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Chapter 38
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
Ford continues to expand his business, and he, Clara, and their son, Edsel, are now the three sole stockholders of the company. The war changed Ford from an idealist to a businessman, and he fires many people who have been with the company since the beginning. One man who decides to leave is Dean Marquis, an Episcopal clergyman who was in charge of the Social Department, because he sees that the period of idealism has passed in the company. Marquis discovered that there is much injustice in Ford’s factories, and Ford is pretending not to know about it.
Ford’s corruption and poor treatment of his employees illustrates that it’s much easier for him to attain security and prosperity when he abandons his morals. The passage explicitly contrasts idealists with businessmen, suggesting that the two are mutually exclusive. And because the person pointing out injustice is a clergyman, the passage demonstrates that Ford is also at odds with religion and morality.
Themes
Ford also goes back on his promises to return his war profits to the U.S. government. He made $29 million in the war, and though he claims he returned the money, the Secretary of Treasury says that there is no record of such payment.
This is another example of Ford abandoning his morals in favor of prosperity. Rather than maintaining his ideals and returning the profits that he gained from his work in the war, Ford lies and chooses to keep his wealth instead.
Themes
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