Dreams And Moral Values In Citizen Kane By Orson Kane

In a particularly odd method of presenting a story, the movie Citizen Kane takes place mostly within the past, not in the sense of being placed before our current time, but rather through the use of flashbacks. Viewers follow a young reporter as he as he interviews people about a recently deceased Mr. Kane, who led a long life as a business tycoon and a politician in the United States. . Orson Wells, the writer of this 1940’s classic, depicts Kane as what many would consider the perfect example of who it means to be an American. He is an intelligent, well raised man, who both pursues and gains greatness in all aspects of life. Upon his death bed Kane whispers the words “Rosebud” while holding a glass snow globe, a phrase that is quickly snapped

Yet something that occurs throughout the story is that events that change who Charles is and his individual dreams and morals are often portrayed with happy music. An example of this is the scene in which the inquirer holds a party for Kane before he leaves for the vacation in France that will lead to his eventual first marriage. This scene consists of several musical numbers and even a chores line of girls that sing about how great Kane has become since he abandoned his moral values to create a better, through way of buying off a competitor’s newspaper writers. Kane is sung to that he is wonderful and that his actions are justified by their result5. Charles, like many people accepts that the social idea of the American dream is their dream, despite the fact that it may not be. Kane is pushed by the people around him to fulfill this great ideal of success that does not belong to him, but becomes blinded by the peer pressure around him. Much of the music reflects this, lending to the fact that both Kane and many of the people who knew him believed that what Kane did and how he changed was a good thing. Unfortunately, the peace that Kane experiences with his change, such as the happiness he felt after his wedding is painfully short term. Once he has begun to change those shifts in personality escalate, encouraged further by the people around him, turning into a snowball effect that leads him further and further away from the man he truly wanted to be. As people expect more from Kane he attempts to please them by being a successful businessmen the a politician, going lengths that will eventually lead to him, upon his deathbed realizing that the life he lived was not the one he