The title used by Vito Corleone, “Don” means “boss” or head of a crime family. An honorific title that denotes respect and power, the word originates in the Spanish titles “Don” and the feminine “Donna.” Under Spanish rule, Sicilians adopted these titles and applied them to members of the nobility, such as barons, priests, large landholders and other respected men and women. Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather is largely responsible for associating the term “Don” with the Mafia, and some real-life Mafia bosses adopted the term after the release of Puzo’s novel and its subsequent film adaptations.
Don Quotes in The Godfather
The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Don or refer to Don. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
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It was part of the Don’s greatness that he profited from everything.
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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.
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“I believe in America. America has made my fortune.”
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“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
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“A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”
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Chapter 8
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“Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal. You should know that by now.”
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Chapter 9
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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.
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Chapter 12
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“But you can’t get sore at him. It’s like getting sore at God.”
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Chapter 14
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When he became a Don and asked opponents to sit down and reason with him, they understood it was the last chance to resolve an affair without bloodshed and murder.
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Chapter 16
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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.
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Chapter 19
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She was quite content not to share the pain of her men, after all did they share the pain of women?
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Chapter 20
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Nothing was more calming, more conducive to pure reason, than the atmosphere of money.
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“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.”
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Chapter 23
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Merit meant nothing. Talent meant nothing. Work meant nothing. The Mafia Godfather gave you your profession as a gift.
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Chapter 25
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“You’ll be my wife but you won’t be my partner in life, as I think they say. Not an equal partner. That can’t be.”
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Chapter 27
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“But don’t ever take sides with anybody against the Family again.”
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Chapter 28
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“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.”
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Chapter 29
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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.
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Chapter 30
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He understood that he would be happier in the world the Corleones had created than in the world outside.
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Get the entire The Godfather LitChart as a printable PDF.
Don Term Timeline in The Godfather
The timeline below shows where the term Don appears in The Godfather. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
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...
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The wedding guests notice that Don Corleone pays little attention to Michael. Before the outbreak of World War II, Michael was...
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Don Corleone understands that being a Mafia Don attracts the presence of law enforcement. He disapproves...
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...honor 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...
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First, the Don meets Nazorine, who has contributed money to the bakery union that Don Corleone controls. The...
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...Tells 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...
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In his office, Don Corleone meets with Amerigo Bonasera, who begs the Don to murder the two men who...
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Johnny Fontane arrives at the wedding and sings a song. The Don then meets with Johnny, who is his godson. Johnny complains that his voice is shot...
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At the hospital, Genco implores the “Godfather” Don Corleone to save him from death. The Don admits that such an act is beyond...
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...his own son. Hagen attended law school and worked as a lawyer before accepting the Don’s offer to work full-time for the Corleone Family. Hagen arrives in Los Angeles and meets...
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Chapter 2
Tom Hagen meets with Don Corleone to discuss the Woltz affair, as well as to plan the upcoming meeting with...
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Sollozzo wants to use Don Corleone’s political contacts in order to shield his drug distribution from Sicily into America. Despite...
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Don Corleone, Sonny, and Hagen meet with the fearsome Sollozzo, who informs them the rival Tattaglia...
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...Christmas gift. Michael also calls to tell Hagen that he and Kay will meet the Don at his Long Beach home on Christmas Day. Hagen walks down a New York City...
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The narrative shifts back in time to the afternoon before the Don is shot. That afternoon, the Don’s normal bodyguard, Paulie Gatto, calls in sick, and Don...
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Chapter 4
Michael Corleone arrives at the mall. Clemenza greets him and tells him that the Don is going to be okay. Fredo is sleeping in another room, while Sonny and Tessio...
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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....
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Chapter 5
...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 revenge, he...
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Chapter 7
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...
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Chapter 9
Once Michael moves his father to a room at the end of the hall, the Don smiles at the presence of his youngest son. “Why should I be afraid now?” Don...
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Chapter 10
Having moved Don Corleone to a different hospital room, Michael steps outside to wait for Sonny’s reinforcements. Suddenly,...
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...by, 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...
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Chapter 11
...The 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...
