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
In 1912, Woodrow Wilson runs on the Democratic ticket. Wilson makes eloquent speeches about freedom, but Abner reads in the newspapers that the Democratic party causes “hard times.” Afraid of these hard times, Abner votes Republican. Then, when Wilson wins the presidency and business starts to slow, Abner is convinced that the newspapers were right, and he votes Republican for the rest of his life.
This is another example of the severe impact of media bias. Even though Abner likes Wilson’s words and ideas, he is more terrified of the newspaper’s analysis, which states that Democrats usher in hard times—an idea that has haunted him since he was a teenager and lost his finger during an economic downturn. Without a fuller understanding of the economic forces in the country, Abner doesn’t necessarily vote for candidates that match up with his personal views because journalists sway him in another direction.
Themes
Fortunately, these hard times affect Henry Ford very little. He sells more than 500 cars every day at $600. The next year he reduces the price to $550 and sells 1,000 cars per day. Millions of people like the idea that they can cross the continent in a month or a week, rather than a year, and cars are all over the roads now. Meanwhile, Abner moves his family to the neighborhood of the new factory, and he oversees the assembly of 4,000 wheels a day.
Again, Sinclair emphasizes the benefit of the cars in giving people greater mobility, particularly as Ford lowers the prices so more and more people can buy the cars. At the same time, these reduced prices also illustrate Ford’s interest in maximizing profits—trying to lower the cost marginally while greatly increasing production and, consequently, profits. In this way, the cars become a symbol of Ford’s relentless pursuit of profit.
Themes
