Don Vito Corleone Character Analysis in The Godfather

Vito Corleone is the novel’s titular Godfather and the patriarch and “Don” (Boss) of the Corleone Family, one of the five Mafia crime families in New York. He is also among the novel’s principle protagonists alongside his sons Michael and Sonny (the Don’s middle son, Fredo, is a failure in the Family business and thus operates on the fringes of the Family and of the novel). Corleone was born Vito Andolini in the Sicilian village of Corleone, in Italy. In 1901, when Vito is a child, the local Mafia boss, Don Ciccio, murders both Vito’s father, Antonio, and Vito’s older brother, Paulo. Don Ciccio’s henchmen then attempt to kill Vito, but he escapes on a ship to New York, where he changes his last name to “Corleone.” In America, Vito befriends the young Genco Abbandando and works as a grocery clerk. Here, Puzo establishes Vito’s qualities that define his character throughout his life: his is cunning, forward-thinking, amiable, and even-tempered but also cruel when the situation demands it. Vito starts a family and collaborates with two local criminals, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. When Don Fanucci, the local “Black Hand” (extortionist), demands tribute money, Vito successfully murders him. This development begins Vito’s path towards becoming a respected (and feared) crime boss. He forms a legitimate olive oil company that he uses as a front for the various criminal activities, including gambling and bootlegging, that he consolidates over time into the Corleone Family. Through a combination of favoritism, palm-greasing, and subtly implied threats, the Don builds a network of “friends” (including judges and politicians), whose protection brings enormous power to his criminal enterprise. Vito’s wisdom, his use of violence as a last resort, and his willingness to aid those who promise loyalty to him as their “Godfather” makes him a rare voice of reason in the tumultuous criminal underworld.

Don Vito Corleone Quotes in The Godfather

The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Don Vito Corleone or refer to Don Vito Corleone. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

It was part of the Don’s greatness that he profited from everything.

Related Characters: Carlo Rizzi, Don Vito Corleone

Related Symbols: Wealth

Page Number and Citation: 16

Explanation and Analysis:

Luca Brasi did not fear the police, he did not fear society, he did not fear God, he did not fear hell, he did not fear or love his fellow man. But he had elected, he had chosen, to fear and love Don Corleone.

Related Characters: Luca Brasi, Don Vito Corleone

Page Number and Citation: 21

Explanation and Analysis:

“I believe in America. America has made my fortune.”

Related Characters: Amerigo Bonasera (speaker), Don Vito Corleone, Jerry Wagner and Kevin Moonan

Related Symbols: Wealth

Page Number and Citation: 25

Explanation and Analysis:

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

Related Characters: Don Vito Corleone (speaker), Johnny Fontane, Jack Woltz

Page Number and Citation: 34

Explanation and Analysis:

“A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”

Related Characters: Don Vito Corleone (speaker), Thomas “Tom” Hagen

Page Number and Citation: 46

Explanation and Analysis:

“Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal. You should know that by now.”

Related Characters: Thomas “Tom” Hagen (speaker), Santino “Sonny” Corleone, Don Vito Corleone

Page Number and Citation: 108

Explanation and Analysis:

He was surprised to find himself so secretive with Kay. He loved her, he trusted her, but he would never tell her anything about his father or the Family. She was an outsider.

Related Characters: Michael Corleone, Kay Adams, Don Vito Corleone

Page Number and Citation: 112

Explanation and Analysis:

“But you can’t get sore at him. It’s like getting sore at God.”

Related Characters: Johnny Fontane (speaker), Don Vito Corleone, Thomas “Tom” Hagen

Related Symbols: Wealth

Page Number and Citation: 159

Explanation and Analysis:

She might be a daughter of the Great Don but she was his wife, she was his property now and he could treat her as he pleased.

Related Characters: Carlo Rizzi, Constanzia “Connie” Corleone, Don Vito Corleone

Page Number and Citation: 225

Explanation and Analysis:

Nothing was more calming, more conducive to pure reason, than the atmosphere of money.

Related Characters: Don Vito Corleone, Thomas “Tom” Hagen, Phillip Tattaglia, Emilio Barzini

Page Number and Citation: 267

Explanation and Analysis:

“We are all men who have refused to be fools, who have refused to be puppets dancing on a string pulled by the men on high. We have been fortunate here in this country […] Some of you have sons who are professors, scientists, musicians, and you are fortunate. Perhaps your grandchildren will become the new pezzonovanti.”

Related Characters: Don Vito Corleone (speaker), Thomas “Tom” Hagen, Phillip Tattaglia, Emilio Barzini

Page Number and Citation: 278

Explanation and Analysis:

“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.”

