Monday, March 7, 2016
Rosebud
Rosebud is perhaps the most famous symbol in movie history. What is the significance of the name "rosebud?" What is the significance of the sled? Is it the key to understanding Kane's life or just one missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that does not explain much at all? A meaningful symbol or a MacGuffin? Are there other symbols in the film that are more meaningful or complement you reading of the sled (such as statues, jigsaw puzzles, Xanadu, etc)?
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ReplyDeleteRosebud, Kane’s first sled, is a very important piece to the jigsaw puzzle that is key to understanding Kane’s life. The sled represents Kane’s life when he had a mother and father who loved him. There were no expectations of him besides being a happy child before he is forced to leave his family. However, once he leaves with Mr. Thatcher, Kane is held to a higher standard. Now, it is expected that Kane must become a great man, perfect in all aspects. It is also what his mother wanted him to become. Kane’s mother wanted to give her son better life style but forgot about the emotional part of growing up. Kane forgets what it is like to love and be loved because he did not grow up in a loving environment. I believe this is because those who cared for him as he grew up viewed him as a responsibility and burden instead of a member of the family. When Kane speaks “Rosebud” twice at his lowest points in life, he is faintly remembering a time in his life when he was at his happiest. Since he does not understand love, Kane tries to buy people’s love and affection. He runs for mayor to feel loved by people and makes promises that he knows he will not keep to buy votes. Kane tries to keep Susan from leaving him by promising her that everything in their lives will be the way she wants it. Kane does not understand that love cannot be bought but is earned.
ReplyDeleteThe name Rosebud itself is significant. A rosebud is not a fully grown and developed rose. Kane in a way is the same way even in old age as he was when he was a child. Though he physically becomes an adult, emotionally Kane is still a child at heart because he was not raised by those who love him. Growing up, Kane becomes used to getting what he wants and not dealing with consequences. He also does not have a parental figure who he respects. Kane hates Mr. Thatcher and wants to be everything that Mr. Thatcher hates. This causes Kane to rebel and not become the man his mother wanted him to be. Rosebud is the most meaningful symbol in Citizen Kane because the memories this sled holds for Kane are the most important. It reminds him of what he used to have and what he yearns for in life; to feel love. It also represents the end of this happy time in his life. His mother sending him away is what puts Kane on the path to become the person who tries to buy love without success.
While the movie focuses on the mystery behind the missing “Rosebud” in Kane’s life, we as the audience learn that the truth behind the Rosebud is the sled he had as a child. This sled represents the childhood that Kane left behind when he was handed off to Thatcher by his mother. Since the moment he left home, the love that he received vanished and the sled, once a symbol of everything he had in life, now remained as a constant reminder of what he lost and the identity he once had as a child. No matter how much money Kane would make, the sled would forever remain as a memory of the joy he had while living simply without the riches the public knows him by. In many ways, the sled is a key to understanding why the grandeur of a rich man’s life never gave Kane the happiness he thought he would gain from the fame and stardom. It may seem filthy and unimportant compared to the golden statues of the castle he called home, yet it was the only meaningful object in the whole house. Money isn’t worth anything if it isn’t used in the right way, and the objects and the riches Kane would buy meant nothing since there was no effort behind it. Just like his wife complained to him in the movie about how none of the gifts he gives her mean anything because he just buys them with his money, nothing in Kane’s “wonderful” life meant anything because there is no significance behind it. Unlike everything else in his life, the sled contained all the memories of his parents and the joyful times he had while playing with the sled in the little cabin he once lived in. Nothing else compares to the simplicity of his life prior to the success he had as the popular rich man the public knew him as.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is the name that is printed on Charles Kane’s sled that we see in the beginning of the movie. In the beginning of the movie Kane is living in a rural area and with a very poverty stricken family and an abusive father. I believe that Rosebud signifies the times where Kane was powerless. When he was younger he was powerless and his sled, Rosebud, played a role in his life. Then when Susan Kane left him he said it. When he died he said it as well. Kane essentially always had control over his life and others whether it was for the good or the bad. The last two time where he says Rosebud he had been in situations where was pushed into a corner and where he had no control. This even applies to the beginning of the movie where he pushed his sled into the banker and yet is still taken away. This represents another time of powerlessness. So with this, I don’t think that the sled is so much a missing puzzle as much as it is a piece of significance to his life. I can be used as an anti-MacGuffin in the way that the symbol, in this case is Rosebud, only is prominent when he’s reached his lowest low instead of a goal per say. This also can represent an anti-MacGuffin because MacGuffins usually have little to no narrative explanation and there’s no contextual explanation as to what Rosebud is. The interpretation of Rosebud is up to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is significant in understanding Kane’s life. The sled represents a simpler time in Kane’s life before he was sent away with Thatcher.