"Citizen Kane" Analysis

“Citizen Kane,” which is thought to be based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, depicts millionaire Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) transition from humble beginnings to a life of glamour, fortune and, ultimately, despair. When Kane is just a young boy, his parents discover a massive gold mine on their property in rural Colorado and, in turn, become millionaires. Kane’s mother resolves to send him to live on the East Coast, where he can receive a top-notch education. Throughout adolescence and early adulthood, Kane repeatedly demonstrates a disdain for authority figures and institutions, getting kicked out of several prestigious colleges across the East Coast. In an attempt to defy his childhood guardian and banker, Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris), Kane invests a large sum of money in a small newspaper called “The Inquirer”. Through outrageous displays of yellow journalism, Kane manages to bring “The Inquirer” into wide circulation and earn a name for himself. He proceeds to marry the president’s niece, Emily (Ruth Warrick), with whom he has a son. However, as Kane becomes increasingly involved in running “The Inquirer” and organizing his campaign for governor, his relationship with Emily falters. He has an affair with Susan Alexander (Dorothy Comingore), which ultimately leads to his downfall. His main political opponent, Jim Gettys (Ray Collins), catches wind of the affair and threatens to leak the story to the press unless Kane drops out of the election. Kane is too proud to step down, so he allows Gettys to taint his public image and thereafter divorces Emily and marries Susan. Desperate to repair his image, Kane tries to mold Susan into a respected opera singer. Instead, he humiliates Susan, who opts to leave him, accusing him of throwing money at problems instead of fixing them. Thus, Kane is left in solitude with an enormous mansion, a vast collection of statues and very few true friends.

Kane essentially realizes the American dream. He rises from an undesirable socioeconomic background, receives an education and builds a lucrative financial empire. However, Kane’s final word, “Rosebud,” reveals that he was far happier with the simple, quaint lifestyle he had before he acquired wealth. Rosebud is the name of his childhood sled, which he last played with on the day that his mother sent him to live on the East Coast. Kane’s life reveals that, in pursuing the American dream, one often sacrifices sincere, simple happiness in favor of money and success. Kane achieved immense financial success in his lifetime, but died a very lonely, miserable person because he had no genuine friends to share his accomplishments with. Thus, “Citizen Kane” offers the crucial message that, in the search for success, one should be sure to maintain his friendships and relationships at all costs.