Related Characters: Don Vito Corleone (speaker), Michael Corleone, Santino “Sonny” Corleone, Thomas “Tom” Hagen, Peter “Pete” Clemenza, Salvatore “Sal” Tessio, Emilio Barzini, Phillip Tattaglia, Bruno Tattaglia

Page Number and Citation: 387

Explanation and Analysis:

He would see to it that they joined the general family of humanity, but he, as a powerful and prudent parent, would most certainly keep a wary eye on that general family.

Related Characters: Michael Corleone, Don Vito Corleone, Kay Adams

Page Number and Citation: 394

Explanation and Analysis:

Don Vito Corleone Character Timeline in The Godfather

The timeline below shows where the character Don Vito Corleone appears in The Godfather. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...He tells his grieving wife, “for justice we must go on our knees to Don Corleone.” (full context)

...him before locking herself in the bedroom. The humiliated Johnny decides that only “his Godfather Corleone” can save him from his despair. (full context)

...knows there is “only one man who could arrange such an affair. The Godfather. Don Corleone.” (full context)

Bonasera, Fontane, and Nazorine are among hundreds who attend the August 1945 wedding of Don Vito Corleone’s daughter, Constanzia “Connie” Corleone, to her groom, Carlo Rizzi. The ceremony and reception take... (full context)

Don Corleone, the Sicilian-American patriarch of the Corleone Family, observes the wedding festivities from the doorway of... (full context)

...at the door with him are the Don’s two elder sons. The eldest, Santino “Sonny” Corleone, is a tall, powerful man with a Cupid-like face, a quick temper, and notoriously large... (full context)

The wedding guests notice that Don Corleone pays little attention to Michael. Before the outbreak of World War II, Michael was the... (full context)

...waiting to see his father in private because “they have favors to ask.” As Don Corleone stands greeting guests, a black car parks outside of the mall. Sonny quickly realizes the... (full context)

Don Corleone understands that being a Mafia Don attracts the presence of law enforcement. He disapproves of... (full context)

...with whom he is having an affair despite being a married man. From inside Don Corleone’s office, the acting Family Consigliere (advisor), Tom Hagen, gives the Don the list of men... (full context)

First, the Don meets Nazorine, who has contributed money to the bakery union that Don Corleone controls. The Don agrees to use his corrupt political connections to secure Enzo’s stay in... (full context)

...Kay, much to her shock,) that Brasi once single-handedly killed six men who threatened Don Corleone’s olive oil business. His reputation aside, however, Brasi humbly congratulates the Don with a wedding... (full context)

In his office, Don Corleone meets with Amerigo Bonasera, who begs the Don to murder the two men who assaulted... (full context)

Tom Hagen reminds Don Corleone that he must soon meet with narcotics dealer Virgil Sollozzo to discuss a possible partnership.... (full context)

At the hospital, Genco implores the “Godfather” Don Corleone to save him from death. The Don admits that such an act is beyond his... (full context)

As a child, the orphaned Hagen befriended Sonny and won the grace of Vito Corleone, who took him in and raised him as his own son. Hagen attended law... (full context)

At the mansion, and upon learning that Hagen represents Don Corleone, Woltz shows him his prized racehorse and treats him to dinner. Woltz tells Hagen that... (full context)

...a bar. The two mobsters jump the men and beat them nearly to death. Don Corleone has fulfilled Bonasera’s desire for justice. (full context)

Tom Hagen meets with Don Corleone to discuss the Woltz affair, as well as to plan the upcoming meeting with Virgil... (full context)

Sollozzo wants to use Don Corleone’s political contacts in order to shield his drug distribution from Sicily into America. Despite both... (full context)

Don Corleone, Sonny, and Hagen meet with the fearsome Sollozzo, who informs them the rival Tattaglia Family... (full context)

Michael calls Sonny at the mall and learns that Don Corleone’s assassins shot him five times but he is still alive. He also learns that Sollozzo... (full context)

...is shot. That afternoon, the Don’s normal bodyguard, Paulie Gatto, calls in sick, and Don Corleone wonders why Paulie is sick for the third time that month. Fredo offers to drive... (full context)

Suddenly, two black-clad men open fire on Don Corleone. Although he is armed, Fredo is afraid to shoot back at the assassins. His father... (full context)

Sonny calls Salvatore “Sal” Tessio, the Brooklyn-based Corleone Family caporegime and orders him to send guards to the hospital and to the mall.... (full context)