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first scenes with Rosebud is when Kane is playing in the snow while his parents and Thatcher are discussing his departure. While his parents talk, the film uses a deep focus shot to show Kane playing in the snow with his sled. The use of deep focus reveals Kane’s ignorance to the proceedings in the house, as he is placed in the background. However, despite the fact that a momentous decision being made for him, Kane is able to simply enjoy playing in the snow with a sleigh. Rosebud goes back to a simpler time for Kane, before he was thrown into all the complexities of adulthood and wealth. Another point of significance is that Rosebud is shown at the end of the movie being burned with the rest of Kane’s mom’s possessions. It is implied in the movie that Kane left Rosebud with his mother when he left with Thatcher, lending credibility to the idea that Rosebud represents Kane’s life prior to leaving with Thatcher.
The first time Kane is seen saying ‘Rosebud’ is when he is rampaging in Susan’s room. As soon as he sees a snow globe, he picks it up and says ‘Rosebud’. In this scene, Kane is expressing his anger when his marriage with Susan doesn’t go the way he wants it. When Kane sees the snow globe, he is reminded of his life before he was wealthy which mitigates his anger. The snow globe reminds Kane that in the big picture, his happiness is not reliant on Susan which is why he becomes calm after seeing the snow globe.
I think Rosebud is the most significant symbol in “Citizen Kane”. Maybe not in all of movie history, but definitely in “Citizen Kane”. The sled is the one thing throughout the entire movie that is irrevocably and undeniably personal to Charles Kane. Since he got it when he was so young, it represents a part of his life that his statues or any other valuables cannot replace or replicate: his youth and innocence as a child. This is lost throughout the movie as Charles becomes a deceiver in the newspaper business, but with every mention of Rosebud, we are brought back to a time when Charles was an innocent 10 year old boy. This gives Rosebud all of its meaning, even though it is not yet apparent to the audience and will never be realized by the other characters in the movie. With this being said, another thing that is important to remember about the sled is that everyone, whether they were close to Charles or not, truly believed that Rosebud was the key to solving the mystery of Kane, even though they had no idea what (or who) it was. The fact that no one found out the truth about Rosebud (what it was or what it meant to Kane) in the end is very symbolic in itself. In his lifetime, Kane was not someone who shared intimate details about himself. Even with his two wives, he always put his job over them and never seemed to have the open relationship that both of them seemed to want. It seems fitting that this would carry over unto his death. The sled is definitely the key to understanding Kane’s life, but no one found the sled.
ReplyDeleteRosebud represents the life that Kane could have had with his parents. Kane's parents choose to give him money and material possessions instead of a family. Before he had to leave his parent, Kane was given a sled called Rosebud, which to him came to represent the family and life that Kane could have had. The sled is so important to Kane because throughout his life he realizes that money does not buy happiness, but rather human companionship. Kane attempts to buy love throughout his life, but he ultimately realizes that money does not buy happiness. Kane repeatedly fails in his attempts to control the people in his life with money, which may explain his obsession with statues because statues can be easily controlled. Kane tries to fill his life with the statues because he is unable to fill his life with actual people. One of Kane's favorite statues to collect is the god Venus who is the god of love and beauty and is often related with vanity. This particular statue is interesting because it reflects how Kane's own life is superficial. One example of Kane trying to by love is when he tries to buy his late wife a singing career. This ultimately fails and Kane ends up dying alone, with only his money and possessions, which Kane learns is no substitute for human companionship. Kane's dying word is "Rosebud" because he is realizing his regrets in life. Kane is longing for his life with his family and he is realizing that he spent his whole life trying to fill a void that simply could not be filled with material possessions.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is regarded as one of the most famous symbols in history because it is seen as the lost piece to the puzzle which would have explained the mystery of Charles Foster Kane’s life. Rosebud is the sled which Kane had as a child, a physical reminder of the family and life which he left behind when he was sent away to be raised properly. Rosebud is both a physical and metaphorical representation of Kane’s early life. The idea of the sled is complemented by the various illustrations of jigsaw puzzles throughout the film. At no point during the film does the audience see a completed puzzle. I believe this is because none of the characters recounting the life story of Kane have any knowledge or place any significance on Kane’s childhood. A person is a composition of their memories and experiences, but because the viewers are never introduced to a first person narrative and never hear Kane’s explanation for why he is the way he is, we are not fully aware of Kane’s motivations in life. The first time the audience really understands the significance behind the symbol is in the final scenes when it is burning with the rest of Kane’s artifacts. The fact that the sled is never discovered can be connected to the notion that the audience never sees a fully completed puzzle. Rosebud is representative of the missing first person narrative in the film Citizen Kane.
