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
The final course of the evening is ice cream made to look like car wheels, after which Ford enjoys coffee in delicate china cups. In the labor meeting, Tom Jr. argues that the only way to organize is to make one union, so that different types of workers don’t fight amongst themselves for jurisdiction. Tom passionately tells his audience that they have to demand their share, and to keep demanding it until it is granted. While Ford talks a little bit about politics and the market, the meeting disperses and everyone hurries back to their car, intent on not being recognized in the rainy night.
After highlighting the problems with the capitalist system in the previous chapter, Tom emphasizes the need for labor unions. Only by working as a collective, rather than organizing into different factions of workers, do they have the power to stand up to Ford’s wealth. Meanwhile, those at the meeting recognize that they are doing so at great personal risk, because if they are recognized, they could be fired or even killed, emphasizing how so many of their rights have been taken away.
Themes
