Saturday, March 5, 2011
Rosebud
Rosebud is perhaps the most famous symbol in movie history. What is the significance of the name "rosebud?" What is the significance of the sled? Is it the key to understanding Kane's life or just one missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that does not explain much at all? A meaningful symbol or a MacGuffin?
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Rosebud is a sled that is symbolic of Kane’s childhood, and the comfort and importance it represents for him are rooted in the fact that it was the last item he touched before being taken from his home. Rosebud is also the final word Kane utters before he dies. The fact that he remembered the name of the sled as a grown adult suggests that on the inside Kane is really just a lonely child searching for a place to call home. It also serves as a barrier between his carefree youth and the responsibilities of adulthood suggesting that Kane is unable to connect with people on an adult level. Although we know that Rosebud is a sled, we never really find out the “significance” of the name. However, we do know that it represents a meaningful symbol that Kane has been longing for all his life. The film ends with the same scene that it starts with zooming in on the “No Trespassing” sign. The message suggests that, just as we never really find out the true significance of the name Rosebud, Kane never really fulfills his true longing before he dies. The film portrays the sad reality of life which is that no matter how hard we search, some things will always remain a mystery.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is the sled that was very important to Kane’s childhood which he will always remember. This is a significant symbol as to who he is as a person. This sled was the only thing that he felt perfectly symbolized his innocence and happy childhood. That is why the sled has a major significance because he doesn’t have many memories of his childhood and this was one of them. This shows that this sled is what helped him grow as a child and this sled was something that he saw that was always important to him. As children, most of us will have a memory of that one thing that was there though the thick and the thin whether that is trying to get through the suffering moment or the lonely nights. We often times look to objects or sweet nothings to help us with coping with the rough times. At the end of the movie when all his possessions, including Rosebud was being burned it shows us how significant Rosebud was to Kane’s adulthood and childhood. Your childhood is the main force in your adulthood and is what often turn a person into the man or women they are today. Even though many could Rosebud was just a childhood sled, despite his immense wealth, the sled is what truly made him happy but more importantly it represented the childhood that was taken away from him. This sled is the key to understanding Kane’s life and gives us a better understanding as to what was missing from his adulthood. In the end Rosebud is a extremely meaningful symbol to Kane’s life.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I do believe that the “rosebud” sled represented Kane’s early childhood in which he lived with his real parents, I also believe that it intentionally only represents a small part of his life. In saying this, I think the sled shows that although Kane spent his life creating his fortune, often putting his work before his family, in the end, his last word was the name of a measly little sled given to him by his parents. This goes to show that no matter how wealthy he got or how far he went in life, his heart remained at home. Through all the things he got in life, and among all his accomplishments, the word he murmured upon his death was simply “rosebud.” This reminded me of the concept of keeping the first dollar you earn; your first possession is always the most meaningful. He had many valuable possessions in his life, and as we saw, collected many items, but Rosebud had a special place in his heart. One may ask, why didn’t he murmur the name of the other sled he received from Mr. Thatcher? This other sled was a gift from an extremely wealthy man, and it did not represent his home and his roots like Rosebud did. In addition, the second sled was given to him by Mr. Thatcher after Kane had already been living a lavish lifestyle, while Rosebud was a childhood gift from his parents who were not nearly as well off. Rosebud was only a small piece in the complicated puzzle of Kane’s life, but it is indeed a meaningful symbol that showed us that in the end, Kane maybe wasn’t a total brainwashed, material-obsessed, selfish tycoon after all.
ReplyDeleteThe name "Rosebud" is the name of Kane's childhood sled. This sled was extremely important to Kane, because it reminded him of his childhood, the one time in his life where he was happy, didnt have to worry about anything, and still lived with his parents. It was the last time he was truly happy, so he retreats back to this sled whenever he needs to be reminded of what used to be. I think this is more meaningful of a symbol than the film lets on. It reveals a part of Charlie Kane that is not normally seen in the film. It shows off his inner child, and scrapes away some of the cruel dictator-type person he had become because of his money and power. When the sled is mentioned, the viewers are reminded that he is a normal person, with dreams and joys just like everyone else. He tended to hide much of his personality, not letting very many people in close to him because of what his parents did to him when he was a boy. This sled is the one thing that links him back to his childhood, and lets him feel the feeling of being loved again, even if just for a moment.