ReplyDeleteRosebud represents Kane’s simpler life before he was sent away to be raised in the proper way by Thatcher. Rosebud goes back to his childhood in which he a loving mother that took good care of him as she wanted him to be a successful man. Rosebud reminds Kane of a where he did not have to worry about his image and how others see him. Having been raised in a poor family, during his childhood there was no need to worry about others as no one really cared. As a grown man, Kane is full of money and living an extravagant life but Rosebud serves to show that no matter what he has, his happiest times are those of his childhood. In many occasions we see Kane trying to get people to love him, by running for mayor he expects the people of the city to love him, making promises and saying what the people want to hear to be able to get elected. He also tries to buy Susan’s love by telling her that things will be the way she wants them. Rosebud is the part of the jigsaw puzzle that explains why Kane is the way he is. As a child he had love in his life, but after he left with Thatcher love never came to him again and he turned cold, caring about what other people thought about him but not knowing how to gain their love and affection because he does not open up to people about who he is and where he comes from as it would change his image. Rosebud is his last word as he looks back to his happiest time and regrets how much time he spent trying to buy people’s love, as he dies alone and leaving people in the film wondering what this last piece of the jigsaw puzzle means.
ReplyDeleteRosebud was the main driving factor of the plot of Citizen Kane, and yet, in the end, no character in the film knows the meaning of the aside from Kane himself. In the end, only the audience finds out that Rosebud is, in fact, the name of Kane’s childhood sled, one that was given to him by his birth family before he was taken with Thatcher. It appears to signify Kane’s childhood which he was never able to have, and the last physical tie that he had that connected him with his real family. In reality, Rosebud gives a pretty clear hint into the puzzle in Kane’s life, and decodes a significant portion of it. Throughout the film, Kane accumulates people around him, and he is repeatedly told that he is just trying to get people to love him. It is clear that Kane is simply desperate for companionship that he never had before, especially the companionship that he was denied as a child in the form of a family. Towards the end of his life, Kane is forced to surround himself with artificial companionship, as no one with a choice to stay or go has stayed by his side. Kane surrounded himself with butlers, maids, and countless statues and pieces of artwork that, to him, provided the companionship that he so needed. This is further demonstrated when Kane mentions the word Rosebud, after he is abandoned by Susan Alexander, so that he can remind himself that he still has this link to his past and reassure himself that he is not alone. In the end, Kane’s dying breath was used to affirm to himself that he was not dying alone, as the wishes of his parents were carried with him into wealth.
