"Citizen Kane"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how in director Orson Welles cinematic masterpiece "Citizen Kane", the character of Charles Foster Kane (Welles) experiences many traumatic events that are linked to an obsession with his mother. It looks at how out of all these events, Kane's marriage to Susan Alexander, played by Dorothy Comingore, is the most disturbing, for it reflects some very dark motives on the part of Kane, the "spoiled rich kid" who inherited a fortune via the Comstock Lode. It shows how Kane's marriage to Susan, who was forced to live in a world that revolved around Kane and his obsessive behavior, collapses and makes her a free woman. It evaluates how Kane used Susan as a scapegoat in order to heal the wound left by his abandonment as a child, and through Susan's abandonment of Kane, his self-image and his massive ego are destroyed.

From the Paper:

"The ultimate symbol of Kane's obsessive behavior occurs in the scene where Susan finally confronts her husband in the bedroom, where the famous "snowball" glass orb sits on Susan's dressing bureau. After she tells him that their marriage is over and leaves the bedroom, Kane smashes everything in the room--except the glass "snowball" which reminds him of his childhood in Colorado and his mother. This object encapsulates everything Susan stands for--her loneliness, rejection and the abuse thrown upon her by the insane Charles Foster Kane."

More papers on "Citizen Kane":

• Analytical Essay # 140157 : "Realism in "Citizen Kane."
• Film Review # 85838 : "Citizen Kane"
• Book Review # 36096 : "Citizen Kane"
• Essay # 59061 : "Conflict in "Citizen Kane"

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