Explain the Roles of Thatcher - Leland and Susan in the Film and How Their Characters Influence Their View of Kane

Explain the roles of Thatcher, Leland and Susan in the film and how their characters influence their view of Kane.

The character of Citizen Kane is developed throughout the film with the different views presented from the people that were closest to him. Thatcher, Leland and Susan, the three closest personalities that surrounded Kane through his materialistic life, present their memories of Kane giving the audience a view of Kane’s progressive journey to living a corrupted life full of possessions and collections, and lacking sustainable relationships and the ability to love.

Thatcher is the man that can be held somewhat responsible for being the stimulus that changed the outcome of Kane’s life. In the scene “Leaving Home”, Thatcher represents the idea of wealth and materialism being a dominant part in 1940’s American society. He offers Kane’s parents funding and the promise of a better life for Charles surrounded with wealth and happiness when he visits Kane’s innocent childhood residence. Through this scene we can see how Thatcher differs from the Kane family, wearing his expensive eastern city clothing and talking with a posh tone. This contrast allows the audience to see the introduction of wealth into the Kane family and implies that with wealth, there will be change. By disregarding any pleas that come from Charles’ father about Charles staying and not leaving to a new life, wealth seems to overpower reasoning and love in this scene, thus making it a necessity for happiness in the eyes of Kane’s mother. As the film develops, the audience is told of how with time passing and with the increase of wealth, Kane becomes a corrupt individual and it is evident that it is his immense wealth that disallows him to love and connect with both materials and the people around him. And so, Welles has used the character of Thatcher to represent wealth and materialism in society and possibly presents him as a figure of temptation and aspiration towards the concept of the American Dream.

Leland is debatably Kane’s closest friend. Being through school together and moving on to both operating the Inquirer newspaper company, Leland and Kane share similar beliefs in the early stages of Kane’s career. The ‘Declaration of Independence’, written by Kane and kept by Leland, represents Charles’ initial aims and ideologies towards the newspaper and giving the people the truth and a fair go in society. Welles has used the character of Leland as a control in this film. We see Kane becoming increasingly detached from the Inquirer and what he stands for in the ‘Social announcement’ scene. Meaningless statues fill the room in which Kane once worked tirelessly to run the paper in, and in his absence, Leland is left to sort the abundance of Kane’s increasing possessions. Leland asks Bernstein for his opinion on names that Kane has called Leland, which were an aimed