ReplyDeleteI think the main reporter says it best when he is pondering his failure to find the meaning of Rosebud: “Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn't get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn't have explained anything... I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece.” I believe that the reporter strongly expresses the fact that one word cannot explain a man’s life. Without context from Kane’s life, background from the early flashback, and the ending Rosebud would be no more than just an object that he left behind in his childhood. To the audience, Rosebud is simply one of the many deeply symbolic ways to understand Kane’s life. I wouldn’t call Rosebud a MacGuffin because of its deeper symbolic meaning in Kane losing his un-blossomed childhood. The multitude of statues, the Xanadu estate, and the acquisition of the Daily Inquirer are three examples that hold equal meaning to Kane’s inability to live out the joy that he would’ve gotten in his childhood. Additionally, I feel that the Daily Inquirer holds more meaning in the movie because the newspaper permits Kane to have fun while also turning the newspaper into a highly successful company. In the Daily Inquirer, the movie depicts both the successful economic side of Kane and the Kane that simply desires to have fun. The effectiveness in the movie’s final scene of comparing the burning of the trashed Rosebud in the flames to how Citizen Kane’s childhood was destroyed allows the viewer to hold up this object as the most important symbol in the movie. However, the viewer needs to be wary of associating Kane’s life in one word that he never even became.
ReplyDeleteWhile Rosebud is an important symbol, Xanadu is far more crucial to understanding the story and Kane as an individual. The similarities between the life of Kane and that of Kublai Khan are vast and significant. Both inherited enormous empires through no work of their own, yet also experienced difficult childhoods. They expanded their wealth, but towards the end of their lives experienced numerous failures, and lost those they most loved. Kublai Khan`s favorite wife died, as did his heir. Kane was abandoned by both of his wives, the first of whom died in a car crash along with Kane`s only child. At the end, these men had no one they loved to sit beside their deathbeds. By examining the story of Kublai Khan, in real life and in the poem by Coleridge, one can predict the path that Kane`s life will take: immense success followed by failure and loneliness. However, the allusion also can be used to interpret other aspects of the movie. The legend goes that Coleridge wrote Kubla Khan after waking up from an opium inundated dream. He had supposedly seen hundreds of lines of poetry in his head during this dream, and began to copy them down onto paper as soon as he awoke. However, he was distracted by an interloper and only copied down the first few stanzas before losing his vision. Similarly, Charles Foster Kane is living in a vision. His exploits are so grand and confusing it pushes every limit of believable cinema. The jigsaw method of story telling demonstrates that he is more legend than man, even while living, and that his existence cannot really be captured by the bounds of realism. This lifestyle is what led to his inability to find happiness. Furthermore, I believe that Kane struggled with this notion throughout the duration of the movie. At the beginning, he appears to live his life purely for his own purposes. He gets kicked out of school, does whatever is pleasurable, rebels against his guardian, and makes very poor financial decisions. While it could be argued that this was all in his grand plan to make his mark on the world, I think that he behaves too erratically for this to be true. The whole movie is a story of Kane’s struggle to become either who he wants to be, or whom he wants to be remembered as. His marriage to Emily shows the temporary dominance of the latter, which is soon overturned when he has an affair with Susan. Unfortunately, he backtracks and attempts to shape Susan into the wife of his own fictionalized self, effectively destroying her and his last chance at happiness. Just like Kublai Khan the leader, and the figure in Coleridge’s poem, Kane is split into two distinct people who fight, until neither of them wins. He has not lived his life for himself, nor is he remembered in the manner that he had hoped. He has become fiction, but has lost control over his own story, just like the great Khan, and countless historical figures.
