The Complex Nature Of Happiness In Orson Welles's Citizen Kane

In your view, how does Welles’ portrayal of the complex nature of happiness contribute to the enduring value of Citizen Kane?

Orson Welles’ portrayal of happiness in ‘Citizen Kane’ shows the enduring value of the film as happiness is an emotion that is not only sought after by Mr Kane but also by all of humanity. Citizen Kane reflects the life of Mr Kane who tries pave over the void that has been created by losing the emotion of happiness. This is portrayed through his yearning to relieve his childhood and be the child who played in the snow once again, the relationships that he tries to create especially with his wives try to gain marital happiness and his materialistic lifestyle which he tries to see whether money can actually bring happiness. The complex nature of happiness is shown to heavily contribute to the enduring value of the film as happiness is shown to be a constant theme which is universal. The film also being a thinly veiled parody of the life of William Randolph Hearst the newspaper magnate contributes to the enduring value because of the realistic style of the film.

Happiness is shown to be achieved during childhood, so Kane’s yearning for his childhood contributes to the enduring value as all humans go through the human condition of aging. Orson Welles’ use of the motif of the snow globe appears several times throughout the film to symbolise Kane’s childhood that was cut short by Thatcher taking him away to his luxury mansion. The snow globe is

Through these, the portrayal of the complex nature of happiness is shown to contribute to the enduring value of the film through the realistic style of the film and by showing different perspectives on the same person showing the audience that different people view actions in different