Essay On Citizen Kane

532 Words3 Pages
The narrative in the film Citizen Kane is told in a unique way. The narrative follows a non-linear structure where events are not portrayed in chronological order. Instead, the story is presented using a series of flashbacks at different times in Charles Kane’s life. The flashbacks also do occur in order, they are sporadic giving the audience glimpses of events in Kane’s life. This use of non-linear narrative further unravels the different dimensions of Kane’s character and his experiences. As the flashbacks appear, the use of narration is also used interestingly. The film does not just use one narrator, but many. Each narrator had different opinions of who Kane was, so the audience views his character from multiple perspectives. The stories…show more content…
Throughout the film, the audience lacks sympathy for Kane because of how the city portrays him. Until the end of the film, Kane is portrayed as a “bad guy”. The last scene reveals something different to the audience. Kane is in his bedroom, he is emotionally disoriented and he begins to throw things around. Kane tears the room apart and finally picks up his snow globe. As he picks up his snow globe, he utters “rosebud” and tears begin to fall down his face. As the audience looks at his face, we notice Kane’s unhappiness. At this point in the film the audience gains sympathy for him. The audience begins to understand that even though Kane seems to have everything that he has ever wanted— money and fame, a big part of him is actually missing. The snow globe symbolizes memories and “rosebud” his old sled symbolizes his childhood. We notice that the very ending connects us back to the beginning of the film, and Charles Kane has been holding on to the lost of his childhood. This does not only solve the mystery of what “rosebud” is but who Charles Kane actually is. Separate from how the other characters perceive him, the audience notices that he is a very complex character. Kane is not just the bad guy that everyone thinks, he’s actually an unhappy self-destructed man that lost his childhood in the hope that his riches would fill the emptiness that he
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