Vito Corleone and Psychology Today

This is a minor point, but I was fascinated by it, so please bear with me.

There is a brief article in the current issue of Psychology Today that deals with rejection and how to help others deal with rejection better when you are the bearer of bad news. One tip in the article was to be dressed less well than the person you are about to turn down.

This immediately made me think of Vito's meeting with Sollozo. Vito was dressed in a sports coat and slacks combo that was seemingly beneath his standards; it was certainly the most dressed down he ever was for a business meeting. (In the novel, Tom inwardly thought of his outfit that day as "peasantlike" IIRC) I never understood why he would have dressed like that for such an important meeting, but now it makes perfect sense.

Funny to still be figuring things out so long after initial viewing.

FYI, here is a link to the online site for the current issue (though the article I referred to is not available online) - http://www.psychologytoday.com/magazine/archive/2013/09

In the novel, Puzo makes the point that Vito "... appeared at his worst. He was being a little too simple, a little too peasantlike ..."

Vito might have wanted to appear as the humble peasant who turns down a business man.

Having people underestimate him was an axiom of Vito's leadership style. His style of dress for that meeting reflected it.

Great point. Something Michael never understood. And Fredo was the antithesis of it with his loud and garish clothes.

Or maybe Don Vito was "dressing down" to send a subtle message to Sollozo, letting him know that although while he, Don Vito, was acknowledging him he, nonetheless, didn't feel that Sollozo wasn't an important enough personage to get dressed up for.

Very interesting observation! I wonder could Vito's appearance of weakness (going off the description from the novel) have helped to make Sollozzo think there was a better chance of offing him? What I mean is, if Vito had been dressed imposingly, with a lot of Corleone men and whatnot around him, might Sollozzo have been cowed into not thinking, even after Sonny's outburst, that he could assassinate Vito?

Vito was obviously worried about the Sollozo business, enough to send Luca on a one-way suicide mission to the Tattaglias. He may have sensed that there was someone behind the Tattaglias, but needed to play "weak" in order to ferret out the real power behind the Sollozo/Tattaglia business. Dressing like a "hick" would certainly give Sollozo the impression that Don may have been "slipping."

It is interesting to note the way in which Don Vito interacts with Sollozo at their meeting when he brushes off the the drops of liquid that were spilled on Sollozo's pants. Kind of his way of saying I'm a parental figure and view you as someone I can put my hands on, even though I may say your a man who's to be treated with respect aloud.

Also of interest is the way in which Vito blows off Sollozo's complement about carrying all those politicians in his pocket like so many nickles and dimes.

Very different approach than the one Michael used with Geary. Vito told Sol "no" in an almost complmentary way...he even went so far as to say it didnt' make andy difference to him how a man makes his living, and said as long as Sol did not conflict with him, he wished him luck.

Sollozo being a "man of respect" that would make sense. He was entitled to a certain degree of courtesy from Vito. Geary, by contrast, confronted Michael with insults and threats and ended being owned, literally, by Michael.

The novel says that Tom believed that Vito was being "a little too humble, a little too peasant-like" in the Sol meeting.