...in a car with Sollozzo to a secret location, where Sollozzo informs Hagen that Don Corleone is dead, and that he must convince Sonny to make a deal on the narcotics... (full context)

Michael Corleone arrives at the mall. Clemenza greets him and tells him that the Don is going... (full context)

After some thinking, the men conclude that Paulie Gatto is the one who betrayed Don Corleone because he stands to gain the most from colluding with Sollozzo and the Tattaglias. Sonny... (full context)

...let him go after he convinced the Turk that he could get Sonny and Don Corleone to make a deal on narcotics. When Tom learns that Sonny wants revenge, he warns... (full context)

The narrative shifts backward in time. The night before Don Corleone is shot, Luca Brasi meets with Bruno Tattaglia (the son of the head of the... (full context)

...and the Family business. After spending some time with Kay, Michael leaves to visit Don Corleone in the hospital. (full context)

...wonders where Tessio and Clemenza’s guards are, as there is no one outside of Don Corleone’s room. A nurse tells Michael that the police came and chased away all of the... (full context)

...smiles at the presence of his youngest son. “Why should I be afraid now?” Don Corleone asks, “strange men have come to kill me ever since I was twelve years old.” (full context)

Having moved Don Corleone to a different hospital room, Michael steps outside to wait for Sonny’s reinforcements. Suddenly, Enzo,... (full context)

...and that McCluskey is on the Turk’s payroll. He concludes that McCluskey called off Don Corleone’s guard detail so that Sollozzo could finally murder the Don. McCluskey tells his officers to... (full context)

As Michael reels from McCluskey’s attack, Sonny’s men arrive with a lawyer to guard Don Corleone. The police retreat. Michael awakens the next morning to find that his jaw has been... (full context)

...both in the Mafia and among the police and other officials who are on the Corleones’ payroll. “The Corleone Family would become outcasts,” he states, “even the old man’s political protection... (full context)

...Michael not to take the broken jaw from McCluskey personally, but Michael says that Don Corleone taught him “it’s all personal, every bit of business […] it’s personal as hell.” (full context)

...Turk and Michael converse in Italian. Michael demands that Sollozzo end his attempts on Don Corleone’s life. Sollozzo says he cannot promise anything, and that by refusing to share his political... (full context)

...tells Johnny he is coming on the morning plane to discuss a new plan Don Corleone has for the film business. Johnny agrees and Virginia allows him to stay the night... (full context)

...from winning an Academy Award for his role in Woltz’s recent picture. He offers Don Corleone’s aid in the matter if Johnny is willing to start acting like “a guy with... (full context)

...returns to Virginia’s house. At 35, he is a “washed up” star who welcomes Don Corleone’s ability to secure him the Academy Award that will easily boost his flagging career. He... (full context)

The narrative shifts backward in time to a few weeks before the hit on Don Corleone. Johnny and Nino are recording new music in Los Angeles. Nino fiddles nervously at a... (full context)

When Johnny learns about the attempt on Don Corleone’s life, he wonders if he will still receive the financing for his film production venture.... (full context)

The narrative shifts backward in time to explore the Godfather’s origins. The Godfather was born Vito Andolini in the village of Corleone, in turn-of-the-century Sicily. There, the Mafia acted like a... (full context)

After arriving in New York, Vito boards with a family named the Abbandandos, works in their family grocery store, and befriends... (full context)

Vito has grown up and is married with two children when Fanucci buys a share in... (full context)

Don Fanucci, clad in his cream-colored suit and fedora, has gotten word of Vito’s hijacking efforts. He tracks Vito down and demands a portion of the profits earned. “You... (full context)

That evening, Vito, Tessio, and Clemenza meet at Vito’s home. “Why do we have to pay him?” Vito... (full context)

Before Fanucci arrives at Vito’s apartment, Vito sends his family away for the evening. He plans to murder Fanucci and... (full context)

As Fanucci turns the street corner, Vito runs up the stairs to the building roof. He follows Fanucci from above over the... (full context)

Much to his surprise, the police never question Vito about Fanucci’s murder, treating it as just another gangland hit. After two weeks, Vito meets... (full context)

Vito “reasons” with the landlord, Mr. Roberto, and pays him for the widow’s rent. “I’m asking... (full context)

Steadily, the now feared and respected Vito Corleone builds his own criminal operations. He intercedes on behalf of storeowners plagued by young... (full context)

The institution of Prohibition in 1920 proves a boon to Vito’s criminal operations: he amasses great wealth by smuggling alcohol from Canada into the United States.... (full context)

Don Vito Corleone’s charitable actions—loaning money to those in need, protecting them from physical threats, serving as... (full context)

