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
Tom Jr. intends to marry a college friend named Dell Brace, so she moves to Detroit and gets a job with the city’s welfare department. Tom introduces her to the family, and though they are wary of her politics—like Tom, she is a “Red”—Daisy and Abner instantly like her. Abner is surprised to see that she is obviously very refined (her father is a state senator in Iowa) but she is very plainly dressed and very kind. Abner knows that “agitators” are dangerous, but when he talks with Tom and Dell he doesn’t disagree with anything they say.
Abner reinforces the problems with media bias. He is so convinced that “Reds”—communists—are dangerous, and so convinced that Tom and Dell are communists, that he doesn’t fully recognize how much he agrees with their views. The misinformation and slant of the news has caused him to be completely ignorant of what Tom actually stands for, and makes him unable to realize that he actually agrees with it.
Themes
