Santino “Sonny” Corleone Character Analysis in The Godfather

Sonny is the eldest son of Don Vito Corleone and one of the novel’s principle protagonists. In contrast to his father’s even-tempered demeanor and tendency to make violence a last resort, Sonny is hotheaded, impetuous, and quick to use violence to resolve a dispute. Sonny is also lascivious and known for his extremely large phallus. Despite being married to Sandra, Sonny openly has an affair with Lucy Mancini and other women. Sonny’s bad temper and high libido often clouds his judgment. As a result, Vito thinks Sonny is unsuited to succeed him as Don of the Family, a role that demands cool judgement and forethought. Born in Manhattan, the young Sonny witnesses Vito’s murder of Fanucci, a key moment that baptizes him into the “Family business.” As a teenager, Sonny works as a violent enforcer for his Family when the Corleones are at war with the other Mafia families. His temperamental issues notwithstanding, Sonny becomes “acting boss” of the Corleone Family after Sollozzo and Phillip Tattaglia nearly murder Vito after the latter refuses a role in Sollozzo’s drug racket. Although Sonny’s temper leads him to demand revenge, Tom Hagen convinces Sonny to negotiate with Sollozzo and his police protector, McCluskey. Sonny proves a fairly capable leader, as demonstrated by his role in sanctioning Michael’s murder of both Sollozzo and McCluskey. Ultimately, however, Sonny’s temper leads to his demise after an attempt to kill Carlo for beating up Connie, Sonny’s sister, leads to his assassination at the hands of Don Barzini’s hitmen. Sonny’s death demonstrates the pitfalls of impulsiveness in a criminal subculture that rewards patience and deft negotiation.

Santino “Sonny” Corleone Quotes in The Godfather

The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Santino “Sonny” Corleone or refer to Santino “Sonny” 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:

“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:

In the wake of Sollozzo’s attempted murder of Don Vito Corleone, Sonny Corleone, Tom Hagen, and the caporegimes struggle to find the appropriate response to the hit. Sonny in particular cannot help but take the hit on his father personally, but Hagen reminds him that it was strictly business. This passage is one of several moments in the novel where Puzo demonstrates why it is ultimately impossible for the Corleones to separate their blood family from their crime Family—business is personal in the world of the novel. By assuming the role of patriarch over a Family business that involves his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asp

She was quite content not to share the pain of her men, after all did they share the pain of women?

Related Characters: Mama Corleone, Thomas “Tom” Hagen, Santino “Sonny” Corleone

Page Number and Citation: 254

Explanation and Analysis:

Tom Hagan has just learned of Sonny’s murder while standing in the kitchen with Mama Corleone. This passage marks a rare moment when the reader gets a glimpse (however limited) of Mama Corleone’s inner thoughts. The quote indicates that, far from being ignorant about her husband’s “business,” Mama Corleone is well aware of what happens in the male-dominated Mafia. Stunned and saddened by Sonny’s violent death, Tom tries to keep his composure so as not to upset Mama Corleone. She does not seem to perceive that something is wrong, but this is a conscious decision on her part, not the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corpor

“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:

Here, Michael and Don Corleone meet with Tom Hagen, Sal Tessio, and Peter Clemenza to inform them of their plan to reassert the Corleone Family’s dominance over the Five Families and finally end the Mafia war. This passage accompanies the transition of leadership from Don Corleone to Michael, and it epitomizes the qualities that made Vito Corleone such as effective Mafia leader. The Don likens vengeance to a dish “that tastes best when it is cold” to emphasize how patience is an essential trait a Don must possess. Much like a man who waits to enjoy food after it cools Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molest

Santino “Sonny” Corleone Character Timeline in The Godfather

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

Also standing 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... (full context)

...ask.” As Don Corleone stands greeting guests, a black car parks outside of the mall. Sonny quickly realizes the car’s occupants are cops. He angrily approaches the car and learns that... (full context)

...understands that being a Mafia Don attracts the presence of law enforcement. He disapproves of Sonny’s angry display because he values restraint and patience, comfortable in the knowledge that “the most... (full context)

...the wedding band takes a break, a musician named Nino Valenti plays the mandolin while Sonny flirts with Lucy Mancini, the maid of honor with whom he is having an affair... (full context)

...including how his father unofficially adopted and raised the orphaned Tom Hagen. Inside the house, Sonny and Lucy have sex in an upper bedroom while Sonny’s wife, Sandra, gossips with the... (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... (full context)

...in order to shield his drug distribution from Sicily into America. Despite both Hagen’s and Sonny’s insistence that “there is more money potential in narcotics than in any other business,” the... (full context)

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

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

...Shortly after the shooting. Detective John Phillips, a cop on the Corleone Family payroll, informs Sonny about the shooting. Enraged, Sonny suspects Sollozzo, but knows the Turk must have powerful allies... (full context)

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

...location, where Sollozzo informs Hagen that Don Corleone is dead, and that he must convince Sonny to make a deal on the narcotics trade. Sensing that Sonny’s first inclination will be... (full context)

...that the Don is going to be okay. Fredo is sleeping in another room, while Sonny and Tessio are waiting in Don Corleone’s corner office. Michael notices a “hit list” that... (full context)

...Corleone because he stands to gain the most from colluding with Sollozzo and the Tattaglias. Sonny confirms their suspicions after tracking Paulie’s phone calls back to a pay phone outside of... (full context)

...men that Sollozzo 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... (full context)

...while the radio news announces the discovery of Paulie’s body in the car. Hagen and Sonny discuss the potential deal to make with the Turk, who has ceased contact with the... (full context)

