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
When Abner thinks about the march, he realizes that he shouldn’t have been there. He believes that if Ford only knew about the march, Ford would have spoken to the workers. Abner also reads in the papers that the leaders of the march were the worst “Red agitators” in the Detroit area, and he is horrified that the men lured him to the march. Abner realizes that John might have been helping to defend the plant or Hank might have been in the crowd spotting Ford’s enemies. Daisy scolds Abner for attending the march, explaining that he could have gotten his kids fired from their jobs.
Abner and Daisy’s response to the march only highlights the problems with the capitalist system and the great need for a union. Daisy worries that Abner’s presence at the march could have cost John and Hank their jobs, but it is exactly for this reason—job protections—that Abner and the other marchers were marching. The novel once again highlights the bias of the media as well, as the criticism of the workers as “Red agitators” biases Abner against them, even though he agreed with their demands.
Themes
