Saturday, March 8, 2014
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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The sled is very significant to Kane because the sled is one of the few things that reminds Kane of the very happy times in his life. Kane’s childhood is really the only time Kane was truly content, and the sled symbolizes this period of time. When Kane was a child, he loved the wooden sled. The sled gave Kane comfort, enjoyment, security, and a sense of peace and tranquility as it reminded him of when he was together with his mother and house. Kane spent his entire life trying to regain this true happiness that is seen only during his childhood, but never is able to fulfill this desire. Kane never does find the security his mother gave him, the contentment and innocence he had when he was a child, and the real enjoyment in life he had when he was little ever throughout his lifetime. The sled adds an extra layer of meaning to the story, as Kane’s thoughts ultimately revolve around what his life used to be like rather than what it is currently like. Throughout the film, this concept does not seem to be the case, but when it is revealed that the sled is “Rosebud,” it shows that Kane never really did find anything that made him as happy as the sled did. He cannot move on, and does not seem to have any desire of moving past the one time he is ever shown as truly satisfied with his life. Neither of his wives, his immense fortune, Xanadu, or his countless number of statues all could not create the real sense of fulfillment as the sled gave him, ultimately reinforcing the fact that power and money cannot buy happiness.
ReplyDeleteThe significance of “rosebud” in Citizen Kane is that Kane’s rosebud sled was the last toy Kane played with when he lived with his parents. The sled is Kane’s connection to his parents and his simple life. His sled was a toy that he did not need a lot of money to obtain or enjoy and as he got older almost all of his material possessions were frivolous things that he bought because he could. Knowing that “rosebud” was the word painted on Kane’s sled is very significant in understanding his life because it is his connection to his origins. Kane did not want to go with Mr. Thatcher, even though Thatcher had a lot of money and could provide Kane with a life his parents could not, so he hit Thatcher with the sled in protest. For the rest of Kane’s life he protested his life in a quiet way. He caused trouble in school, spent his money on art that he hardly looked at and did not treat his wives with respect. Kane did not want the rich life so he spent his whole life fighting against it. “Rosebud” was his last word, because it is the only meaningful thing he can hold on to from his childhood. I believe the snow globe is also important because it is the only other material good he holds on to. The snow could possibly be a reminder of the last time he was at his home before Mr. Thatcher took him. The snow globe also caught his attention as his second wife left him. It was a reminder of her and it shows how far he came from being a kindhearted child from the country to a huge, inconsiderate newspaper tycoon.
ReplyDeleteA rosebud is defined as “an unopened flower of a rose”. This is perfect symbolism for Charles Kane as a child, as when he was living at home with his mother he was still an “unopened flower” with all his innocence and youth still intact. The sled has a similar significance, as it represents his childhood and innocence before he was corrupted by his move away from home and thrown into adulthood. Kane hits Thatcher with the sled as he comes to take him away from hope, which symbolizes the sled standing between Kane’s old life and new life and how he is resistant to have to adapt at such a young age. While I don’t believe that the meaning to Kane’s last words, “Rosebud”, is key to understanding his life, it is definitely a representation with the lack of happiness in his life. The life Kane lived at home as a child, with comfort and a lack of responsibility, was one he always desired yet was never able to achieve because of the obligations thrust upon him from a young age. While the sled doesn’t really explain why he never was at peace with his new life, it displays what he wished he had instead. That is why I believe that it is such a meaningful symbol, because it is emblematic of what he left behind and provides a background for how he became such a cold—hearted, dismissive man. There are many other symbols that complement the meaning of his desire for his childhood, for example his obsession with collecting statues. These statues are symbolic of Kane’s preference to treat other humans as objects. As Susan explained best, Kane wanted everyone to love him yet he never loved anybody. Rather, Kane manipulated others and this all stems from being pulled out of his childhood so soon.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is the most significant symbol of the movie “Citizen Kane”. It does not give the whole story, but just a piece of it. Rosebud, his sled, is the only item we see him have as a child before Mr. Thatcher took him away to live in the city. That sled is the last piece of his childhood that was ripped away from him by Thatcher. He missed out having fun with kids his own age and because of that he swore to do everything that Thatcher did not like. There are other meaningful symbols throughout the movie like the jigsaw puzzle, but Rosebud means the most to Kane’s story. Kane ended up being stubborn like a child, wants more and more pieces of art to collect like a kid wants more toys, and thinks he is invincible. He grows up just to act like a kid because he was never able to before. If he grew up with his mother and father, he would never have acted like this because he would have grown up being a regular child. His last thoughts was either about the last memory he had being a regular kid, or it was about hitting Mr. Thatcher with his sled.