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Chapter 12
...Johnny 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...
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Chapter 14
...more powerful than the actual government in Rome. When Vito was 12, the local Mafia Don murdered Vito’s father and older brother after a protracted feud. Fearing that the adolescent Vito...
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...insulation between himself and any operational act” so as not to implicate himself as the Don of a criminal syndicate. He also forbids the caporegimes from associating with each other in...
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Don Corleone has established himself as New York’s most powerful crime lord, and his influence begins...
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Don Corleone also continues to help those who swear their loyalty to him. Nazorine the baker...
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Chapter 16
Carlo Rizzi resents the Corleone Family. Following his marriage to Connie, Don Corleone gave him a small bookmaking operation on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The operation pays...
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...on the face. Connie’s face is now so swollen that she decides against visiting the Don. “Slapping the spoiled little bitch around” makes Carlo feel good because it alleviates “some of...
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Chapter 17
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...
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After informing Don Corleone about Michael and the murders of Sollozzo and McCluskey, Hagen and Sonny exit Don...
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...over violence. Moreover, Sonny is unable to address these weaknesses because he is only acting Don and therefore must still defer to the still-recovering Don Corleone on major Family matters. The...
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Chapter 18
Hagen tells Bonasera, “you owe the Don a service,” and instructs him to meet the Godfather at his funeral parlor in one...
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In the embalming room, Don Corleone’s men remove the blanket covering the body on the stretcher, revealing the “bullet-smashed face...
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Chapter 19
Hagen must now wake Don Corleone and tell him that his son is dead. As he struggles to find the...
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Once Hagen has finished with the details, Don Corleone explicitly forbids any of the men to seek vengeance without his approval. “There will...
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Chapter 20
...retaliation they believe is sure to come from the Corleones. Instead of bloody vengeance, however, Don Corleone sends emissaries to each of the families to propose a peace meeting. He invites...
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The first to arrive after Don Corleone and Tom Hagen are Carlo Tremonti, boss of the American southern territory, Joseph Zaluci...
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Don Corleone is the first to speak at the meeting of the Dons. He thanks the...
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“When have I ever refused an accommodation?” Don Corleone responds, “but I had to refuse this time. Why? Because I think this drug...
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Some of the other Dons speak up. They express personal distaste for drug trafficking but admit that the business is...
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Phillip Tattaglia, however, still has concerns that Don Corleone will seek “individual vengeance” for the murder of Sonny. In response, Don Corleone vows...
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“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...
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When Don Corleone and Tom Hagen arrive home, Clemenza dismisses the Bocchicchio hostage that acted as surrogate...
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Inside the house, Don Corleone reiterates to Hagen that he should explore every possible legal avenue and spend as...
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Chapter 23
One 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...
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Chapter 24
...to Apollonia. It is the last morning they are to spend at the villa, as Don Tommasino has arranged for them to move to a town on Sicily’s southern coast. The...
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Chapter 27
...medical 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...
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Chapter 28
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...
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...questions and resolve your doubts,” Michael insists, demonstrating his clear power as the new acting Don.
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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...
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After Hagen leaves the meeting, Michael tells Don Corleone that his coming plan will serve as both vengeance for Apollonia and Sonny as...
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Chapter 29
It is a sunny Sunday morning. The Corleone women are attending church and Don Corleone is tending to his garden. He moves among the plants spraying invading ants with...
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Don Corleone’s funeral is a “royal” occasion. The Dons of the Five Families attend with their...
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Chapter 30
Before his death, Don Corleone believed that Neri could be a new “Luca Brasi” for the Family. Once, Michael...
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Chapter 31
When Michael asks which of the other Dons approached Carlo to betray Sonny, Carlos says it was Barzini. As punishment, Michael says he...
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...control of the remaining Barzini rackets and murder those men still loyal to the murdered Don. Those Barzini and Tattaglia caporegimes who are not killed immediately switch their loyalties to the...
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...when she sees Clemenza, Neri, and Lampone enter Michael’s room with their bodyguards in tow. “Don Michael,” Clemenza says. Kay watches as Michael receives the men’s homage like the “Roman emperors...
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