Shadows In Citizen Kane Symbolism

Throughout the course of a lifetime, a common phrase heard is “don’t judge a book by its cover”. This phrase indicates the fact that it is nearly impossible to truly evaluate the life and feelings of a person just by what can be seen about them. This is the case in the film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. Charles Foster Kane is a man who would appear to the general public as having it all. A very popular man, Kane owns a successful newspaper company for which he is known worldwide. He builds a gigantic mansion for his second wife and himself, surrounded by intricate and expensive statues. Kane seems to be perfect in every single way, and one may think that he is the happiest man alive. However, Charles never had the things that

In many scenes, dark and opaque shadows are cast onto the faces of many characters. These heavy shadows are symbols used to emphasize the hidden emotions and true self of Charles Foster Kane. Shadows prove to be mysterious in the way that they hide things from the light. In the film, the “light” is the truth about Charles, and shadows symbolize the fact that people can never fully understand the thoughts that make a man who he is. For example, Thompson spends the entire movie searching for the meaning of Kane’s life. However, Welles never exposes the face of Thompson, leaving him in the shadows for the entire movie. This is symbolic of the fact that people are in the dark when it comes to understanding the lives of others. It is impossible to truly know what a person feels on the inside, because everyone has unique past experiences that influence their lives. Charles Foster Kane is one of the most famous men in the whole world. In fact, when he died, he has one of the largest attendances at his funeral in history. Many people love Charles, yet no one was aware of the misery and agony that he feels inside, rooted in his lost childhood. The shadows used on the people around Kane and the people in his life symbolize the difficulty in interpreting the life and feelings of another

Throughout the film, the question that lingers is who or what is Rosebud, and what does it mean in the life of Charles Foster Kane. The word itself proves Welles’ message that it is nearly impossible to recognize and identify with the meaning in a man’s life. Thompson even says “I don't think any word can explain a man's life” as he searches for the meaning of Kane’s life. However, to Charles, the word Rosebud means everything. Rosebud represents the only thing that Charles ever truly wanted. To him, Rosebud is the loving childhood that he once had that was replaced by a sad, business-like lifestyle. This resulted in not only in a loss of Charlie’s childhood, but it also caused him to loss his ability to love or be loved ever again, which was his only true desire. To Charlie, Rosebud was the explanation for his miserable life that he keeps hidden in secrecy. The physical “Rosebud” is simply a sled from Kane’s past, but the symbolic significance of the word captured a large part of the life of Charles Foster Kane. Thompson spends the entire film searching for the meaning of this word, and his failure proves that one person cannot successfully interpret the life of another. To Thompson, Rosebud is just an unfortunate missing piece of a puzzle that prevented him from finding out the true Charles Foster Kane. In reality, it represents Kane’s private, isolated