A Brief Analysis of Vito Corleone’s Character

1、a brief analysis of vito corleones character thesis statement: vito corleone is a man with conflicting personality: a ruthless criminal and also a warm, loving father and husband. outline i. introduction: a. background of the book b. brief introduction of the story ii. the factors that affect vito:

2、a. the factor of society b. the factor of family iii. main characters of vito a. a skillful leader b. a powerful man c. a good family man iv. conclusion abstract: vito corleone is the hero of mario puzos book: the godfather. he was born into a poor family in sicily, italy. but he is an ambitious ita

3、lian immigrant who builds a mafia empire in new york city. he is a skillful leader, a crafty diplomat and a cold killer. strength, power, and respect are three important factors in the mafia family, which vito corleone interprets with words and actions throughout his life. he expresses the true mean

4、ing of the mafia in this masterpiece of mario puzo. because he is strong and powerful, he wins others respect. because he is respected, he is more powerful. while he is the king in his empire, and a ruthless, violent criminal, vito is also a warm, loving father and husband. the paradox of his charac

5、ter indicates that it is precisely the warmth of his humanity that makes him appear a superhuman. i. introduction in 1972, there was a film directed by francis ford coppola that won 3 oscars: the best picture, best script, and best actor. rarely can it be said that one movie can define a genre, but

6、never is that more true than in the case of the godfather. since its release gangster movie has been judged by the standards of this one. maybe its not very fair to say that, but the movie is really an exquisite mafia classic that constructs a compelling saga from outstanding performance. the famous

7、 actor marlon brando got his second oscar by his excellent show of playing as vito corleone or the godfather. before the film has become famous is the popularity of the book: the godfather. it was published in 1969, in america, written by mario puzo, the son of italian-born parents. the book was an

8、instant bestseller, which stayed at the “new york times” best-sell list for 67 weeks. mario puzo set out to write this book at the age of 45, and at first he was supposed to make himself rich by the novel he was to write. to his surprise, the book not only let him realize the financial goal, but als

9、o achieved worldwide fame. in 1972, the story was adapted for film by puzo and coppola. its obvious that the film was a big success, so was the book. the godfather shows us a world within a world; it is about an underworld story. the mafia system has its own laws and its own brutal punishment for tr

10、ansgression of those laws. the characters in the book are enormously colorful, and the plot is melodramatic yet entirely believable. the reader must not forget that the novel is a book about cold treachery. the writer said: “the godfather is about more than the mafia; it is about a powerful man who

11、builds a dynasty through crime, but who wants his son to be a senator or a governor. its about the very nature of poweri think its a tragedy.”1 the themes of love, crime, family bondage and old world values are further developed in puzos book. it is related to the root of mafia, corruption, violence

12、, obligation, justice and honor. it is also an insightful sociological study of those in america. so it has a deep impact on american society through the original book and its film adaptation. the saying: “ill give him an offer he cant refuse” has become a clich. readers, who once read the novel wil

13、l be impressed by its narration, attracted by its plot and will also feel pitiful for its unwillingness and its desperateness. the godfather touches everyone who reads it by the authors good description. the godfather is an epic tale about a mighty mafia family. it is based on the late 1940s in new

14、york city. the story is about the corleones family. the head of the family or the godfather is vito corleone, who is the boss of a vast criminal empire. he was born into a poor family in sicily, italy. but he had to immigrate to new york and he has built up the criminal empire by sending his underli

15、ngs to wound and murder people, but only when it is “necessary”, when his opponents are not “reasonable”. in this way, for behaving honorable with the standards of behavior of mafia, he has earned the respect of the other five mafia families in new york city. vito corleone has 4 children, 3 sons and

16、 1 daughter. his eldest son, satino, is a violent and impulsive man, without his fathers farsighted genius. his second son is weak. the youngest, michael doesnt want to take part in his fathers criminal activities. other mafia families, sensing the internal conflicts in this family, almost succeeded

17、 in assassinating the godfather. then michael is sucked in to a whirlpool of murder and violence, which eventually disobeys vito corleones original thoughts. and michael finally takes over his business and to be the godfather. in this story, there are nearly 100 characters, 20 of which are dwelt on

18、by puzo. one of the most important characters is the godfather, vito corleone. he is a complex man who has a conflicting personality. he is cruel while kind-hearted, powerful while weak. he is crafty while clever, shrewd while sympathetic. he is a murder, a cold mafia boss, a diplomat, and a good fa

19、ther. when we finish reading the novel, we will find a dilemma. our minds tell us this man is a bad man. he is a murder who kills and wounds others. but our hearts tell us he is a good man. he helps others and loves his family. what makes him so different? ii. the factors that affect vito sicily is

20、an island in southern italy where is the hometown of vito corleone. in the past time, the only law there was revenge -an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. and mafia was an old organization in this land. this famous crime corporation has law instead of the common law as we called. they can sent

21、ence one to death if he violates their law. in the book, puzo said: “in sicily at the turn of the century (19th century to 20th century) the mafia was the second government far more powerful than the official one in rome.” living in such a place, first people should learn how to protect themselves.

