Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew Up… with his siblings Sonny, Fredo, and Connie. He was the youngest son of Vito Corleone, a powerful Italian-American crime boss in New York City.
Living… back in the United States after World War II, during which he served in the American military. After his return to the States, Michael is increasingly drawn into his family’s crime business, which Michael had sworn to never be a part of. He explains to his girlfriend, Kay, that his father is dangerous, relating a story with this capper: “My father assured [a famous bandleader] that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract.” Then Michael reassures her, “That’s my family, Kay. That’s not me.”
Profession… ex-marine. Michael won the Navy Cross for his valor during battle. Now that he’s home, he wants to retain his honor. That means no crime. For now, anyway.
Interests… Kay, purity, his family – although he would like to separate himself from the unsavory parts of what they do. His parents and siblings are still the most important people in the world to him. Kay sometimes argues that it’s an unavoidable “Sicilian thing,” that Michael is a true Corleone whether he likes it or not.
Relationship Status… dating Kay Adams. Michael quickly gets into a serious relationship with Kay, but unlike the Italian generation above him, he would like to spend some quality time with her before getting married.
Challenge… staying out of the family business while still supporting his family. It becomes difficult to separate his love for his father from his loyalty to his father’s business. In the Corleone family, blood and business are inseparable, and it is Michael’s challenge to navigate the fine line between them. That will only become harder in time – especially when Vito is injured in an attempted assassination.
Personality… brave, caring, and honorable – at the moment, at least. Michael is an intelligent man, who would make a good leader in any kind of business. Unfortunately his family business is crime, which Michael wants to avoid after serving in the military. Over the years, Michael is sure to transform, especially if he is pulled into organized crime as seems inevitable. The question is: What kind of man will he become?
Get to Know him 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.