ReplyDeleteWhile Rosebud is an important symbol, Xanadu is far more crucial to understanding the story and Kane as an individual. The similarities between the life of Kane and that of Kublai Khan are vast and significant. Both inherited enormous empires through no work of their own, yet also experienced difficult childhoods. They expanded their wealth, but towards the end of their lives experienced numerous failures, and lost those they most loved. Kublai Khan`s favorite wife died, as did his heir. Kane was abandoned by both of his wives, the first of whom died in a car crash along with Kane`s only child. At the end, these men had no one they loved to sit beside their deathbeds. By examining the story of Kublai Khan, in real life and in the poem by Coleridge, one can predict the path that Kane`s life will take: immense success followed by failure and loneliness. However, the allusion also can be used to interpret other aspects of the movie. The legend goes that Coleridge wrote Kubla Khan after waking up from an opium inundated dream. He had supposedly seen hundreds of lines of poetry in his head during this dream, and began to copy them down onto paper as soon as he awoke. However, he was distracted by an interloper and only copied down the first few stanzas before losing his vision. Similarly, Charles Foster Kane is living in a vision. His exploits are so grand and confusing it pushes every limit of believable cinema. The jigsaw method of story telling demonstrates that he is more legend than man, even while living, and that his existence cannot really be captured by the bounds of realism. This lifestyle is what led to his inability to find happiness. Furthermore, I believe that Kane struggled with this notion throughout the duration of the movie. At the beginning, he appears to live his life purely for his own purposes. He gets kicked out of school, does whatever is pleasurable, rebels against his guardian, and makes very poor financial decisions. While it could be argued that this was all in his grand plan to make his mark on the world, I think that he behaves too erratically for this to be true. The whole movie is a story of Kane’s struggle to become either who he wants to be, or whom he wants to be remembered as. His marriage to Emily shows the temporary dominance of the latter, which is soon overturned when he has an affair with Susan. Unfortunately, he backtracks and attempts to shape Susan into the wife of his own fictionalized self, effectively destroying her and his last chance at happiness. Just like Kublai Khan the leader, and the figure in Coleridge’s poem, Kane is split into two distinct people who fight, until neither of them wins. He has not lived his life for himself, nor is he remembered in the manner that he had hoped. He has become fiction, but has lost control over his own story, just like the great Khan, and countless historical figures.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is without a doubt the most significant piece to the movie Citizen Kane. It acts a symbol to the life of Charles Foster Kane. The beginning of the movie described Charles Foster Kane as a mystery man. He acted very strange around people and it all ties back to the idea of Rosebud. One of the first scenes was a shot of Charles playing outside in the snow with a sled. Then his parents sold him away to a man named Mr. Leland with the hopes of Charles being more successful in a big city. However, this decisions rendered him without a true childhood with his real parents. His sled was the only symbol of his childhood and his only memory. His sled was called Rosebud, which is why the name is so important to the film, because there are constant flashbacks and references to Charles’s childhood. The whole movie is a story of the Charles Kane’s life, which is explained through the missing piece of his life, his childhood. Charles is shows as a very lonely man, even when he was very successful with his newspaper, he still felt lonely. With that, there are many aspects that help to show Kane’s loss of life. An example would be his collection of statues. With all the money he has, he spends on it a huge house full of statues. This is interesting because the statues are human figures, and they differ from actual humans because they have no feelings or opinions; meaning Charles Kane can share emotions with human figures and not worry about being judged or hated. This insecurity goes back to the idea of Rosebud. If Charles could have grown up normally, his life wouldn’t be so challenging for him.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie Citizen Kane, Rosebud is the most important symbol in the movie and has a multitude of different meanings that are important to the story line and the understanding of the character Charles Foster Kane. Rosebud is Kane’s sled, which he has owned ever since he was a little kid. At the beginning of the movie, when Kane is a young child, he is playing in the snow outside with his sled, Rosebud, while his mother is inside talking about how she is going to give him away to a rich man named Thatcher, against his father’s wishes. From this scene, one can tell that Kane’s father was abusive and this is why his mother wanted to give him away; for a better life. Kane protests leaving his childhood home, but he is forced into a life of money. It is obvious that even though Kane has a fortune, he does not necessarily have a happy life, which brings another very important symbol in the movie: statues. Kane has tons and tons of statues in his large home, but why? Kane has many different wives in his life, and they all complain about how the only things that they receive from him are objects he buys with his money, not love. Kane buys statues like he buys people, these are synonymous to how he “bought” his wives for companionship. He buys these statues because he is lonely and wants happiness, which he never truly obtains. When Kane dies, his last word is “Rosebud”, which is symbolic of his childhood that he had left behind when he was sold over to Thatcher; a life of money, desolation, and loneliness. “Rosebud” being his last word is significant because it represents his yearning for the childhood life he left behind and how he always wanted to go back to it. The word “Rosebud” also has a literal meaning. One could say that Kane was always a “Rosebud” and that he never blossomed. He always lived in an artificial world that was never meant for him and was always living with a desire to create a perfect world and go back to a life that could have existed if things had turned out differently, but never did.
