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Deems Clemens
Tommy Elefante is an Italian man who runs a smuggling ring out of the docks at the Cause. Tommy inherited his business from his father, whom people call Mr. Elefante. Although Tommy can be a formidable man, he runs his business based on a strict set of morals and only imports items that would be legal under normal circumstances, like TVs and cigarettes. He also refuses to get involved with the drug trade, no matter how much money he is offered. Although he takes pride in how he runs his business, Elefante’s dream is to retire and settle down with a woman. At the start of the novel, he is a lonely middle-aged man who lives with his elderly mother, Mrs. Elefante. However, Elefante’s luck changes after the Governor tells him about the Venus of Willendorf. Elefante quickly realizes that the Venus, a priceless statue, could allow him to retire and live the life of his dreams. With the help of Sportcoat, Elefante eventually finds the Venus. In the meantime, he also strikes up a relationship with (and eventually marries) Melissa, the Governor’s daughter, who turns him into a kinder, gentler person. To show his thanks to Sportcoat and the people of the Five Ends Church, Elefante pays for a variety of upgrades and renovations for the church.
Tommy Elefante Quotes in Deacon King Kong
The Deacon King Kong quotes below are all either spoken by Tommy Elefante or refer to Tommy Elefante. 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 5: The Governor
Quotes
Greed, he thought wryly as he dug into the earth. That’s the disease. I got it myself.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12: Mojo
Quotes
“The church got plenty money.”
“You mean the box in the church?”
“No, honey. It’s in God’s hands. In the palm of His hand, actually.”
Chapter 13: The Country Girl
Quotes
He scanned the East River, checking the line of barges moving along. Some of them he knew. A few were run by honest captains who refused hot items. They wouldn’t move a stolen tire if you paid them a thousand bucks. Others were captained by blithering idiots who would kick their scruples out the window for the price of a cup of coffee. The first type were honest to a fault. They just couldn’t help it. The second type were born crooks.
Which one am I? he wondered.
Chapter 16: May God Hold You…
Quotes
Elefante shrugged, pocketed his money, and leaned against the wall of his house. “I used to see her come and go from church,” he said. “She’d say good morning. People don’t do that no more.”
“No they don’t.”
Chapter 25: Do
Quotes
Until then he’d always believed a partner brought worry, fear, and weakness to a man, especially one in his business. But Melissa brought courage and humility and humor to places he’d never known existed. He’d never partnered with a woman before, if you didn’t include his mother, but Melissa’s quiet sincerity was a weapon of a new kind. It drew people in, disarmed them. It made them friends—and that was a weapon too.
“I think I can handle that, Mr. Sportcoat.”
“Come again? Mister?”
“Mr. Sportcoat.”
Sportcoat pawed at his forehead with a wrinkled hand. There was a clarity to the world now that felt new, not uncomfortable, but at times the newness of it felt odd, like the feeling of breaking in a new suit of clothing. The constant headaches and nausea that had been his companions after leaving the swigfest for decades had lifted. He felt like a radio tuning in to a new channel, one that was beginning to fuzz into range, slowly coming in clear, proper, the way his Hettie had always wanted him to be. The new feeling humbled him. It made him feel religious, it made him feel closer to God, and to man, God’s honored child. “I ain’t never been called Mr. Sportcoat by nobody.”
Get the entire Deacon King Kong LitChart as a printable PDF.
Tommy Elefante Quotes in Deacon King Kong
The Deacon King Kong quotes below are all either spoken by Tommy Elefante or refer to Tommy Elefante. 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 5: The Governor
Quotes
Greed, he thought wryly as he dug into the earth. That’s the disease. I got it myself.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12: Mojo
Quotes
“The church got plenty money.”
“You mean the box in the church?”
“No, honey. It’s in God’s hands. In the palm of His hand, actually.”
Chapter 13: The Country Girl
Quotes
He scanned the East River, checking the line of barges moving along. Some of them he knew. A few were run by honest captains who refused hot items. They wouldn’t move a stolen tire if you paid them a thousand bucks. Others were captained by blithering idiots who would kick their scruples out the window for the price of a cup of coffee. The first type were honest to a fault. They just couldn’t help it. The second type were born crooks.
Which one am I? he wondered.
Chapter 16: May God Hold You…
Quotes
Elefante shrugged, pocketed his money, and leaned against the wall of his house. “I used to see her come and go from church,” he said. “She’d say good morning. People don’t do that no more.”
“No they don’t.”
Chapter 25: Do
Quotes
Until then he’d always believed a partner brought worry, fear, and weakness to a man, especially one in his business. But Melissa brought courage and humility and humor to places he’d never known existed. He’d never partnered with a woman before, if you didn’t include his mother, but Melissa’s quiet sincerity was a weapon of a new kind. It drew people in, disarmed them. It made them friends—and that was a weapon too.
“I think I can handle that, Mr. Sportcoat.”
“Come again? Mister?”
“Mr. Sportcoat.”
Sportcoat pawed at his forehead with a wrinkled hand. There was a clarity to the world now that felt new, not uncomfortable, but at times the newness of it felt odd, like the feeling of breaking in a new suit of clothing. The constant headaches and nausea that had been his companions after leaving the swigfest for decades had lifted. He felt like a radio tuning in to a new channel, one that was beginning to fuzz into range, slowly coming in clear, proper, the way his Hettie had always wanted him to be. The new feeling humbled him. It made him feel religious, it made him feel closer to God, and to man, God’s honored child. “I ain’t never been called Mr. Sportcoat by nobody.”
