Goodfellas Analysis

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“For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world,” (Goodfellas). Goodfellas centers around Henry Hill, an Irish-Italian hoodlum on a pursuit towards achieving the American dream in the mafia underworld. Wanting to be part of something significant, Henry quits school and goes to work for Paul Cicero’s gang. Henry is able to make a living for himself, and learns the two most important lessons in life: “Never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut,” (Goodfellas) the advice given to him after being acquitted of criminal charges earlier in his career. Under the wing of mob boss Paul Cicero and his associates, Jimmy …show more content…
The audience is made aware that he has done exceedingly well for himself. Yet, Henry fails to recognize the perils that come with the mafia, and instead, relishes in its lavish lifestyle. Enjoying the perks of criminal life, Henry, along with Jimmy and Tommy spend most of their nights at the Copacabana night club with countless women. On a night out with Tommy, Henry agrees to go on a double date with Tommy and his lady friend, Karen, a Jewish girl from the Five Towns. Henry, obviously aggravated with the forced date, purposely sabotages his night with Karen—upsetting her in the process and blows her off the next day. When she confronts him and makes a fool of him in front of his friends, he agrees to take her out on a proper …show more content…
However, most of the crew is arrested after being turned in by the gambler’s sister, a typist for the FBI. Henry and Jimmy are sentenced to ten years in prison. It is in prison that the ground was laid for Henry's ultimate downfall. Leaving his family on their own, Henry begins selling drugs in prison as a means to support his family on the outside. Soon after his release in 1978, the crew commits the Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It is reported that they embezzled somewhere between 5 and 6 million dollars—the largest heist in American history at the time. With the earnings from the heist, Henry is able to rebuild his life with Karen and turn back to the lavish lifestyle he was living before his sentence. With a strong desire to acquire more, Henry decides to get involved with various drug trades. Despite Paulie’s warning to stop, Henry further establishes himself in the drug trade, convincing Tommy and Jimmy to join him. As he continues to sell drugs, he becomes an addict himself. His spiraling drug addiction is disguised by his excitement over the largest robbery in American history, the Lufthansa heist, masterminded by Jimmy, as well as the news that Tommy was going to become a "made" man. Life begins to come crashing down for Henry after Jimmy starts murdering all of his
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