Personality of Kane 1

Running head: THE PERSONALITY CHARLES KANE

Unraveling the Personality behind Charles Foster Kane

In 1998 the American Film Institute placed Citizen Kane at the top of its list of
one hundred greatest films of all time. While its remarkable cinematic achievements:
nonlinear story line, cinematography, etc., demand consideration, what ultimately
elevated Citizen Kane to such esteem was the character of Kane himself. Kane is a
 Personality of Kane 2

despicable man, whose callous attitude alienates him from all those who have the
misfortune of caring for him. And, it is because not despite of these flaws in his character
that the audience is compelled to feel sympathy for Kane because of the way he is
presented, a tragic hero. We ask ourselves, what motivations are driving this man
towards such self-destruction? It is at this point that the discussion transcends disciplines
from cinematography to personality psychology. Though the plot focus film is the elusive
“Rosebud” it soon becomes unmistakably clear that it is Kane’s personality that is the
central unsolvable riddle of the film.
Attempting to assess the personality of a character in a film is difficult because of
the limited resources one has at their disposal. Even when doing a psychobiography,
researchers are rarely limited to only one source, which is the case with a film character.
Therefore, in order to understand a characters personality one must move beyond the
printed words of the screenplay and allow for a certain amount of presumption and
interpretation to occur. In an effort to ensure an accurate assessment of Kane’s
personality, I will only assume those aspects of his life that would coincide with the
personality perspectives I have selected for my investigation: those being, the
psychoanalytic, neo-analytic, and trait perspective.

Citizen Kane begins with the end of its main characters life
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