When Don Corleone proposes a partnership with the Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano, who controls the gambling rackets in... (full context)

Don Corleone’s humiliation of Al Capone earns him further respect in the criminal underworld. He now attacks... (full context)

Don Corleone has established himself as New York’s most powerful crime lord, and his influence begins to... (full context)

...rid New York of all organized crime save for the five major Mafia families, Don Corleone enlists Sonny as his go-to executioner behind only the more fearsome Luca Brasi. By 1939,... (full context)

Don Corleone also continues to help those who swear their loyalty to him. Nazorine the baker comes... (full context)

...Siriani from the New York police department. They enter and begin questioning Kay about Michael Corleone and his possible connection to the murders of Sollozzo and McCluskey. Kay’s father, Mr. Adams,... (full context)

...implicate him as having knowledge of Michael’s whereabouts. Before leaving the mall, Kay greets Mama Corleone. She offers Kay coffee and tells her that Don Corleone and Michael are fine but... (full context)

Carlo Rizzi resents the Corleone Family. Following his marriage to Connie, Don Corleone gave him a small bookmaking operation on... (full context)

Carlo is able to beat Connie with relative impunity because Vito and Mama Corleone vow they will not interfere in their children’s marriages. Shortly after the... (full context)

Sonny Corleone, however, does not share his father’s opinion about Connie’s marriage to Carlo. Despite his temper... (full context)

...“complete subjugation” because he knows that Sonny will not kill him, lest he anger Don Corleone. “You ever beat up my sister again I’ll kill you,” Sonny warns before leaving Carlo... (full context)

By mid-February, following the Christmastime attack on his life, Don Corleone’s family moves him from the hospital back to the mall, which is now an “impregnable”... (full context)

After informing Don Corleone about Michael and the murders of Sollozzo and McCluskey, Hagen and Sonny exit Don Corleone’s... (full context)

The Mafia war reveals the Corleones are unsuited for a protracted struggle. Tessio and Clemenza are competent caporegimes, but their age... (full context)

...the psychological damage from her attack over a year ago by the punks that Don Corleone’s men punished. As Bonasera finishes his coffee, he answers a phone call from Tom Hagen. (full context)

...at his funeral parlor in one hour. At the funeral home, Bonasera waits for Don Corleone “with a feeling of the utmost despair.” He is well aware of the ongoing Mafia... (full context)

In the embalming room, Don Corleone’s men remove the blanket covering the body on the stretcher, revealing the “bullet-smashed face of... (full context)

The narrative goes back in time. As the Mafia war rages on, Sonny Corleone massacres an army of pimps, “shylocks,” union officials, and bookmakers who work for the Five... (full context)

...whiskey and falls asleep. As Carlo sleeps, Connie calls her family in Long Beach. Mama Corleone answers but is unable to interpret Connie’s “hysterical” speech. She passes the phone to Sonny.... (full context)

...bodyguards arrive. They call Tom Hagen to tell him that Sonny is dead. As Mama Corleone bustles around in the kitchen, “quite content not to share the pain of her men,”... (full context)

Hagen must now wake Don Corleone and tell him that his son is dead. As he struggles to find the words... (full context)

Once Hagen has finished with the details, Don Corleone explicitly forbids any of the men to seek vengeance without his approval. “There will be... (full context)

Sonny Corleone’s death hits the criminal underworld like a lightning bolt, as the Five Families scramble to... (full context)

...Mafia families.” They specialize in hostage swapping to ensure protection for mob representatives. When Michael Corleone, for example, met with Sollozzo and McCluskey, the Corleone Family held a Bocchicchio Family member... (full context)

...Bocchicchios “to supply hostages for all the Families to come to the peace meeting,” Don Corleone meets with the heads of the Five Families and of the other Families across the... (full context)

The first to arrive after Don Corleone and Tom Hagen are Carlo Tremonti, boss of the American southern territory, Joseph Zaluci from... (full context)

Don Corleone is the first to speak at the meeting of the Dons. He thanks the representatives... (full context)

Don Barzini responds to Don Corleone’s “reasonable” opening statement. “Don Corleone is too modest,” he states, adding that Sollozzo and the... (full context)

“When have I ever refused an accommodation?” Don Corleone responds, “but I had to refuse this time. Why? Because I think this drug business... (full context)

...agree to permit a regulated drug traffic—controlled mostly by the Barzinis and the Tattaglias—with Don Corleone supplying some political protection for it in the East. (full context)

Phillip Tattaglia, however, still has concerns that Don Corleone will seek “individual vengeance” for the murder of Sonny. In response, Don Corleone vows not... (full context)

