Citizen Kane

The opening scene of Citizen Kane hints at the theme of his life, very ominous and dark. Charles Kane dies alone as he drops a snowglobe that shatters following  his final word: “Rosebud.” I believe the word “rosebud” and the snowglobe symbolize the life he once had that was taken from him as a child, one he could never get back. This fosters my sympathy for him. He was robbed of a period of his life that was crucial for a child. The movie skips over the majority of his childhood where a child/teenager should be learning and growing, as well as enjoying the simplicity of life. I believe that by not showing parts of his life throughout those years, the movie hints at the absence of love. He died surrounded by his wealth, success and his employees in his palace, but he ultimately, he died alone. Everyone knew who Charles Kane was but no one truly understood him. He was everything but nothing all at once, an enigma. When Mrs. Kane hands Charles over to Mr. Thatcher, she tells Charles that he won’t be lonely. This is ironic because for the rest of his life he is never able to form a genuine relationship with anyone. He was surrounded by plenty of people but all at the same time he was alone. All Charles wanted was love but he did not know how to give it. His self importance and arrogance is the reason why he had no one because he put himself before anyone else. This sense of pride was his fatal flaw. I feel sympathy because I do believe he means well but he falls into traps of his own creations. These traps are all situations that Charles put himself in, all the things he did to himself. For example, he instigated his affair, he forced Susan into opera singing and created her career, not because she wanted to,  but because he wanted his wife to be something he could be proud of. He didn’t do it because of the love he had for Susan, he did it for his own gratification. He wasn’t able to give love to anyone because he loved himself too much, even though he tries. For that reason, I feel sympathy for him. However, I also struggle to feel sympathy for him because he is incapable of loving another person. There were a number of factors beyond his control that contributed to the way he ended up and who he was and how he handled situations. His actions made him a person that it is difficult to feel sympathy for. His public persona was very likeable and he knew how to be a people person but in his personal life, no one knew who he was and no one could truly understand him, as stated in the final scene by the reporter. Therefore, he tried buying his way to love. This occurs as a result of him thinking he’s not worthy of receiving love and keeping everyone at a distance. He gave everything but love, not realizing that it would not equal out. He was never given love, so he did not know how to reciprocate it. He was striped of the love and care that he should’ve had growing up as a child. Instead, he was raised by a stranger. He did not live a normal childhood, leading him to keep a distance between himself and other people. He had all of these people in his life and opportunities to share the significance of “Rosebud” with them, but the significance of “Rosebud” died with him. Everyone knew who he was and what he stood for and represented, but who was he?