There Will Be Blood And Citizen Kane Analysis

An undeniably common theme shared between There Will Be Blood and Citizen Kane is the pursuit of the American Dream. Both Daniel Plainview and Charles Kane share an immense strive for ambition, achieving their success, and failures, in much different ways, with ultimately the same outcome, isolation due to negligence. The drive both protagonists share leads to their wealth, as well as their many losses, personal, physical, emotional, and psychological. The American Dream consists of the achievement of wealth, status, success, and love, which both Plainview and Kane struggle to achieve throughout the two films. The films illustrate how pursing this American Dream eventually leads to downfall, corruption and complete isolation. Ironically, the

I want to earn enough money so I can get away from everyone”. His persistent obsession with money leads to his eventual destruction. He becomes corrupted by power and greed and eventually drives himself to solitary madness. The deception of Henry, a conman posing as Plainview’s brother, plays a major role in molding his character towards the end of the film. He is overwhelmed with resentment and anger and it is the vulnerability he showed towards Henry that drives him into a manic rage and leaves him guilty, angry, and alone at the conclusion of the

In one scene of the film, Susan Alexander tells Kane, “I don’t know many people” and his response, “I know too many people. I guess we’re both lonely” undoubtedly depicts his detachment to others. The film repeatedly portrays Kane as an outsider in various situations of his home, work, and social life. Though Kane is abandoned by numerous people throughout the film, his mother and wife Susan’s abandonment affects him gravely. He becomes devastated by the loss of Susan and recollections of his simple and calm childhood make him seek further solitude. Towards the end of the film, his wealth is insignificant and he is attached only to the snow globe he found in Susan’s bedroom upon her leaving, which symbolizes his lost youthful innocence, and Rosebud, the name written on his childhood sled. Kane loses his business, friends, love, and much more due to his selfishness and greed. Though Kane becomes the wealthiest man in the world and most influential man in New York City, he dies a lonely and depressed man, with no one to hear his last words, “Rosebud”, except his butler, who shrugs it off as nonsense. The last scene, the burning of Kane’s Rosebud sled, symbolizes a complete loss in happiness which resulted in Kane’s isolated