Little Caesar · Theme
Fate and Inevitability
How Little Caesar develops Fate and Inevitability.
The novel's epigraph from Machiavelli and the characters' frequent reflections on luck and doom suggest a fatalistic worldview, where past actions and the criminal life lead inexorably to ruin.
Where it surfaces
- Epigraph
Machiavelli's assertion of a 'first law' of self-preservation suggests an inexorable natural order, hinting at the fatalistic trajectory of the characters.
- III
Seal Skin's prediction that Rico will be killed ('They get 'em all') underscores a fatalistic view of the gangster's life.
- IV
Tony's mother's warning that his association with crooks will lead to trouble foreshadows his eventual fate.
- V
Sam's lethargy and refusal to flee, despite Scabby's urging, suggest an acceptance of his inevitable downfall.
- VI
Rico's realization that his rise is over and he is now a hunted man underscores the inescapable consequences of his criminal life.
- III
Rico reflects on his rise and fall, seeing the robbery of Casa Alvarado as both making and breaking him, and accepts Sam Vettori's fate as inevitable.
- V
Rico's return to Toledo and his sense of being trapped reflect the inescapable consequences of his past actions.