ReplyDeleteThe term “Rosebud” serves as a vital theme in the movie, in that the characters spend the entire movie attempting to decipher it. The characters come up unsuccessful and fail to solve this mystery; but after some thought the viewer does solve it. Rosebud’s meaning is finally revealed at the end of the movie, as it is written on Kane’s childhood sled. Kane is last seen playing with this sled when he was still living with his biological parents, he was innocently playing outside with his sled having fun in the snow, and his parents had decided for him that he’d live with a rich businessman, Thatcher. However, he doesn’t bring the sled with him. The sled, and in turn “rosebud”, ultimately represents Kane’s innocence, or lack thereof. In other words, since he lost his sled, he lost his innocence. It represents his innocence because Kane playing with his sled is the last time that he is shown genuinely having fun, even as a kid. This ultimately means that Kane was never given a childhood because he was forced to leave his home at a young age. This serves as such an imperative theme in the film because the underlying story of this film is Kane attempting to find happiness, and he winds up being unsuccessful, until he is killed.
ReplyDelete‘Rosebud’ is necessary to drive the plot of Citizen Kane but does not offer much insight into Kane’s life that is not already known. Characters hint that ‘rosebud’ is not significant throughout the film. The journalist at the movie’s conclusion says that no one word could sum up Kane’s life so succinctly. At another point, a different reporter guesses that ‘rosebud’ is probably something very simple. Both journalists seem to be correct in that it is undeniably a very simple thing – a sled from Kane’s childhood, and also does not summarize Kane’s life – the sled only represents a part of his life. If Kane’s life is a jigsaw puzzle, rosebud is just another piece of it, which can never be completed because no biography can document the entire human experience. Rosebud certainly has some meaning. We see him playing outside with the sled in the beginning – the only point in the movie he is with his genetic family. Perhaps Kane is revisiting his childhood in his final moments. But this cannot be the all-encompassing symbol of Kane’s life because he affected so many people that his story is not complete without all of them. Other symbols in this film such as Xanadu are equally important because each describes a period in Kane’s life or one of his characteristics. But it almost seems disappointing to realize at the end of the movie they have been pursuing a sled this entire time. The meaning of the sled is primarily to give some plot meaning to the reporters’ pursuit into Kane’s life.
ReplyDeleteThe Rosebud, or better known as Charles Kane's first sled, has a significant meaning in the film Citizen Kane. Though the sled only represented a fun time to Kane as a child, later on it would represent something much more to the audiences. The sled started to represent Kane's manhood and morales. This is because Kane was essentially never had a childhood so he was forced to grow up without knowing the joys of being a kid. The sled was really his only source of enjoyment as a kid. And the symbolism of him playing with it when he was a kid and it being burned when he died. And when the sled was burned it was basically exactly the same way which represents that Kane didn't really grow as a person throughout his life. It's an interesting representation because the sled is supposed to symbolize how Charles Kane has grown as a person which means that he hasn't grown at all and was basically at the same level he was as a kid.
ReplyDeleteRosebud, Kanes first sled, is a very vital piece to understanding Kanes life. In the early times of his life Charles was not always loved and cared for, but to him, his sled made him happy no matter what. Kane saw his sled as a piece of protection. this is evident in the scene where Kane is first being told her will be moving away. Throughout the whole conversation Kane is gripping his sled with all his might, because it is the one thing that makes him happy. The true meaning of the word rosebud is, a blossoming rose that has not yet grown fully. In a sense this is Charles Kane. Throughout Kanes life he has all the money and all the friends that he believes brings them happiness, but the one thing Kane does not have is love. Kane believed that love could be bought, and he did not understand that love couldn't be bought. Time after time Kane made promises Susan that their relationship will change, but he knows it will not. Without love Kane has never fully blossomed, and this is why his sled Rosebud is such a vital piece to understanding the character of Charles Kane. In the end of the movie there is a close up shot of Kanes sled burning in a fire. This is very significant, because this shows a sign of giving up for Kane. Rosebud was the thing that made Kane the happiest, and he no longer wanted it. This is a sign that Kane is finally realizing money cannot buy everything, and that he is ready to start over, and become a better man.
