Amerigo Bonasera Character Analysis

Bonasera is a Sicilian-American undertaker who owns a successful funeral parlor. He is a long-time friend of the Corleone Family, and Don Vito Corleone and Mama Corleone are godparents to his daughter. Bonasera appears early in the novel as he observes the trial of two young men, Jerry Wagner and Kevin Moonan, who savagely beat his daughter. Because the men come from influential families, the judge suspends their sentence, effectively excusing them for their heinous crime. The outraged Bonasera attends Connie’s wedding and begs Don Vito to murder his daughter’s attackers so that she may have justice. The Don initially rebukes Bonasera for going to the police first and chastises him for his unwillingness to accept the Don’s “friendship” over the years. Understanding the disrespect that he has shown Don Vito, Bonasera apologizes and swears his eternal loyalty to him. In return, Don Vito sends Clemenza and Paulie Gatto to beat Wagner and Moonan within inches of their lives. Bonasera’s character serves as a surrogate for the reader: through the undertaker, the reader learns that to receive the Don’s services, one must swear friendship and loyalty and agree to perform a service for Don Vito in return. Later in the novel, Bonasera does just that when the Don tasks him with properly restoring Sonny Corleone’s bullet-ridden corpse for funeral display.