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Tommy’s POV time
The Negative Character Arc of Vito Scaletta Part 1: Introduction
Alright. So I said I’d do this in the tags of the last character essay and apparently right now, even though I’m not mentally in a place to write fiction I am to write various character analyses. Probably because I can do this during my five seconds of peace at work and easily put it down. On with the show.
In my last character essay, I described the negative character arc of Ennio Salieri in Mafia: Definitive Edition. This time, for no real reason other than I want to, I will do the same for Vito Scaletta. For this one, I’m going to structure it a bit differently. Instead of listing out the events of the story and putting them in each section, I will talk in broad strokes (acts, turning points, etc) because, unlike Salieri, Vito is the main character. There’s just too much to look at for the former approach.
Quick recap or refresher for those that didn’t read the last essay and don’t know anything about negative character arcs in writing. A negative arc is one where the character ends the story in a worse place than where they started. This does not mean the character turns evil or dies, etc. (even though that is what often happens), simply that the place the story ends on for them leaves them unhappy/worse off in some way, etc. I think some of the most famous examples are Nick from the Great Gatsby and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader from Star Wars, and Javert from Les Miserable. A negative character arc is based on two central ideas: the lie and the truth. Now, another way to put this is the character’s belief which limits them in some fashion vs the reality of the situation that they do not comprehend (oftentimes this can be put into wants vs. needs, but that does not neatly line up). There are three basic negative character arcs: the Disillusionment (Nick and Javert), the Fall (Salieri), and the Corruption (Anakin/Vader).
Vito Scaletta is a beautiful example of the Disillusionment arc, which is made up of three parts: Character Believes Lie, Overcomes Lie, New Truth is Tragic. It helps his character follows three act structure of this particular type of arc very well (which, by the way, does not neatly line up with the three parts listed above, most of that actually occurs in the third act). Part of what makes his story so interesting is that his disillusionment arc starts off as disillusionment with the Lie of another character: his father. This particular paragraph is a bit of side step, but it is important to what happens before I go into the three act structure proper. Vito Scaletta’s father, from what we know, was a man that came to the U.S. with a dream and the idea that his family could find something better there. He was a working man that turned to alcohol for comfort and drank what little money he could make away and then borrowed plenty before dying. We can see what kind of Lie that Mr. Scaletta believed in the way that Vito’s mother (and to a much smaller extent Frankie) both encourage Vito to work hard just like his father and that, if he does, everything will be alright. That’s the lie that creates Vito’s own: that if you work hard, everything will be alright.
This is important due to an idea that I didn’t address in the Salieri essay: The Normal World. The Normal World in a negative character arc is the way the world (for the character) is supposed to work outside of the story (the Adventure World being the world of the story). The distinction between the two is not necessarily relevant here, but The Normal World is a huge part of Vito’s Lie, which can be summed up in a beautiful simple quote from Joe: “The working man’s a sucker, that’s for damn sure.” This is Vito’s normal world: the working man is a sucker. They fail, they don’t make money, they don’t have power, they aren’t anybody. This is further pushed by Don Carlo when Vito sees him stop a battle in Italy. Don Carlo has power, influence, he is someone, which is exactly what Vito wants to be. This attraction to influence and rejection of... not hard work but staying within the system is what eventually leads him to take on Leo Galante as a father figure, but I digress. The Normal World for Vito is one where those within the system only end up at the whims of those with power over them and influence, power, and money are the only ways to achieve any sort of worth and/or success. Vito’s Lie is that, because these things are required for success, he needs to have them to be happy... and he won’t get them by abiding the law.
As I mentioned previously, I will be discussing the rest of this story following the traditional three act structure of a Disillusionment negative character arc, so buckle up. This is going to be a stupid long ‘essay’, so I’m going to break it up into four parts: this introduction and each of the three acts. This is purely so a person can come back to a part later if they want to. I’m going to post each of the three acts over the course of the next few days (one per day), so I do hope you enjoy.
The Negative Character Arc of Vito Scaletta Part 2
The first act of a story is structured as exposition, meant to establish relationships, the world they live in, etc. It usually covers about the first fourth of a story. For a negative character arc, it is, naturally, the set up of the story, but it also firmly establishes the character’s Truth and Lie.
Beat 1: The Hook
The hook is important due to the way that it introduces the audience to the character’s everyday life. For a disillusionment arc specifically, it introduces how the Lie that your character believes impacts their life and creates conflict between themselves and the people around them. This is often where we come to understand the character’s Normal World (as referenced in the last part).
Vito’s hook is plain to see. We are introduced to it through the prologue and The Old Country, seeing how the idea of Vito’s Normal World and his Lie are established through his reflections on his father and how his desire for influence the like Don Carlo has develops. I won’t go to far into that particular nugget, since I did that in the introduction.
