What Did Rosebud Mean In Citizen Kane?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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“Rosebud is the trade name of

a cheap little sled on which Kane was playing on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother

. In his subconscious it represented the simplicity, the comfort, above all the lack of responsibility in his home, and also it stood for his mother's love, which Kane never lost.”

What is the message of Citizen Kane?


The Difficulty of Interpreting a Life


The difficulty of interpreting a person's life once that life has ended

is the central theme of Citizen Kane. After viewing an in-depth, filmed biography of Kane's life, the producer of the biography asks his reporters a simple question: Who, really, was Charles Foster Kane?

What does Rosebud symbolize in Citizen Kane and why is it the last word he speaks?

Rosebud is the most potent emblem 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

.

What happens to Rosebud at the end of Citizen Kane?

The tragedy is that he only realizes this after it's too late, and his

sled Rosebud ends up getting tossed into an incinerator and burned

. So it looks like no one will ever realize what Kane meant when he said the name of his favorite boyhood toy.

Why was Citizen Kane controversial?

It was said Hearst was

particularly angry over the 's depiction of a character based on his companion

, Marion Davies, a former showgirl whom he had helped become a popular Hollywood actress.

Why was Citizen Kane taken away from his mother?

Charles Foster Kane was born of humble origins in the small settlement of Little Salem, Colorado, circa 1863. A mine given to his parents — to settle a bill for room and board — happened to be rich in gold, making the family suddenly wealthy. … However,

Kane blamed Thatcher for ripping him away

from his family.

What is Rosebud slang for?

(vulgar, slang)

The anus

.

Why Citizen Kane is so important?

For many critics and film fans, Citizen Kane can lay claim to the title of the greatest movie ever made precisely because, even if only in the form of

in-camera effects

and a wealthy, lonely anti-villain, Welles' movie even influenced the direction of Rotten Tomatoes' highest-rated movie, 2017's Paddington 2.

What does Xanadu represent in Citizen Kane?

Xanadu has been used in recent times to represent

the foolish excess of lavish lifestyles such

as Kane's.

Why does Susan attempt suicide and then finally leave her husband?


Kane's attempts to completely control her almost rob her of her identity, and the only way she can save herself is to leave him

. Susan represents Kane's lost innocence and fall from grace.

What is the last word in Citizen Kane?

Kane's last word, we learn, was “

Rosebud”

.

Did anyone hear Kane say Rosebud?


He just said “Rosebud”

and then he dropped that glass ball and it broke on the floor. “He didn't say anything about that, so I knew he was dead – He said all kind of things I couldn't make out. But I knew how to take care of him.”

What is the last line of Citizen Kane?

The ending of Citizen Kane

The final word whispered by Kane is

‘Rosebud'

— as the film ends, no one knows what it means. But the camera shows the viewer, panning across the vast amount of material possessions Kane had amassed and hoarded over his life, which are being burnt and discarded after his death.

Was Citizen Kane a success?

Although

it was a critical success

, Citizen Kane failed to recoup its costs at the box office. The film faded from view after its release, but it returned to public attention when it was praised by French critics such as André Bazin and re-released in 1956.

How did Citizen Kane get his money?

Early years. Kane is born of humble origins in the fictional settlement of Little Salem, Colorado, in 1862 or 1863. A supposedly worthless mine given to his mother in 1868—to settle a bill for room and board by Fred Graves — is

discovered to be rich in gold

, making the family suddenly fabulously wealthy.

What is considered the greatest movie of all time?


The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

was voted the greatest film of all time by Empire readers in “The 201 Greatest Movies of All Time” poll undertaken in March 2006. Titanic (1997) was voted the greatest hit of all time in a poll of 6,000 movie fans conducted by English-language newspaper China Daily in March 2008.

Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.