ReplyDeleteThe wooden sled, shown early on in the film Citizen Kane, is the Rosebud for which Kane devotes his last words. When Charles Foster Kane is thrashing around the room of his second wife, the snow globe catches his eye, mainly because it reminds him of this sled. Kane’s Rosebud, as seen earlier in the film, represents one of the last times that Kane was truly happy and innocent. The scene that depicts his childhood naivety of his parents bargain depicted earlier in the film highlights Rosebud as a central characteristic of his innocence and joy. Once the Rosebud is taken away from him, and he is separated from the life he knows, his innocence is lost by the forced removal. With his innocence lost, he also loses the joy of being a child under the eye of his parents. Simply put, Rosebud represents a happier time before Charles was corrupted by money, before his loss of innocence to the world of finance. Rosebud holds the key to Kane’s corrupt nature and money driven ambitions because it demonstrates why he ended up in the Newspaper business. From an early age, Charles was bred to be a businessman, and was not given any sense of childhood bliss. He was brought into the real world too quickly. Rosebud represents this better life that he had before his parents handed him over to this corrupt world, demonstrating a betrayal by his parents. This explains why he is constantly on a mission to accumulate wealth, in order to go back to his youth, a feat he believes can be accomplished with money. Xanadu is a prime example. Kane attempts to create a world where he is free from the corruption that plagued his post-betrayal youth, and can live what he believes to be the good life.
ReplyDeleteRosebud, Kane's beloved childhood sled, is a relic of a far more innocent time in the man’s life. It’s a reminder to both the audience and the protagonist that before the politics and affairs, before the manipulation and egocentricity, Kane, like everyone else on this Earth, was once an untainted child with no concerns but his own whimsy. Even the name, Rosebud, complements the nascent maturity of the young Charles frolicking in the snow outside his cottage. Yet as Kane is unceremoniously plucked from his games and whisked off into the harsh world of business, a different sled, aptly called The Crusader, replaces Rosebud, thus marking the most pivotal transition in his life. This is the moment that Kane forsakes innocence for a cruel life of money, deceit and scandal. In other words, Kane’s childhood ends right then and there in that circle of businessmen. Though the years that follow are certainly not without their glories (his two weddings, his acquisition of the men from “The Chronicle”, etc.), ultimately the joys Kane reaps from his fame and wealth are no greater than those provided in his youth by Rosebud, and naturally are accompanied by far more anguishes. Kane’s mansion fills with statues and ornaments and other exotic pieces of art, and yet nothing seems to grant him the same sense of fulfillment as that little wooden sled did all those years ago. At the end of the film, as the disgraced magnate spares his snow globe from destruction and gazes thoughtfully at the little house within, he longs for a return to those simpler days when his happiness could be quenched merely by the fancies of his childhood. Unfortunately, it is far too late, and like ashes into the sky the lost days of Rosebud have forever faded away.
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ReplyDeleteRosebud is mentioned multiple times through out the movie, leaving the meaning of rosebud a complete mystery.Later on in the film, we learn that rosebud stands for a simple object, Kane's childhood sled. Though there is a much deeper meaning behind his sled and its name. The sled represents Kane's childhood, not the time he lived with his parents but the time that he missed with his parents. The sled is representing the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle of his childhood without his parents. Although there are other symbols in the film, such as his statues, but rosebud has the deepest meaning to Kane, representing a missing piece of his life. Kane buys hundreds of statues throughout the film, replacing his need of love.
ReplyDeleteCritics of the film, "Citizen Kane", debate the triviality of Kane's sled, Rosebud. Although Kane's sled is indeed just a wooden sled with the words, "Rosebud" and a picture of a rosebud on it, Kane's sled is a very integral piece of the 'jigsaw puzzle' needed to understand the scope of Kane's life.