The hook extends into the first part of Home Sweet Home. We see Vito coming back to his “Normal World” after the war. Just in case it hasn’t already been established, let’s go over what the Lie and Normal World are for him. The Normal World that he lives in is one where those in the system are at the whims of those that run it, so the only way to achieve any sort of happiness is to run the system or be part of a hierarchy that runs it. For him specifically, he’s seen multiple occasions in which people that run the system can do ‘great’ things and are allowed to do them (Don Carlo). Vito’s lie is that, in order to be fulfilled, he needs to have influence, and the group he has seen the most from in that regard is the mob. This is probably more of a cultural thing (being Sicilian), but it is something nonetheless.
During his first night back, we have two examples of where Vito’s Lie impacts his normal life and creates conflict. These are the parts of Home Sweet Home that I refer to. The first incident is with Joe where there is a brief bit of tension when Vito tells Joe that he will have to go back to the war, but Joe gets him out of it. How? By using the influence that Joe has accrued in the time in which Vito was away. This particular act is important for multiple reasons, but mostly in how adult it makes Joe seem. He knows a guy, he can take care of the issue. (This will be important in the next beat). Just like that, Joe frees Vito but assures his friend that it doesn’t really make Vito beholden to him. I’m going to quickly mention it now, but Joe also goes through his own character arc in the story, a stunted positive change arc. I mean stunted, because his story cuts off before it reaches a resolution (I’m pretty sure he got “killed off” right after the midpoint/during the second pinch point aka his act two). That doesn’t really have bearing in this section, but I’ll probably mention it when it becomes relevant.
The second incident occurs basically during the entire night he spends at home, starting with the moment he is asked to pray at the table and up until his mother asks him to see Papalardo the next morning. He is seeing parts where he doesn’t fit, consistently reminded of the life is father built, the one he doesn’t want. His mother is pushing his father’s Lie on him and rejecting his own. She’s not trying to be smothering to him, but this is just how she knows the world works. It is simply too bad that it isn’t how Vito’s does.
Beat 2: The Inciting Event
In a normal story, this is the character’s call to adventure, the way the story really hits it off. For a negative character arc, it takes on another purpose. It is meant to show the first hint for our character (and the audience) that the lie is untrue. This also showcases the main conflict of the story. This hint, by the way, is meant to be subtle. It’s not supposed to hit the character in the face.
The inciting event for Vito occurs, at least in my opinion, a combination of when he wakes up and decides that he needs to get his own place and, more importantly, the moment he leaves his mama’s apartment and sees Frankie being harassed by the man their family owes money too. Yes it does blend in a bit with the hook, but storytelling is rarely cut and dry. Keep in mind that Vito left for war a teenager and came back as a young man; seeing his childhood room is a stark reminder for this and pushes him towards the idea that he needs to be an adult and live on his own. Remember how earlier I said that Joe seemed like an adult? A hallmark of maturity (at least where I live) is being able to take care of problems by yourself: scheduling your first doctor appointment, doing your taxes for the first time, having your own place, etc. etc. Joe was able to make Vito’s obligation to the government to go away and allow him to go home, a very different Joe than the one that Vito left and in direct contrast to his father that probably couldn’t rub two pennies together. Yes, I am comparing Joe to Vito’s father, no it’s not about Daddy issues. I mean, it is. But it isn’t? Let’s move on. Anyway, this means that Joe knows what Vito has to do to be an adult, one that isn’t stuck in his mother’s house and working for the man his father worked for.
And then he is spurred into further action when he sees Frankie being hassled about the money that their father owes. This reinforces the Normal World for Vito, as his father took out a lot of money and now his surviving family is stuck paying it back for him, but also gives him the opportunity to be the adult and prove his father’s Lie wrong. His father with all of his hard work had to borrow money from these people, but now Vito was going to use his way to not only pay back the money the Scalettas owed, but also get more money and become independent.
Beat 3: The First Plot Point
This is the first real consequential choice the character makes to show them that their old ways are ineffective. This is what leads the character into the next act and is the threshold the character crosses that prevents the rest of the story from taking place. Now, they will not see the consequences of this act at first, but it will show itself later.
For Vito, this one is interesting. It could be argued that the rest of Home Sweet Home qualifies as this as it is Joe introducing Vito into the world of the rest of the game, but BUT, I disagree. Honestly, I think it sort of works in as the hook and inciting incident in a way. The only reason this part is probably WHERE it is is because of tutorial reasons. I’m not saying that it doesn’t make sense, but there is a more thematic and appropriate moment coming that fits this act better: going to see Papalardo and what occurs on the docks in Enemy of the State.
Even after going to see Joe, Vito still agrees to go see Papalardo and try and work at the docks for his mama. He’s stuck in this liminal space where he’s not truly embraced his Lie yet, but it’s still there lingering. So, he goes to see Papalardo (from this moment on he will be called Derek) and gets a job moving crates for him. After some time, he makes his choice and refuses to move another crate (I think I only managed about five in my playthrough before he just stopped). Steve comes to see what the fuss is and Vito tells him off before using Joe’s influence inadvertently and getting a better paying job, one that he likes better too, out of it. His choice, both to stop working the warehouse job and to take Steve up on a job that is explicitly exploiting the regular workers there, is the first plot point and one that will come back around in the third act.