A Bronx Tale: Groups

The whole point of the story is to show the various groups that C does belong to as he ages, and how they vary accordingly. As a child, he belongs to many of the same groups that we belonged to at his age: his own group of friends, a part of e neighborhood, a family, and school. However, this all changes when he witnesses Sonny commit murder. Sonny immediately takes interest in the boy since he feels there's something "special" about him (besides not ratting on him for homicide?). Anyways, C begins to stray from his initial groups as he becomes more involved with the mob, and by the time he turns seventeen his affiliation with that mob essentially becomes his master status. This is showcased by his willingness to accept Sonny as a father figure and his growing disrespect for his father and the "common man." He lives his life according to the things he witnesses from Sonny, even though Sonny explicitly states not to do so. This remains stagnant until a pivotal point in the movie, when he is silently called upon to participate in a habitual beating of a rival gang. Instead of joining in and kicking some biker ass, he ducks in the corner, trying to hide his cowardice. He never really does recover from that scene, as he grows more confused up until he witnesses the murder of his idol, Sonny. By the end of the movie, I think his master status changes back to the son of his father. I say this because of his interaction with Joe Peschi's character: he tells C to contact him if he ever needs anything, and C basically tells him that that won't be necessary. It's an interesting character study and the film does a good job of showing the influence that one's surroundings can have on his/her actions.