22、then learn how to live. unluckily, vitos father killed the local mafia chief, and a week later he himself was found murdered. the local mafia gunmen also wanted sentence vito corleone to death for avoiding his avengement when he grows up. in the film, vito lost all his families in sicily, and then h

23、e immigrated to america with the help of his fathers friends. sicily was so terrible; there, vito witnessed blood and murder, which made him know how cruel the life was. if he wanted to live better, he should be crueler. meanwhile, from his fathers death, he learnt that one should be calm, so when h

24、e first killed a man called fanucci, he showed no fears, but was quite and unhurried. he began to own a man who cherishes his own wife and children. he must love his mother, in the film, when she shouted: “vito! go! vito! go!” he hesitated. but he knew he couldnt give her any favor, instead he might

25、 lose his life too. so he ran without fear and finally fled. at that time, vito corleone was 12 and he became a real man. the united states is a huge nation, the fourth largest country in the world. within its borders, there are vast regional differences in climate, geography and historical experien

26、ce. each section of the united states is often thought to have its own customs and attitudes. within the vast landscape, there are many people in different races; religious, political beliefs and nations from other countries who consider themselves americans. almost everyone living in the united sta

27、tes is descended from immigrations. for 300years, immigrants to america shared common experience. the english, dutch, and french of the 18th century and 19th century, the italian, slav, hungarian and greek of the 20th century, all had to uproot themselves from old world homes, break away from famili

28、ar folk ways, and adjust themselves to a new environment and new institutions in the new world. vito corleone was one of the italians of the 20th century. he was sent to america not only because of fearing for his own life in sicily, but also because of the attraction and opening of america-vast lan

29、d, work for all who was willing to work, a higher standard of living for ordinary folk than it was known in europe, religious freedom, political democracy, social equality, a second chance for the young-these were the guides that drew millions from the old world to the new. but the young vito corleo

30、ne was not exactly one of those young men. he was unique. he came to american first for survival and then for living. new york city is a city full of chances while full of crimes. if it can be said that young vito corleone behaved himself at first ten years, and he also had his own american dream, t

31、hen he changed when his life was broken by 2 men, fanucci and clemenza. when 12-year-old vito came to america, he was weak and silence. after hiding out for a few years with relatives, vito went to work in a grocery store whose owner was mr. abbandando in new yorks hells kitchen, and he made friends

32、 with genco abbandando, the son of the owner, who later became like a brother to vito. vito corleone worked hardly, and married, having a son named santino in1916. if his life had kept going like this, vito would have had a peaceful life like other immigrants. but life would not let people in a comf

33、ortable way. it is like a ruthless man that always makes people difficulty. in the street where vito corleone worked , there was a man called fanucci who related to the underworld ,and he collected protection fee from the shopkeepers to earn his livingall the people in that street knew him and were

34、afraid of him because of his brutal looking and behavior. and it was he that played a very important role in pushing vito corleone into and eventually helped him win neighbours respect. fanucci forced gencos father, the owner of the grocery to give vito corleones job to fanuccis nephew. mr. abbandan

35、do had to fire vito corleone and felt sorry. but vito corleone forgave him, and told him that he understood that abbandando had no choice, and that he wouldnt forget how good abbandando had been to him. as to fanucci, vito corleone kept, silent knowing its no good talking with him. he chose to leave

36、 the grocery. but the problem still existed. he was kind, and hard working. but the society or the community didnt give him the chance to be a good citizen to realize his own american dream later, peter clemenza turned up. he was a person who first led vito corleone to crime and finally became the u

37、nderling of vito. vito soon learned to survive and prosper through petty crime and helping others by performing favors in return for loyalty. he committed his first murder, killing fanucci. because this man planned to rob him of the money he had risked his life and freedom to earn. then, as a young

38、man, he started an olive business with his lifelong friend and advisor genco abbandando. over the years he used it both to amass a fortune and as a legal front for his organized crime syndicate, while he oversaw a business found on gambling, bootlegging and murder, he was knows as a kind, generous m

39、an who lived by a strict moral code of loyalty to friends and, above all, family. in the paragraphs above, we can see that its the experience in sicily and the hard time in new york that made vito have a conflicting character. iii. the main characters of vito: the oldest godfathers of american mafia

40、 were mainly born in the late 19th century. they were born into poor families of the peasants in sicily, and educated little or not. however, they become the famous “godfather”. its not because of education, but because of their character. most of them are brave, calm and crafty. they dont smile oft

