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
Despite their differences, Abner is glad to have Tom Jr. back at home. Tom immediately gets a job at Ford’s—illustrating the advantage of being young, strong, and charismatic. He starts working on pinion gears at $5.65 a day and soon buys himself a Ford car (if workers buy any other kind, the bosses quickly find something wrong with their work). Tom works hard and studies the regulations so as not to cause a stir. Gradually, he starts to get to know the workers, and soon men start quietly meeting in one another’s homes at night to discuss their grievances.
Tom quietly begins to stir up the labor movement at Ford’s, knowing that the benefits of organizing far outweigh the potential dangers because it gives workers better rights and protections. Additionally, the passage points out more subtle tyranny within the Ford plant: supervisors essentially force workers to own Ford cars rather than any other, which limits the workers’ freedoms while driving up Ford’s own profits—another example of how the constant striving for wealth harms the workers.
Themes
