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 three years living in his elegant home, John Shutt loses his job at the Ford Motor Company. He and Annabelle immediately panic, as they have little cash and they have to pay $160 a month to cover their mortgage, furniture, and new car. John tries to get a job at whatever wage he can, and he is hired in the same department from which he was fired. Though he does the same work, instead of getting $300 a month, he now works for $6 a day and can only work three days a week. Forced to give up the house and the furniture, John and Annabelle move their belongings into one half of a two family house—the exact type of house in which John grew up.
John’s situation at work further illustrates the need for a union and regulations. Ford is able to fire workers and then hire them back at a fraction of the cost because they are so desperate for any work at all—but in taking this work, they are not making a living wage. If they worked as a union, however, they would be able to negotiate better wages. Additionally, the fact that John ends up in the same type of house in which he grew up illustrates their disillusionment with the American Dream: that despite the promise of prosperity and opportunity, the economic systems have wiped out his hope of social mobility.
Themes
Annabelle grows resentful of John; she is frustrated that he was giving money to his family while she felt that Hank wasn’t supporting the family at all. Hank has recently been arrested for voter intimidation while working for a candidate supported by Henry Ford. Annabelle grows angry with Ford, realizing that John’s firing was just a trick to get him to work for much less money. She thinks sarcastically that great capitalists like Ford don’t care about money, they just wanted to provide people with good cars.
Annabelle becomes disillusioned with Ford’s corruption here. She recognizes that his ability to fulfill the American Dream has come at the expense of his morals and the well-being of his workers. He also clearly helps politicians get elected through illegal means like voter intimidation, so that the politicians can then implement policies that benefit Ford’s business.
Themes
