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
As Tom Jr. holds more and more meetings with Ford workers, he argues that too large a share of the product of industry goes to the owners, who spend it on new investments, rather than to the workers, who could spend it on necessities like food and clothing. Even the New Deal policies aren’t working: many people are still unemployed, while production levels continue to rise. For this reason, Tom and many others start to discuss the idea of unionizing the auto industry, so that they have the power of 200,000 men to negotiate with Ford.
Tom provides proof for the failure of unfettered capitalism for the workers; even the New Deal policies under F.D.R., which provided relief to the unemployed and tried to spur economic recovery, still aren’t able to regulate profits in a way that provides more jobs. In addition, Tom starts to advocate for unionizing because he recognizes that only 200,000 men standing strong will be able to match Ford’s wealth and power.
Themes
