Originally Posted By: dontomasso
Questadt makes a great observation about how many "throw away" phrases carry a much deeper meaning in the Godfather. Latey I have been thinking about such a line, and eas going to start a thread, but it can just as welll go here. It is the line in the final scene with Michael and Vito together. During it, Vito asks Michael if he is happy with his wife and family, and he comments that Anthony is looking more and more like Michael every day. Michael retorts that Anthony is only three but he already can read the funny papers.
Vito/Brando takes note of this and reflects on it and repeats, with a smile, "Reads the funny papers." This summarizes the dream Vito carried with him his whole life. Vito at age three already knew the harsh violence of Sicily, and a few years later was smuggled to America, where he refused to dance on strings like a puppet. He is carrying great regret that Michael has had to get mixed up in all this family business, but in that throw away line, we see a spark of hope in Vito that at least Anthony may enjoy the fruits of all that went before. It sets the tale nicely for the tragedies that unfold in II and III.

Insightful analysis, dt. smile

Growing up in NYC, I noticed that Italians called the comic strips "funny papers"; Irish called them "the funnies;" Jews called them "the jokes."


Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu,
E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu...
E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu
Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.