“The time is past for guns and killings and massacres,” Don Corleone concludes, “we have to be cunning like the business people, there’s more money in it... (full context)

When Don Corleone and Tom Hagen arrive home, Clemenza dismisses the Bocchicchio hostage that acted as surrogate for... (full context)

Inside the house, Don Corleone reiterates to Hagen that he should explore every possible legal avenue and spend as much... (full context)

When Tom Hagen and Don Corleone get word of the affair, they propose to the Bocchicchio Family that if Felix (who... (full context)

Sonny Corleone’s death devastates Lucy Mancini. He was the only man who could ever bring her to... (full context)

...unofficial owner of five “points” in the hotel, making her a front that masks the Corleone Family’s ownership. She also agrees to look after Fredo Corleone, who, under the wings of... (full context)

...abortions until his superiors caught him performing the then-illegal procedure. His colleague, Dr. Kennedy (Don Corleone’s doctor), connected Segal with Tom Hagen, who got him a job in Las Vegas to... (full context)

The narrative flashes back in time. It has been five months since Michael Corleone fled to Sicily. Being in Sicily helps Michael understand why his family became Mafia criminals.... (full context)

...that he plans to marry the peasant girl with or without the approval of Don Corleone. Don Tommasino knows the Vitelli family and gives Michael his blessing. He also gives the... (full context)

...evening, an old Sicilian woman named Filomena visits Michael and asks if he is Don Corleone’s son. She says that the Don once saved her life, and when she learns that... (full context)

...later, Brasi murdered the child’s mother. Terrified for her own life, Filomena went to Don Corleone, who then recruited Brasi to prevent him from going after Filomena. The morning after hearing... (full context)

Kay speaks to Mama Corleone, who informs her that Michael has been home for six months. Kay is shocked. “You... (full context)

...marry. He makes one “final explanation” about his family to her. He insists that Don Corleone is a businessman trying to provide for his family, but he “doesn’t accept the rules... (full context)

Michael Corleone arrives in Las Vegas with his new bodyguard, Albert Neri, and Tom Hagen. That evening,... (full context)

...director for the Family’s existing hotels until the hospital opens. Michael tells Fredo that Don Corleone has special plans for him, and Fredo wonders if the Don is angry over the... (full context)

...a plan that has been two years in the making. After steady tutelage under Don Corleone and Tom Hagen, Michael is now fully aware of the extent of his Family’s wealth... (full context)

After he arrives home from Las Vegas, Michael holds an evening meeting with Don Corleone, Tom Hagen, Carlo, Clemenza, and Tessio. Since the meeting of the Five Families and Don... (full context)

Michael adjourns the meeting and shares a drink with Hagen and Don Corleone. Tom wants to know why he is “out” of the Family business, to which Michael... (full context)

After Hagen leaves the meeting, Michael tells Don Corleone that his coming plan will serve as both vengeance for Apollonia and Sonny as well... (full context)

It is a sunny Sunday morning. The Corleone women are attending church and Don Corleone is tending to his garden. He moves among... (full context)

Don Corleone’s funeral is a “royal” occasion. The Dons of the Five Families attend with their caporegimes... (full context)

The morning after Don Corleone’s funeral, Michael tells the caporegimes that his plan for moving forward remains unaltered. Clemenza warns... (full context)

Michael then tells Hagen that Don Corleone warned before his death that an inside traitor will betray the Corleone Family by setting... (full context)

...that Tessio’s plan makes sense: by setting up the hit, Tessio stands to inherit the Corleone Family and forge an allegiance with Barzini that will end the long-simmering war between the... (full context)

...dressing in his police officer’s uniform to prepare for an important job. Before becoming Michael Corleone’s bodyguard, Neri was among the most feared police officers in New York City. He is... (full context)

...manslaughter and sentenced him to prison. Aware of his tough reputation and Sicilian heritage, the Corleone Family enlisted Tom Hagen to get Neri’s sentence suspended. Disenchanted with legitimate society’s laws, Neri... (full context)

Before his death, Don Corleone believed that Neri could be a new “Luca Brasi” for the Family. Once, Michael asked... (full context)

...and dressed in his police uniform, Al Neri prepares to do battle for Don Michael Corleone. (full context)

Don Vito Corleone Character Analysis

Don Vito Corleone Quotes in The Godfather

Chapter 1 Quotes

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 9 Quotes

Chapter 12 Quotes

Chapter 16 Quotes

Chapter 20 Quotes

Chapter 28 Quotes

Chapter 29 Quotes

Don Vito Corleone Character Timeline in The Godfather