The Unknown citizen- W.H.Auden

Unit - 2 

The Unknown Citizen

W.H.Auden

 W. H. Auden was admired for his unsurpassed technical virtuosity and ability to write poems in nearly every imaginable verse form; his incorporation of popular culture, current events, and vernacular speech in his work; and also for the vast range of his intellect, which drew easily from an extraordinary variety of literature, art forms, social and political theories, and scientific and technical information.

 The poem The Unknown Citizen is a model of conformity in a society where everyone must follow the rules if things are to run smoothly. The poem is a satire on the total lack of individuality in a state - controlled society.

Summary of the poem

The unknown citizen written by W.H.Auden is a model of conformity in a society where everyone must follow the rules of society if things are to run smoothly..The poem is satire of total lack of individuality in a state controlled society.The unknown citizen is a poem written in praise of a man who lived a life  what the government  had deemed as an exemplary life..On the other hand the poem implicitly questions the standardisation of modern life suggesting that people won't care about their individuality when they focus on the standards set by society they live.Like every others  they focus on the same status symbols like having the right job, right car, right no of kids etc. The state makes it out as if this man was free to choose how he lived, yet the reality is that this choice was an illusion. Modern society has told people what they should want and how they should live, which the poem implies makes it impossible for people to actually think for themselves. In such a world, there are right ways to live and wrong ways, and these are defined by the state. This man was thus "a saint" only because he always held the “proper opinions”—the ones that were officially sanctioned.The poem also builds the picture of a world ruled by bureaucratic government who spies on its citizens everyday life.

The poem begins with the details about the citizen which was found by the bureau of statistics where it was found that he was a person with no official complaints.All the reports on his conduct agree that he was a saint in the old-fashioned world.HE served the greater community and till the day he retired he worked in a factory and never got fired as he always satisfied his employers who were Fudge Motors Inc..Still he was not odd in his views.

According to his union reports he paid his dues and  the social psychology workers found that he was popular with his friends and liked a drink.The press arre convinced that he bought newspaper everyday and he reacted normally to advertisements.Even the policies taken in his name showed that he was fully insured.

His health card showed that he was only once in hospital and was cured also.He was sensible to instalment plan and had everything necessary to modern man like photograph, radio car and a fridge.Even public opinion about him was satisfactory and he held proper opinions for the time of  year like when there was peace he was for peace and when there was war he was for war.

His family was also right like he was married and added five children to the population, which Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his generation.Teacher's report says he never interfered with his children's education.

The poet finally adds in the last two line that the only question is was he happy and was he free. The speaker is being facetious by asking if this man was free or happy, for the state, the bureaucratic machine knows nothing of these two immeasurable qualities.

The poem thus implies that people should always question and examine the values that they use to define their freedoms and sense of individuality

Question and answers.

I Answer the following in two or three sentences each: 

1. Who does the word ‘he’ in the first line refer to? 

 The word ‘he’ in the first line refer to unknown citizen

2. The poet calls the unknown citizen saint in ‘the modern sense’ because 

a) there was an official complaint against him

 b) He was a very good man 

 c) he always served the State 

d) He offered prayers everyday 

 

3. Name the factory the unknown citizen worked for? 

Fudge Motors Inc.

 4.Why was he never ‘fired’ from the work?

He never got fired, as he  satisfied his employers.

 5. Do we get any information about the unknown citizen from himself? 

No.The reader will only come to know him through the facts that the “Bureau of Statistics, “the Greater Community,” and other organizations, have seen fit to share.

 6. He didn’t interfere with his children’s education because 

 a) He was not interested in their education 

 b) He let the state take care of it

 c) The state did not give the individual the freedom to decide it.

 II Answer the following in a paragraph each: 

1. List all the information you can gather about the unknown citizen. What impression does it create about him? 

According to the Bureau of statistics there was no complaint against the unknown citizen and all the reports on his conduct agree that, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint, for in everything he did he served the Greater Community.He worked in a factory and never got fired, as he satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc. His Union reports  showed that he paid his dues, and the social workers found that he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.The press is convinced that he bought a paper every day and reacted normally to advertisements.Policies taken out in his name proved that he was fully insured, and his Health-card showed he was once in hospital but left it cured.He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Instalment Plan and had everything necessary to the modern Man, like a phonograph, a radio, a car and a refrigerator. He held the proper opinions for the time of year; When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he was for war. He was married and had five children  which according to Eugenist was the right number for a parent of his generation.He never interfered with his education.

2. What meaning do the questions ‘was he free? Was he happy?’ assume in the context of the poem? Do you find the questions absurd? 

The unknown citizen is a poem written in praise of a man who lived a life  what the government  had deemed as an exemplary life..On the other hand the poem implicitly questions the standardisation of modern life by adding the lines ‘was he free? Was he happy?’in the poem, for the state, the bureaucratic machine knows nothing of these two immeasurable qualities.The poem is suggesting that people won't care about their individuality when they focus on the standards set by society they live.Like every others  they focus on the same status symbols like having the right job, right car, right no of kids etc. The state makes it out as if this man was free to choose how he lived, yet the reality is that this choice was an illusion. Modern society has told people what they should want and how they should live, which the poem implies makes it impossible for people to actually think for themselves. In such a world, there are right ways to live and wrong ways, and these are defined by the state. This man was thus "a saint" only because he always held the “proper opinions”—the ones that were officially sanctioned.The poem also builds the picture of a world ruled by bureaucratic government who spies on its citizens everyday life.The poet finally adds in the last two line that the only question is was he happy and was he free. The speaker is being facetious by asking if this man was free or happy, for the state, the bureaucratic machine knows nothing of these two immeasurable qualities.

The poem thus implies that people should always question and examine the values that they use to define their freedoms and sense of individuality

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