ReplyDeleteOne must note that the only scene where Kane is having fun and experiencing contentment is when he is outdoors, playing with "Rosebud", his sled. Orson Welles, the director of film, even has Kane hit Thatcher, who is trying to take Kane away, with his sled, emphasizing that the sled was a source of comfort and protection for Kane. One should also observe that the last thing Kane touched before being taken away by Thatcher was "Rosebud"; afterwards, Thatcher gives Kane another sled called the "Crusader," which is an appropriate name considering the fact that after this point in time Kane will go on endless journeys to expand his economic and political influence. In other words, "Rosebud" is one of the only objects in the film that can be associated with Kane's childhood, happiness and innocence.
The name, "Rosebud", also alludes to a premature rose that is about to bloom into a more beautiful, adult form. Unfortunately, this metaphor does not apply to Kane; instead, Kane is found as a lonely man living in a stone-cold fortress with cold, gray statues for companions by the end of the film. Kane's obsession with money, power, for people to like him, and to dominate industrial and political fields contribute to his demise; in fact, Kane is never happy or content after he becomes involved in business and political affairs, and "Rosebud", Kane's childhood and happiness, fails to make a reappearance, as demonstrated when "Rosebud" is incinerated in a stove with some of Kane's other possessions.
Sometimes in movies the metaphors hidden within it are uncovered through a characters actions, emotions, or history; but in “Citizen Cane” the most symbolic part of the movie is a sled. This sled, also known as Rosebud, was a very significant piece of Kane’s childhood. Unfortunately Kane at a young age has to be taken from his home by a man named Thatcher. When Thatcher approaches Kane to take him away, Kane physically attacks Thatcher with Rosebud. This scene is the last time that Kane has any physical contact with Rosebud for the rest of his life, and probably the most significant scene. When Kane hits Thatcher with rosebud, it is his last moment of being a child. After he is taken away, his life drastically changes and he is forced to grow up. His attack on Thatcher shows that rosebud is representing the barrier between childhood and adulthood. Once the barrier is broken, he loses his youthfulness. Rosebud exists along as Kane does, but just not in his possession. Rosebud’s existence throughout Kane’s life represents that there is a possibility he could still rediscover his childhood. Kane is offered another sled at one point, named Crusader. Instead of playing with Crusader he uses it as a weapon, and then ignores it. This was the one opportunity he was offered to return to his childhood, but he turned it down. In the end when Kane dies and his possessions are being burned, Rosebud gets thrown in the fire. The burning of rosebud shows that his opportunity of ever returning to childhood was completely gone. Now that he is dead, so is rosebud. This shows that rosebud essentially represented Kane, since the opportunity to rediscover his childhood was always there, but the chance ended along with him.
ReplyDelete“Rosebud” was the name of the sled from Charles Kane’s childhood. In the movie, it was the sled he was playing with right before he left his home with Mr. Thatcher. Since the first moment in which he left with Mr. Thatcher, Kane was unhappy. So, the sled represents the last time that Kane was truly happy. I do not believe that this was the key to knowing the man that Kane was. However, it was a big part to figure out why Kane became the person he turned out to be. Therefore, the sled is a meaningful symbol. It’s both the symbol of his childhood, which is a large part in anyone’s life story, and the only time he had true happiness in his life. The jigsaw puzzles that appeared throughout the movie were just metaphors for the story of Charles Kane. The big story of Kane was the puzzle, and the stories that were being told by the people who knew him were the pieces to the puzzle. In the movie, the physical jigsaw puzzles were large and seemed as they had a lot of difficulty to solve them. Once again, this was a metaphor to Kane’s story. Kane’s story was long and complicated, which went along with the mysterious persona he seemed to be to the people that did not know him and were trying to figure out who he was. As we learned more about Kane, the puzzle in the movie became more complete, just as the story of Kane became more complete. Therefore, the jigsaw puzzle should have a direct correlation to his story.
