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
One evening in spring, Tom Jr. meets Dell in a diner; he is going to speak at a labor meeting shortly, and Dell refuses to let him go alone. At the same time, Ford is getting ready for a formal occasion that evening; it is at the home of people who have been wealthy for generations. Even though Ford is 100 times as rich, he still looks at them in awe. A half hour later, Tom and Dell get into their old car and go to the meeting while Ford and Clara get into their limousine.
In this final stretch of chapters, the novel bounces back and forth between these two events: Tom’s labor meeting and Ford’s formal gathering. The contrast between them illustrates the mass inequality in American society, and how the capitalist system has dehumanized both of these groups. In Ford’s case, the book highlights here how even though he is extremely rich—richer than the people whose party he is attending—he is still envious of their fortune, demonstrating how even his massive degree of wealth has not made him happy.
Themes
