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Mama Corleone
Tom is a lawyer, the Corleone Family Consigliere (councilor), and the unofficially adopted son of Don Vito Corleone and Mama Corleone. Tom is of Irish and German heritage and is the first non-Sicilian to hold the title of Consigliere in the history of the Mafia, a fact that causes the other mob families to refer to the Corleone Family derisively as the “Irish Gang.” As a child, Tom’s alcoholic father abandoned him and his mother died of an eye infection. The orphaned Tom lived on the streets until Sonny found him and brought him to Vito, who took him in but never formally adopted him. Tom grew up alongside Sonny, Michael, Fredo, and Connie. As an adult, Tom graduates from law school and practices as an attorney. Tom’s cunning and legal expertise impresses Don Vito, who offers Tom a role working for the Corleone Family. He accepts Don Vito’s offer because he knows that gaining a prominent foothold in the Corleone Family promises personal wealth and power. In 1945, when the Corleone Family Consigliere Genco Abbandando dies of cancer, Vito formally appoints Hagen to the position. The title grants Hagen immense power and responsibility in the Family’s affairs, especially regarding the conflict between Vito’s godson, Johnny Fontane and the Hollywood producer Jack Woltz. In many ways, Tom Hagen serves as a surrogate for the reader, who shares his status as an outsider permitted an insider’s view of the clandestine world of the Italian-American Mafia.
Thomas “Tom” Hagen Quotes in The Godfather
The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas “Tom” Hagen or refer to Thomas “Tom” Hagen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1
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“A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”
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Chapter 8
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“Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal. You should know that by now.”
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Chapter 12
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“But you can’t get sore at him. It’s like getting sore at God.”
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Chapter 19
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She was quite content not to share the pain of her men, after all did they share the pain of women?
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Chapter 20
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Nothing was more calming, more conducive to pure reason, than the atmosphere of money.
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“We are all men who have refused to be fools, who have refused to be puppets dancing on a string pulled by the men on high. We have been fortunate here in this country […] Some of you have sons who are professors, scientists, musicians, and you are fortunate. Perhaps your grandchildren will become the new pezzonovanti.”
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Chapter 28
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“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.”
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Thomas “Tom” Hagen Quotes in The Godfather
The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Thomas “Tom” Hagen or refer to Thomas “Tom” Hagen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
“A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8
Quotes
“Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal. You should know that by now.”
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Chapter 12
Quotes
“But you can’t get sore at him. It’s like getting sore at God.”
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Chapter 19
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She was quite content not to share the pain of her men, after all did they share the pain of women?
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Chapter 20
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Nothing was more calming, more conducive to pure reason, than the atmosphere of money.
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“We are all men who have refused to be fools, who have refused to be puppets dancing on a string pulled by the men on high. We have been fortunate here in this country […] Some of you have sons who are professors, scientists, musicians, and you are fortunate. Perhaps your grandchildren will become the new pezzonovanti.”
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Chapter 28
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“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.”
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