of the train could be symbolic of various things. As the whistle comes to a crescendo, it may be representative of Michael's thoughts -- before he goes through with his greatest task, we can assume his heart starts to beat faster and his mind works more quickly. Moments before he shoots Sollozzo, everything seems to slow and Michael is shown zoning out, not listening to a word Sollozzo says -- obviously deep in thought. Rather than using only Michael's facial expressions and body language to show Michael is lost in his own conflicting thoughts, Coppola chooses to have Sollozzo's words hidden to the viewer as well, essentially putting us in Michael's shoes.

The moment Michael presses the trigger, the noise of the train comes "screeching to a stop" (McGuigan), just like any chances he had of living the life of a normal person.

Looking past the sound, and at the train itself, brings different possible meanings. What is a train? A train is a form of travel, and the people on the train are going somewhere. They know where they are going, because they can't turn back -- the train only goes one way. Coppola may have chosen the train whistle in place of dramatic music to symbolize that Michael can no longer turn back -- by shooting Sollozzo and McCluskey, he has made a lifelong commitent to the mafia: "his life is on one way rails" (McGuigan).

There is one more thing that wasn't brought up in class, but comes to mind when I think of trains, and their whistle.What happens when you're driving and you hear the whistle of a train? A train whistle is used to warn people that a train is passing. When a train passes, everybody stops, no matter what. If they don't, they face either severe injury or certain death. Similar to the train, everybody complies with the Don's wishes, lest they face certain death or misforture. Could this be Coppola making a reference to Michael being on a one way jouney to becoming the next Don?