41、en, but with keen observation, they are not impulsive but resolute and decisive. compared to the second generation, these godfathers are more simple and unadorned for the purchase of material life, they are not extravagant. whats more, these men think highly of their family and friendship, to their

42、wives and children they love and respect, to the happiness and harmony of the family, they value and cherish, to the poor or helpless, they are dignified protector; they are good at making others feel easy yet still respectful. people smile to them with gratefulness, as if they are the kings who sta

43、nd for justice and fairness. but, at the place where the people cannot see, their enemies fall down and die off with scars and holes left by knives and bullets. vito corleone was one of these godfathers, born poor, emigrated from sicily to america, appeared serious but not brutal, hard to understand

44、 but not mysterious. he was so calm that he could cover all the rolling waves in the sea. to the people who asked him for help, he was considerate and never put pressure on them, to the enemies, he was crafty and merciless. he is a skillful leader, a brilliant diplomat and an amiable family old man.

45、 as the head of a mafia family, vito corleone is a good leader. to be a chief of such an underworld, one must have some qualities of being a head. he must be able to lead people to make others obedient. he should have a temperate to frighten or terrify others. people are afraid of him, show awe to h

46、im and respect him. vito corleone achieves all of those qualities. first, he is a cold but reluctant murderer. in the paragraph above, i mentioned that vito corleone killed funucci. when he did the job on funucci he was calm. he was not willing to do that, but his deed seemed popular with his neighb

47、ors. slowly vito realized that his neighbors viewed him differently now. everyone treated vito as a “man of respect” now. when a widow had a problem with her landlord who wanted to kick her out, she surprisingly came to vito for help. when he spoke to the landlord at the widows request, the landlord

48、 was rude and insulted that vito would even step into his personal business. vito remained polite and as he was leaving said, do me this service, eh? i wont forget it. ask your friends in the neighborhood about me, theyll tell you im a man who believes in showing his gratitude.2 the landlord immedia

49、tely made inquiries about vito corleone. he visited vito that very night, assuring vito that it had been a dreadful misunderstanding and he not only let the widow stay, but he reduced her rent. the landlord was so afraid that he stayed out of town for a few weeks. vito corleone was reputed to be a m

50、ember of the mafia of sicily. men who ran card games gave him money each week for his friendship. storeowners who had problems would ask vito for help and paid him well. vito gave part of his new income to clemenza and tessio without being asked. this is how vito became the godfather of all mafia. p

51、eople began to call him don corleone. when vito spoke, people listened and understood. vito became known as a man of reasonableness. he never uttered a threat. he always used logic that proved to be irresistible. he always made sure that others got a share of his profit. he always made it seem like

52、a win - win situation for those involved. second, as a respected leader, vito corleone was also a skillful speaker. vitos speaking style was one of the keys to his success. he was always respectful of others when he spoke in public. he used the same tone in his voice when he spoke to a neighborhood

53、family about their meager problems as that used when he addressed a congressman and his aids about their complicated and important relationship. he made the small people feel important, which helped to keep their loyalty. when vito spoke he took his time and looked like he really meant what he was s

54、aying. in public debates he never rushed into saying a statement that he had not fully considered. this style made him look wise and considerate. it makes him seem connected to the audience. the speaker seems not to have a bunch of preset sound-bite answers to throw at people. it makes it seem like

55、a person is answering what he or she believes, not just what they are being told to say, or just what they think the audience wants to hear vito only showed emotion when he spoke in extreme circumstances. vito was able to seem composed even in dangerous or joyous situations. when he spoke to the gue

56、sts at his only daughters wedding reception he barely cracked a smile. when he was told of his eldest sons death he just cringed and looked down. this public speaking demeanor trait helped him to keep the respect of his subordinates. they knew that they could trust his judgment under any circumstanc

57、es. when vito spoke he always emphasized how what he was selling would be in everyones best interest. his arguments make people, whether or not they liked him, believe that his way of thinking made the most sense. most of vitos speeches were persuasive and this was one of his finest talents. he was

58、even able to convince groups of men to go to prison for him. he did not threaten these men with violence, but he offered the mens families wealth and security while they were gone as well as a reward when they returned from prison. he was able to convince them to do what he wanted while making them

59、feel that both sides had won. everyone eventually learned that when vito spoke he was serious. vito corleone was an effective speaker because everyone knew that he would not say something if he did not mean it. when the drug dealer, sollozzo, came to vito corleone and tried to persuade vito to take

60、part in the drug business, the drug dealer made his pitch to vito, clemenza, tessio, and vitos eldest son sonny. vito waited until the speech was over and than began his own. vito began quietly, i decided to meet with you because i heard you are a serious man, a man to be treated with respect. i mus