Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… in Hanover, New Hampshire. Her father was a minister of the Baptist faith. She had no siblings.
Living… under dangerous circumstances. While attending Dartmouth College, with hopes of becoming a teacher, she met fellow student Michael Corleone in 1945. Michael returned from the war as something of a hero, and Kay accompanies him to his sister’s wedding, where Michael confesses that his family is involved with the mafia. Kay is frightened by the prospect of Michael becoming a violent man, but he assures her, “That’s my family, Kay. It’s not me.”
Profession… teacher. She studied to become a teacher, and accepts a job when she gets the chance. However, Michael wants her to be with him, which means supporting the family business and giving up her career.
Interests… teaching and listening to Johnny Fontane, a singer with supposed ties to the mafia. Kay is shocked to learn that Michael’s father helped Johnny reboot his career by threatening his bandleader with violence – thus making him an “offer he couldn’t refuse.” It wouldn’t be the last such offer that Michael’s father Vito, the Godfather of the family, would make on Johnny’s behalf.
Relationship Status… in a relationship with Michael Corleone. The two of them seem like a perfect couple, at least at first. It’s only when Michael gets involved in his family’s criminal enterprises that things between them begin to get more complicated.
Challenge… convincing Michael to legitimize the family business. Kay wants Michael to use whatever power he has to rid the Corleone name of all its illegal ties. Michael agrees, and promises he has every intention of doing so. Whether he will follow through is another matter entirely.
Personality… free-thinking, modern, and intelligent. Kay knows when Michael is lying to her, and she understands that it is difficult to change the face of a generations-old family “business” overnight. But Kay has faith in Michael, and she has faith in their future together. She is willing to put some things at stake if it means that her sacrifices will go toward a better future with Michael. In time, she will learn whether her faith in Michael has been placed wisely, or not.
Get to Know her in...
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The Godfather chronicles the lives of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family in teh 1940's. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers—launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
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In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
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In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
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A searing novel of the Mafia underworld, The Godfather introduced readers to the first family of American crime fiction, the Corleones, and the powerful legacy of tradition, blood, and honor that was passed on from father to son. With its themes of the seduction of power, the pitfalls of greed, and family allegiance, it resonated with millions of readers across the world—and became the definitive novel of the virile, violent subculture that remains steeped in intrigue, in controversy, and in our collective consciousness.