ReplyDeleteRosebud was the name of Kane's childhood sled and the last word Kane uttered before he died. Rosebud symbolizes Kane's carefree and happy childhood where he was surrounded by his parents. When Thatcher leaves with Kane, Kane is taken away from his childhood innocence and love and thrust into a situation where he's alone and must deal with responsibilities. The fact that this is the last word Kane says shows that Kane has been continually longing to return to his stolen childhood. However, Rosebud, like his past, is gone and Kane cannot restore it even with all the money in the world. In a sense, his actions as an adult can be seen as based on this feeling of regret. His attempts at running a newspaper for the sake of the ignorant populace can be seen as trying to help the innocent and to protect them from the large corporations. This parallels Kane's childhood. The bank, a huge multimillion dollar corporation, ended up ruining one of the only sources of happiness in his life- his childhood. Overall, I think the sled is a crucial tool to help understand Kane's life.
ReplyDeleteThe final words of Kane, “rosebud,” began a search for the meaning behind his words by the reporters looking for a story. The name “rosebud” is the name of the sled from when Kane went sledding as a young boy, but the reporters never find that out, as it is only shown to the audience as it was thrown into the fire with the rest of Kane’s junk. The sled symbolizes Kane’s childhood and his innocence. Just as Kane lost the sled in all the statues and gifts he collected, he also lost his childhood innocence which was replaced with the responsibilities of running a newspaper. Because Kane said the name of a childhood toy in his last words, the sled was something he had on his mind and may have been one of the few things he wishes he could have enjoyed again in his life of luxury. Although Kane bought almost everything he loved or wanted, he could not buy back his childhood life, free from worries and pain that he went through despite his wealth. I think “rosebud” is simply one missing piece of a jigsaw puzzle that only explains a part of Kane’s life where he wishes he could start again, as a child, growing up. However, it is a meaningful symbol because it shows in the end that he had sentimental feelings and wasn’t just a man looking to gain as much wealth and fame as he could throughout his glory years.
ReplyDeleteWhen first seeing Kane as a child, he is building a snowman with his sled “Rosebud” at his side. This is the first sign that Kane has had this sled ever since he was little. Rosebud also can represent the freedom Kane had as a child. But he quickly loses that freedom when he moves to New York. Throughout the movie, Kane tries at every attempt to be the most powerful and successful man he could be. While he is on his quest to pursue his many ambitions in life, he looses sight of who he truly is as a person. When he and Susan arrive at the palace near the end of the movie, Kane slowly drowns himself in luxurious possessions hoping that it will make him happy. Not only does this further deteriorate his relationship with his wife, but it makes him loose any meaning in his life. For example Susan says to Kane that even though he buys her everything she can want, nothing he gives her seems personal and meaningful to their relationship. In the end, after Susan leaves him, his dying word is “Rosebud.” This is his own realization that the only meaningful and personal thing in his life was that sled, and the freedom and innocence it provided for him. Ironically, the last scene shows a man burning the sled in a fire, thinking its another one of the meaningless objects that Kane had owned. This shows that nobody in his life really knew who the “real” Kane was.
ReplyDeleteWhile the name “Rosebud” may be the most famous symbol in movie history, I do not believe that it is a crucial aspect or the key to understanding of Charles Foster Kane’s life. Nonetheless, rosebud is subtly symbolic of Kane’s childhood. In the renowned flashback of the traumatic day that Kane is taken away from his mother and his home, he is shown playing in the snow, with a sled named Rosebud at his side. After the scene progresses, young Kane’s mother, Mary, his father, Jim, and his new legal guardian, Walter Thatcher, approach the young boy to inform him that he will be living with Thatcher. As an understandable reaction to the sudden, shocking news, Kane uses his sled, which he held close to him throughout the entire conversation, to push Thatcher away. Kane is then taken away and grows up to be a lonely and bitter newspaper publisher and political figure. Raised by Thatcher, a New York City banker, Kane is severely deprived of a normal, loving upbringing. Kane’s resentment and loneliness is emblematized through the name of his sled: the last toy Kane played with before he was taken away from his mother. Thus, Rosebud is Kane’s last memory of his parents, his home, his childhood, and his happiness. While the name “Rosebud” represents an important connection to Kane’s past, it is not the key to discovering and understanding the life of the enigmatic man. Jerry Thompson, the reporter who was assigned to investigate and descry the meaning of Kane’s last word (“Rosebud”), successfully uncovers many details that contribute to the understanding of Kane’s life through the stories and flashbacks of five separate people who were close to Kane. All of this information was disclosed without the comprehension of the significance of the name “Rosebud.” While the audience’s eventual realization of the significance of the legendary name adds an emotional effect to the film, I do not believe that it is essential to the decipherment to Kane’s life.