As Michael, Hagen, Sonny, Tessio, and Clemenza sit down to eat spaghetti, they hear a noise in the kitchen.... (full context)

That night, Michael meets Kay in the city, but he is preoccupied thinking about Sonny and his strategy against Sollozzo. He feels he should have more sympathy for his father,... (full context)

...the police came and chased away all of the Don’s guards. Michael then angrily calls Sonny to tell him that their father is “completely unprotected.” As Sonny scrambles to send men... (full context)

Having moved Don Corleone to a different hospital room, Michael steps outside to wait for Sonny’s reinforcements. Suddenly, Enzo, the baker’s helper emerges from the shadows outside of the hospital. He... (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... (full context)

Later that morning, Sonny, Hagen, Michael, Tessio, and Clemenza discuss whether to meet Sollozzo. The Turk refuses to negotiate... (full context)

...would become outcasts,” he states, “even the old man’s political protection would run for cover.” Sonny decides to wait, but Michael suggests that Sollozzo will not stop until Don Corleone is... (full context)

...a gun at the site beforehand, Michael will retrieve it and “take both of them.” Sonny teases his “high-class college kid” brother for becoming “mixed up in the Family business.” Despite... (full context)

...printing a story about a corrupt police captain who got what he deserved. An impressed Sonny finally admits to his brother, “you’re a Corleone after all, you son of a bitch,”... (full context)

Sonny finally learns that the meeting between Michael, Sollozzo, and McCluskey will happen at Luna Azure... (full context)

...York’s most powerful crime lord, and his influence begins to rub off on his son Sonny, who takes part in an armed robbery. A furious Don Corleone lectures Sonny on the... (full context)

...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, through a... (full context)

...suburban life. When an unscrupulous furnace crew demands exorbitant sums to repair the Don’s furnace, Sonny holds them at gunpoint until they finish the work free. (full context)

...visit her father in Long Beach, where he is still recuperating. Carlo asks her if Sonny is still in charge, and when she feigns ignorance on the matter, he viciously slaps... (full context)

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

...Rags and Coach on the building’s outside stoop, where he brags about abusing Connie. Suddenly, Sonny pulls up his car and leaps from the driver’s seat. He grabs Carlo and beats... (full context)

Carlo responds to Sonny’s attack with “complete subjugation” because he knows that Sonny will not kill him, lest he... (full context)

After informing Don Corleone about Michael and the murders of Sollozzo and McCluskey, Hagen and Sonny exit Don Corleone’s bedroom to discuss the ongoing war between the Corleones and the Five... (full context)

...to persuade Corleone bookmakers to switch their loyalties to the other families. These attacks force Sonny and the caporegimes to “go to the mattresses.” (full context)

...suited to be a wartime Consigliere due to his preference for negotiation over violence. Moreover, Sonny is unable to address these weaknesses because he is only acting Don and therefore must... (full context)

...men remove the blanket covering the body on the stretcher, revealing the “bullet-smashed face of Sonny Corleone.” The Don implores Bonasera to restore Sonny’s mangled visage so he can have an... (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... (full context)

...Corleone answers but is unable to interpret Connie’s “hysterical” speech. She passes the phone to Sonny. She begs Sonny to send a car to bring her to the mall but insists... (full context)

Unable to contain his rage, Sonny pays no heed to Connie’s request that he stay put. “The fucking sonofabitch” he mutters... (full context)

Sonny drives down the Jones Beach Causeway until he reaches a tollbooth. He shuffles his pockets... (full context)

The assassins flee the scene shortly before Sonny’s bodyguards arrive. They call Tom Hagen to tell him that Sonny is dead. As Mama... (full context)

...quickly recovers. Clemenza and Tessio arrive, and Hagen gives the men the full story of Sonny’s murder. (full context)

...personal wish,” the Don insists. He also orders all Family business to cease until after Sonny’s funeral. When he finishes speaking, Don Corleone goes to speak with his wife, and Hagen... (full context)

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

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

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

...prevent him from going after Filomena. The morning after hearing this story, Michael learns that Sonny is dead. (full context)

...Michael feels about Connie’s husband, Carlo. Although Michael told her about Carlo’s indirect role in Sonny’s death, he responded by giving Carlo and Connie a house at the mall and promoted... (full context)

...he must respect Michael’s wishes. “I never thought you were a bad Consigliere, I thought Santino a bad Don, may his soul rest in peace,” the Don says. (full context)

...tells Don Corleone that his coming plan will serve as both vengeance for Apollonia and Sonny as well as a way to wrest power from Don Barzini. “Revenge is a dish... (full context)

...to a small hotel off the Jones Beach Causeway where Barzini’s and Tattaglia’s assassins murdered Sonny Corleone. He enters a hotel room to find a naked Phillip Tattaglia having sex with... (full context)

When Michael asks which of the other Dons approached Carlo to betray Sonny, Carlos says it was Barzini. As punishment, Michael says he will send Carlo to Las... (full context)

...death. “You lousy bastard,” she screams, “You killed my husband […] you blamed him about Sonny, you always did […] but you never thought about me.” When Kay tries to tell... (full context)

...murder: “What if Carlo beating up Connie that time was a deliberate plot to get Sonny out in the open,” he asks, “What if Carlo had been paid to help get... (full context)

Santino “Sonny” Corleone Character Analysis

Santino “Sonny” Corleone Quotes in The Godfather

Chapter 8 Quotes

Chapter 19 Quotes

Chapter 28 Quotes

Santino “Sonny” Corleone Character Timeline in The Godfather