Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Flivver King, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Capitalism and Dehumanization
American Idealism and Disillusionment
Misinformation, Media Bias, and Ignorance
Individualism vs. Unionization
Technology and Progress
Summary
Analysis
After six years of child-bearing and housekeeping, Milly starts to have many physical pains. Worse, her last two children die shortly after being born, and she starts to grow resentful of Abner. Abner tries to make the best of their situation, but while he loves his children, he rarely gets to spend time with them. Six days a week he gets up at 5:30 a.m. and gets breakfast before riding his bike to the Ford plant. He spends all day on his feet making sure that everything is running properly and safely, and at the end of the day he returns home with $3.
While Abner and his family remain optimistic about their lives, disillusionment is starting to creep in. Abner’s work takes a toll on his body, and he realizes that he doesn’t have the opportunity to be with his children. He wants to work hard, but he also wants to make sure he can have a family life.
Themes
Still, Abner thinks of Ford’s factory as a wonderful place. It is also Abner’s greatest dream to buy one of the cars so that he can take Milly and the kids to visit the farm where his brother works, and where they could by vegetables at half the price charged at the corner grocery.
Abner views the car as a symbol of his personal American Dream, as it brings him both prosperity and a means of bringing his family together. This passage also highlights another aspect of the car’s economic utility. Not only does it allow Abner to see his brother, but he can also travel to buy consumer goods more cheaply.
Themes