ReplyDeleteIn "Citizen Kane" there are two settings. One being the past, observing the rise and fall or Charles Foster Kane; and the other being in the present, where reporters are interpreting his life. The reporters goal throughout the film was to decipher the meaning of Kane's last words: "Rosebud", and although they never succeed in uncovering it's hidden meaning, the viewers do. The rosebud is the sled of Charles Foster Kane when he was still a child. This is to represent the time in his life that he considers to be most satisfying. Throughout his whole life, Kane was trying to hide from his wealth and return to the times of his innocent childhood. He kept this token to remind him of this simple period. Kane always believed that if he hadn’t been gifted with such wealth he would have truly been a good person, and he saw this money as the poison in his personality.
ReplyDeleteRosebud is considered the ultimate symbol in the history of cinema, and rightly thought of as, because of its significance towards the movie Citizen Kane. Rosebud represents more than just some sled the main character used to own in his childhood; it symbolizes the one time in his life Kane was truly happy, and that was without riches. It symbolizes the innocence and happiness of children and how as we get older we become more corrupted and worry about things that in the long run don’t even matter to us. So while Rosebud literally is a sled, figuratively it is a manifestation of the innocence we inevitably lose as we grow older.
ReplyDeleteWhile Kane had always hid behind his money and seemed content, he was never happy. All the money in the world could not bring back his fond memories of when he was a child. His riches could buy him wives, a palace, and every buyable item in the world. While it may be this significant, Rosebud was nothing more than a small factor in his life and held little importance to the journalist. Even though everything I’ve said about what it represents is true, Kane could never get that innocence back and it was therefore irrelevant. It would not have made a difference if the narrator discovered what Rosebud truly mean to Kane.
In the film, Citizen Kane, Kane becomes this millionare who seems to be utterly dissatisfied with his life. He becomes a man who cannot be appeased. He gains more money than he could ever need, more respect than he wanted, and still was unable to be truly happy. When he dies his final words were "Rosebud". Rosebud was the name of a sled he had when he was a small boy when he lived with his mother and father. This is considered the most important aspect of the movie, which it raelly is. The entire plot recalls Kane's life and his experiences as well as a detective trying to comprehend the meaning of Rosebud. To the viewer, rosebud is completely uninmportant till the very last minuets of the film where a realization comes into place that explains the entire point of the plot. Kane was happy when he was at home with his parents, with rosebud. He was only trully happy then, and it takes a recall of his entire life to understand that. Also this idera of happiness to Kane was something he would never be able to obtain again. There is a depressing aspect of the story in that part of it, and yet it is also satisfactory to understand why Kane reacted and acted the way he did in his adault life.
ReplyDeleteThe scene in which the name, “Rosebud,” is uttered at the beginning of Citizen Kane by a dying Charles Kane is one of the most famous scenes in film history. The scene sets up the film as a mystery disguised as a biography as a reporter researches Kane’s life to find out what Rosebud was. So Rosebud actually drives the plot of the film as viewers wonder what it could possibly be or mean. In this sees it is also a Macguffin. But it also plays a symbolic role in the film. The viewer finds out at the end of the film that Rosebud was Kane’s first sled that he played with when he was young and still lived a lower middleclass life at the orphanage. This is significant because this time period was when he was most happy and when he was not a rich business tycoon, which suggests that money doesn’t equate to happiness. This is an ongoing theme throughout Citizen Kane because the viewer is constantly barraged with images of Kane’s growing wealth; Xanadu, roman statues etc., but is never truly happy. In fact as he becomes more successful Kane becomes unhappier. Rosebud and what it meant to Kane could also be argued that it was the only human side to Kane and it died with him when he died and was forgotten forever as was his humanity when it was burned.
ReplyDeleteBefore we even had our first Century of Film class my dad made sure I first knew about Citizen Kane and the great "Rosebud". He made sure I understood that the first scene where "Rosebud" was mentioned was one of the most if not thee most famous scenes in the history of film. He also informed me that "Citizen Kane" was a groudbreaking movie in the world of films. The "Rosebud" is a very significant part of the film because it was the first sled that Mr. Kane ever knew, before he became the man with all the money he was just a young boy in an orphanage and his happiest and best moments in life were with "Rosebud". Like Paul said, this alone proves that money is not the key to a happy life. Money has no real meaning in a persons life in comparrison to something like "Rosebud". I would have to say that "Rosebud" is not a MacGuffin but it really is a significant symbol in not only the film in its entirety but in Charles Kane's life.
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