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
With the new eight-hour days, the factory is working in two shifts. Abner starts at 6:00 a.m. and gets home in the middle of the afternoon. Abner is grateful for the time to keep up the new house, and he also gets to watch his children grow. John is now 10 years old and interested in everything his father does and says. The second boy, Hank makes constant trouble for Milly. Daisy is a sweet and gentle eight-year-old, and Abner can tell that the youngest, Tommy, is going to manage men—he is an eager kid who likes to tell others what to do.
Even with some of the financial snags, Abner recognizes that he is living his version of the American Dream. He owns a house that he feels lucky to have and he is now able to spend more time raising and getting to know his children. Additionally, Sinclair foreshadows the children’s fates as adults: John follows in his father’s shoes, Hank makes trouble, and Tommy will manage other men.
Themes