ReplyDeleteRosebud, Kanes first sled, is a very vital piece to understanding Kanes life. In the early times of his life Charles was not always loved and cared for, but to him, his sled made him happy no matter what. Kane saw his sled as a piece of protection. this is evident in the scene where Kane is first being told her will be moving away. Throughout the whole conversation Kane is gripping his sled with all his might, because it is the one thing that makes him happy. The true meaning of the word rosebud is, a blossoming rose that has not yet grown fully. In a sense this is Charles Kane. Throughout Kanes life he has all the money and all the friends that he believes brings them happiness, but the one thing Kane does not have is love. Kane believed that love could be bought, and he did not understand that love couldn't be bought. Time after time Kane made promises Susan that their relationship will change, but he knows it will not. Without love Kane has never fully blossomed, and this is why his sled Rosebud is such a vital piece to understanding the character of Charles Kane. In the end of the movie there is a close up shot of Kanes sled burning in a fire. This is very significant, because this shows a sign of giving up for Kane. Rosebud was the thing that made Kane the happiest, and he no longer wanted it. This is a sign that Kane is finally realizing money cannot buy everything, and that he is ready to start over, and become a better man.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is an absolutely essential symbol in Citizen Kane. A word filled with mystery, drama, and desire, the meaning of Rosebud is up to viewer interpretation. After viewing the film twice, I came to the conclusion that Rosebud (and more importantly the sleigh that it’s printed on) represents Kane’s childhood, a simpler time in his life when he was full of hope and joy. The name rosebud itself carries weight to it as the term “bud” references a flower that is yet to bloom. Kane as a child is the bud, full of hope and promise, but he was unfortunately never able to truly bloom into a rose, which is why the viewer sees the sled burning in the furnace. One may ask, why a sled? Similar to a bud, the sled represents Kane’s playfulness and innocence as a child before being taken away by and having his childhood ripped from his arms. The immense contrast between Kane as a boy and the scene where Susan leaves him further proves this theory, as Kane was once a happy child, but after all these years ended up being an unhappy, abusive man. The final scene of the film where the viewer can see the sled burning up in the furnace is also representative of Kane’s life because what had started off as a nice childhood, ended up in ashes in the form of a sour old man who lost everything.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is a fascinating choice of last words for Charles Foster Kane. It is the name of the sled his mother gave him in his childhood, and despite the innumerable possessions he gained later in life, this one was the most important to him. Kane had infinite resources and did whatever he wanted, yet he never seems truly happy except when he is a young child playing outside. On his deathbed, saying the word “rosebud” might suggest that he is longing for the simplicity of his life before he left his family. This message could be Orson Welles’ way of telling the audience that love and family are more important to your happiness than money or things. Kane clearly cares more about his childhood than his adult life, and he can never be satisfied except when he feels like the people love him. This might be due to the fact that his parents gave him up at a young age, and he didn’t get to experience a loving family for most of his life. The family experience is the only thing that Kane lacked during his life, and he desperately wanted the only thing he couldn’t have. However, he never really opened up about this aspect of his life, as evidenced by the fact that no one except the audience knew about the true meaning of rosebud or had even heard of it until his death. Rosebud completes the puzzle of Kane’s life because it ties together many of his actions and gives the background for his insatiable desire to be loved.
ReplyDeleteI believe rosebud is in fact a symbol for Charlie Kane and perhaps the key to understanding his whole life. When Charlie Kane was a child and lived in Colorado in poverty, his sled was called rosebud and right before he dies, his last word is “rosebud.” The reason these last words are the key to his life are because he loved his sled and it was his favorite thing to do before he was taken to New York and given money. I believe that the key to Charlie Kane’s life was to try and find happiness. When he was living in Colorado, he had this happiness. Throughout his elder life he was searching for ways to be happy again, assuming that he could use his money to help him. He tried to find it through his newspaper The Inquirer, through collecting statues, and through creating the giant mansion Xanadu as a hotel and home. He also tried to find happiness through love but was also unsuccessful because he put his work and financial issues in front of his wives and they all ended in divorce. When Kane grew old and had lived a long successful yet unhappy life, I believe he realized that all of his success and fame meant nothing to him and his money is what ruined his life. All he ever wanted was to live with his parents in Colorado and be happy playing with his sled rosebud. Another funny way this symbol works with rosebud is that a rosebud is actually a baby rose. As Charlie Kane was dying he said rosebud as if saying he wishes he was still the young rose that lived in poverty instead of the older flower that he had become.
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