Vito Corleone is the protagonist of Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather"

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Glory to Mario Puzo came when he was already an experienced writer. In 1969, his novel The Godfather was published, and the whole reading world recognized the author. The approach to the topic was new. The bestseller told about violence and kindness, about the laws and the roots of the mafia. With vivid images and a sharply constructed tense plot, he instantly won recognition.

Crime and retribution

Reflecting reality in a literary work, the writer paid great attention to violence, which is also present in life itself. Its protagonist Vito Corleone founded an empire that no one dares to invade and in which he rules with an iron hand in a soft glove. He patronizes those who come and ask for help, and punishes the aggressors who dare to disturb the peace of his family, friends and subjects. Vito Corleone created a state within a state. It has laws of inevitable retribution for crimes committed.

Vito Corleone's army is impeccably debugged: he himself transmits his instructions to the assistant face to face, the assistant - to the next person in the hierarchy, only then the order reachesperformer. An unprepared novice will never be given a weapon in his hands, he will first be strictly checked and repeatedly tested. After all, it is being prepared for real military operations - to protect the empire from aggressive invaders.

What is the charm of the main character and his subordinates? The killing they commit is not an end in itself. They are only a means of protecting their families and citizens. Only a necessary security measure, because every man should be able to stand up for loved ones and the well-being of the state as a whole. The reader gets acquainted with how the relations of the mafia structure with state power, trade unions develop.

Who served as the prototype for the main character?

Researchers believe that since the writer's childhood was spent in the Italian quarters of New York, he knew the topic firsthand. In addition, M. Puzo studied previously published works on this topic, which contained information from the police archives. Most researchers are inclined to believe that the main image is collective, although the personalities of Frank Costello and Vito Genovese had the greatest influence on it.

Frank Castello was born in Italy, but later his family moved to the United States, where his father, who ran a grocery store, already lived. At the age of 13, he began to hunt for petty robbery, but, having gone to prison, and then being released, he became part of a strong gang.

There he found himself a business partner and friend, most of all paying attention to gambling. The introduction of "prohibition" helped to get rich quick. In addition to illegal activities, he had a legal business. Frank quickly established contacts in all circles of society and established contacts between the mafia and politicians, paying them well.

Vito Genovese was also an Italian who emigrated to the land of freedom. He started out in Manhattan as a petty thief. Prohibition also helped him get rich.

Vito actively participated in various frauds and was forced to leave for Italy in order not to go to jail. He was able to survive the fall of the Mussolini regime, with whom he was close, and the landing of American troops. Moreover, Vito returned to the USA. There was an attempt on his life, but he survived and appointed his own son as the head of his clan. These two biographies will enter the life of the literary character Vito Corleone. There was more than one prototype, and their images are not as noble and romantic as those of the hero of the novel M. Puzo.

The life of the protagonist

Vito Andolini, who lost his father in a showdown with the Sicilian mafia, flees to America. He grows up and gets married. But he gets fired from his job. Vito, who took the surname Corleone, has children who have nothing to feed. He has to earn a living with petty robbery with his friends. But the gangster, the storm of the quarter, demands tribute from the lively Italian youth.

Vito Corleone does not put up with this and, by killing him, gains authority in his quarter. Gradually, he builds his own state, in which he rules wisely and undividedly. The legal business - the export of olive oil - covers various areas of illegal activity.

Thanks to myIn politics, the Don acquires connections in trade unions, in the police, among the deputies of parliament. Vito Corleone becomes a very influential person. His biography contains many turbulent moments. He is assisted by his adopted son, Tom Hagen, who has become a lawyer because he remembered Don's words: "A lawyer with a briefcase in his hands will rake in more than a thousand armed masked raiders."

Don Corleone hosts the Sicilian Sollozzi, who offers to do drugs. But the businessman receives a polite refusal. An assassination attempt is successfully staged on Don's life. He is temporarily unable to do business, and the management of the empire passes to Sonny's son. But the life of the Godfather is under the threat of a new assassination attempt. The youngest son kills the police captain and hides in Sicily. Meanwhile, Don's eldest son is killed.

