While it is not something I picked up on as we saw Kane's death scene in the beginning of the film, once someone pointed out that the snow globe was of Kane's old house in the winter, and as he said his final word (rosebud), I realized that the word was foreshadowed from the scene at his old house when he was a child. I don't think you could see the writing on the sled when young Kane had it/got it, which was probably done on purpose. Right before he died in the chair, he probably was thinking about his mother and how he never even saw her since he was a child (as far as we know), since they were so close and he was just taken away by a strange man at such a young age. If I were him, I would have been thinking about what life he would have had if he stayed in that house in the middle of nowhere with his mother. In class, we were asked a question about Kane's life and how successful he became, and if he was satisfied with the life he was leading. I believe that before he was corrupted by wealth and fame, he had a wonderful life filled with happiness and good fortune. People really loved him, even though that probably did not fill the emptiness in his heart that his mother's love once filled. I am sure he was very grateful to be so well educated and taught how to live well by Thatcher, who was his mentor and guardian, and kind of like the father he never actually had. As much as he missed his mother, Kane must have known that he would not have had nearly as good of a life if he stayed with her and his abusive father. While young Kane seemed happy during the scene at "Mrs. Kane's Boarding House," there was a lot of frustration and confusion within him about the war, which he turned into outdoor games that he played alone. As an only child, it seems that he has felt alone for all of his life. When he met Susan Alexander, she talked about how lonely she was and he said, "I know too many people. I guess we're both lonely." The loneliness that he has felt for all of his life brought him back to when he was with his mother and seemed happier because he knew he was loved. He knew that no one else ever loved him for the rest of his life, which he realized as he knew he was about to die. The sled and that house were the only remnants of his mother and the childhood that he wanted, which is why the Rosebud sled entered his thoughts just as he left this world.
My question is: Did he know of the snow globe before finding it in Susan's room as he almost destroyed it?
I agree with every point you made. You can see Kane tries to fill the his void of loneliness with success, spending, and marriage yet all his attempts end up failing. At the end of his life his least lonely moment might have been when he was young, and sledding outside which is why he said "rosebud" at the end of his life.
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ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point with this blog. I think that indeed the snow globe and the reference to his childhood sled were two items that he felt best represented the only time in his life when he was truly happy. I also like the connection that you made between Kane and his mother - I didn't even think about the significance of his family life as a child and how much changed within him once he was taken away from his mother. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand and agree with what your saying about the snow globe and its relation to his childhood. I think the snow globe was brought with Susan and stayed in her room as a symbol of childhood. Throughout their entire relationship Kane is physically always the taller and more powerful one while Susan is small, weak and just plays around with everything he has. For example, the scene when Susan was building the puzzle and Kane was just sophisticatedly sitting on his big chair. Therefore, Susan has the touch and connection to Kane's childhood which he misses; almost subconsciously.
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