Was it because considering he had no education, it was the only way for him to make a lot of money?

He didn't want to be another downtrodden immigrant, a slave of the dominant Anglo-Saxon white ruling class.

Having said that, from the account of Vito's rise to power given in the novel, it seems that he stumbled into the role of Mafia Don almost by accident - by the chance meeting with Clemenza, the incident with Fanucci and the decision to kill him rather than to pay him tribute. Then, Fanucci's old associates began to pay Vito without Vito having to do very much. From then on it was a snowball effect - he accumulated more "favours" and his reputation spread.

I think that when Vito arrived in the United States, he sincerely set out to make a legitimate living, have a family, and live an honest life. But as things around him, out of his control, started to take shape... Fannuci shaking down Genco, Fannuci costing him his job, Fanucci shaking down his own people, Clemenza involving him with hiding the guns, etc. coupled with what he saw happen to his family when he was a kid in Italy, changed his attitude about taking the legitimate path and made him realize that he needed to do whatever had to be done to provide for and protect his family. Vito realized that no one was going to take care of him and his family, and that if he continued on the road of the straight and narrow, his life would be controlled by others, and he would be a puppet dancing on a string. Instead he chose to be the one controlling the strings, deciding his own destiny.


Don Cardi

That's about right. It seems as if Vito did fall into organized crime kind of by accident. There were two different types of people back then (as discussed in the story), those who pull the strings, and those who are pulled by the strings. Vito wanted to be stronger. Clipping Fanucci got him a reputation on the streets, and after a while, it just fit. He started playing up the role as Godfather and gradually became bigger in power and wealth.

It is so interesting that neither the novel nor the movie makes any effort to show Vito being sponsored by another Mafioso. He kind of just decides on his own that he is going to be a Don which is not consistent with the way the Mafia works.

As I've posted elsewhere and as some have posted here, after Fanucci's attempted intimidation and with the haunting memories of Sicily in the back of his mind, he decided to make he and his family as invulnerable as possible.

Yes, the novel and the film portray Vito as having stumbled into the life of organized crime. This was a very effective device to give us a good feeling for the downtrodden life of Italian immigrants (as DC said) and Vito's determination to rise above it.
In real life, it would have been inconceivable that, in 1919 (when Vito kills Fanucci), New York's Little Italy would be such easy prey for a young upstart like Vito. GF shows Fanucci "running" the neighborhood essentially on his own, with just a "license" from a bigger Mafia boss. The novel has a scene in which, after the Fanucci killing, Clemenza calls on Vito and says, "Nobody is collecting" from the gambling, etc., that Fanucci shook down. So Vito steps into a vacuum. In real life, there would have been no vacuum--and no upstart like Vito.

This topic reminds me of how I really want to see a GF IV with flashbacks to the period 1927-1945.
At the end of the flashbacks in GF II, we see a man who has many influence and respect in his neighbourhood, and who has some man working for him (Pietro, Salvatore, Genco, ...).
But at the beginning of GF I, we see the same man heads the strongest maffia family of NY, controlling the gambling, the unions, having so many politicians in his pocket, having so many men working for him. A fully structurised family with buffers and everything else.

How? That's what I want to see.

That is what I thought The Godfather Returns would be about. Sadly, it was not.

I agree that Vito wanted to protect his family. I feel his adventure to America was to be a rebirth for him, a new beginning away from the Mafia, until he realized that they are just as powerful if not more in New York. There was no where else for him to go... as they say if you can't beat 'em join 'em... and boy did he join them

Very good analysis!

Vito turned that phrase " If you can't beat em, join em" conmpletely around. He joined em and THEN he beat em!


Don Cardi

Thanks for the replies everybody. Despite what dontomasso says, this board fucking rules!!