ReplyDeleteRosebud, Charles Foster Kane’s childhood sled plays an important role in his life. The sled was Kane’s last childhood toy and seemed to bring him great pleasure to play with. When Mr. Thatcher attempts to take Kane away, Kane pushes Mr. Thatcher with the sled. Giving the viewer the first glimpse at Kane’s personality. The word Rosebud its self means an unopened bud. This is comparable to Kane’s childhood where he had a very short childhood before being taken away by Mr. Thatcher. He was never able to grow into a fully formed flower in the way most children are able to. Kane was plucked from the beginning of his childhood and forced to grow up in a much different setting than any other child in America. From the onset he was treated like an adult and expected to act in the same way. Throughout this time period the viewer can see that Kane is not experiencing things a normal child should and is not happy. As Kane matured he kept looking for happiness in life through women, his newspaper, and his statues. However, he was never able to find true happiness. Even his massive compound Xanadu could not please him during the latter years of his life. Kane was forever trying to recreate his missing childhood throughout his life. However, he was unable to and was left on his dying bed reminiscing of the last time he was truly happy, which was playing with his sled “rosebud” living in Colorado with his true family.
ReplyDeleteIn the movie, Rosebud signifies the life that Charles used to live, before he came into his mass fortune. It was a simpler time in his life where he was a young, innocent boy that only really cared about playing games outside in the snow. Thus, when he continues to iterate "Rosebud" throughout the movie, it that means that he is longing for the life that he used to have. As he grows older, more frustrated, and lonely, he misses the ability to have fun and be playful. The sled is significant because it shows that rather than liking a house or a statue the most, Charles always thought about the times he used to have a kid. It is a meaningful symbol because it says a lot about his happiness and the way he actually wanted to live his life. Though, once coming into all that money and growing up, he changed as a person and couldn't go back to being the playful person he once was. Another meaningful symbol in the film is the castle that Charles lives in, Xanadu. It seems as if the house is a real-life representation of the fact that no matter how much Kane has in his life, he is still lonely. He has hundreds of statues and other valuable possessions, though he never seems to achieve happiness in the movie. He attempts to have guests come over periodically, but he never escapes the isolation from the rest of society. Thus, the distance of Xanadu from the rest of civilization can also be seen as a metaphor for the distance between Kane and everyday people, who may have actually been happier with their lives than he was.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the significance of the name "Rosebud" is that it correlates to Charles Foster Kane's life. A rosebud is a rose before it has bloomed yet and it is thornless. Kane's life as a child was bliss until Thatcher took him away to live the life he was not meant to live. He, in a sense, grew thorns and never let anyone enter into his life as he grew up, just as his "rosebud" would have. His sled signifies his happiness. At the beginning of the film he played with his sled and this is one of the only times he is seen happy throughout the entire movie. He also uses his sled to push Thatcher away which shows that he does not want to go with him only to leave his happiness behind. I believe that this is not the key to understanding Kane's life, but it is the key to his joy. His joy is one piece of him that has been lost for years that is all he really wanted his whole life, which is why "Rosebud" is his dying word. It is not a meaningful symbol in regards to the reporter, but a meaningful symbol in the eyes of Charles Foster Kane. The statues that he collects also helps express his unhappiness. He collects them because he is lonely without his rosebud and he is trying to fill the whole that was left when he left his home as a child. Also, another interesting idea is that at his old home he could play with rosebud all he wanted because his residence had plenty of place to sled and it is isolated, however the place he moves to is completely industrial and has a dense collection of people.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is a power source in the character that is Charles Foster Kane. The reason that Rosebud makes such a significant impact on Kane is that he is at fault for its disappearance in his life. When Kane is taken away by Mr. Thatcher, he did nothing to cause it from what we know. However, when he is told the news, Kane snaps and whacks Mr. Thatcher with Rosebud, He then is taken forcefully separated from the sled and it is left there to "die". This forever remained in Kane's memory because of why he lost the sled. Firstly, It was his last chance to have a memory from his old life, where he was innocent and carefree. Secondly, it was his own anger caused him to lose his prized possession. He didnt lose it because he was leaving, he lost it when he let his anger take over. This part of Kane we also see later in the film when his second wife, Susan, leaves him. The final straw in their marriage is when Kane once again snaps at his wife and he strikes her. After that, we go to a scene of Susan packing her bags getting ready to leave her husband. Charles once again takes this heavy, because once again, his anger was at fault for his wife leaving. He could have talked her out of leaving, or just listened to her, but instead followed his anger, and lost his beloved once again. In the big picture, the loss of Rosebud plays a huge role of whom Charles Foster Kane is. He never let that memory go of himself losing what he considered his last chance at innocence, even near the end of his life.
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