Corleone is forced to gather all the mafiosi and call for an end to senseless killings, dividing spheres of influence. Don directs all his strength to the return of his son to America.

The end of the novel

Returning three years later, Michael takes over his father's experience and connections and, after Don's death from a heart attack, heads the family business. The younger son took revenge for the attempt on his father's life, for the attempt on his own life, for the murder of his brother. All business in the east of the country, Don Michael turns and moves to the west, becoming the head of the most powerful clan in America. Thus ends Mario Puzo's The Godfather.

Characteristic of Vito Corleone

He is a true Sicilian, but he knows how to control his temperament. "Revenge is a dish servedcold." Don's commandments characterize his love of life. The main thing, according to Vito, is to stay alive. The next thing that is required and to be relied upon is friendship. But, trusting, he checks everyone, just in case. He does not get angry or threaten, trying to logically agree with his opponent, and only when he refuses to accept logical evidence, Nemesis appears, which all of Don's actions embody.

Corleone is full of sincere human feelings. And it attracts readers. He is able to leave his daughter's wedding and sit all night at the bedside of a dying friend, instilling in him the hope that God will forgive sins. He is ready to help anyone who respectfully turns to him with a request. Even as he dies, the last thing he says is "Life is so beautiful."

Why is the hero called "The Godfather"?

In Catholic culture, relationships sanctified by the church make people very close. It is believed that life is so hard that one father is not enough. In this case, there is a godfather who takes care of the spiritual upbringing of the child. This is one side of the issue, sacred. The other is that the Mafia has given a religious name to the highest rung in its hierarchy. The title of "Godfather" Vito Corleone wears with pride and dignity, overshadowing many with his patronage. This is an extremely respectful address to the leader of the crime syndicate.

Members of the Corleone family

The Corleone family is small and big at the same time.

It consistsfrom near and dear ones by blood, godchildren and all members of his empire, whom he looks after like a father.

The eldest son is Santino or Sonny. He is not very smart, but he is too hot and does not know how to think about actions, like a father. Sonny was known as the most formidable killer in his youth, and when his father was attacked, he, without hesitation, gets involved in the clan struggle, which Don Corleone sought to avoid. In this struggle, he was betrayed by his sister's husband, whose name is Carlo, and Sonny dies.

The middle son is Freddie. Weak-willed and unfortunate, incapable of mental activity. He will clearly never be able to replace his father.

Michael is the youngest son. The brightest of the Don's children. At first, he decided to become an honest American, not touching the dark affairs of the family. He is a war veteran, a university student, but attachment to family members, the desire to avenge the attempt on his father's life turns his life upside down. When he returns, he will avenge the death of his brother Sonny, although the husband of his own sister turned out to be a traitor. Michael will not forgive the betrayal of his father's old friend Tessio and will destroy him. Michael will become a real Don, dealing with the heads of hostile clans with lightning speed.

But the family is not limited to the Corleone family. There is also an adopted son, a very intelligent and devoted Tom Hagen, there is an unintelligent artist who begins to see clearly by the end of the novel, Johnny Fontaine, a singer, a movie star and an American idol.

Vito Corleone quotes

• I'll make an offer you can't refuse.
• Never get angry, don't threaten, and make the person think straight.
• Accidents don't happen to those who take an accident as a personal affront.
• There are things you have to do - you do them, but you never talk about them. They have no excuses. You make them and that's it. And you forget.
• Each of us has something to say about our adversity. I'm not going to do this.

Romanticization of the mafia in the novel

Don Corleone is so noble in his motives in this crime story that the gruesome details of the crimes are forgotten. The voice of blood and family affection weave the thread of a person's fate. They do not allow you to go beyond the created circle. This is very clearly seen in the life path of Michael, the youngest son, who did not want, but continued the work of his father. He, like his father, administers justice on his own and helps his compatriots to become popular, resorting to the usual means of gangsters.