Always retaliate first

“Always retaliate first” is Guido Arrellio’s rule for his gang, condensing his belief that violence should be used before a challenge can gather force. In the novel’s account of organized crime’s postwar revival, the maxim links a personal lesson in coercion to the gang’s role within a larger criminal structure.

Meaning and Origin

Guido Arrellio has learned that unexpected pain is the quickest way to get someone’s attention. His violence is calculated, even when its execution appears mindless; the maxim turns that combination into a compact instruction for his followers. It does not counsel waiting to see whether an opponent will strike. It directs the gang to act first.

Use Within the Gang

Guido Arrellio leads a well-organized group of adolescents that operates as an instrument of the reborn criminal order. He is assigned an area behind the docks, where he first demonstrates to small businessmen that protection is necessary and then provides it. Against this background, “Always retaliate first” is more than a slogan: it expresses the coercive logic through which the gang establishes authority and makes its violence legible as a tool of control.

Narrative Significance

The maxim makes explicit the principle behind Guido Arrellio’s rise: force captures attention, and acting before an opponent can respond helps secure power. Its bluntness contrasts with the organized system in which he prospers. The gang’s conduct is not presented as violence outside the postwar order, but as one of the means by which that order operates.