W. H Auden: The Unknown Citizen

The marble monument erected by the introduce or town is usu all(prenominal)y of a hometown hero. The person is al near always somebody who did well for the country and originated from a accepted town. The statue is almost never of someone who is sound an ordinary constituent living spiritedness just like e rattlingone else around him. This man is the model citizen one who never ca consumptions a stir, goes to war when asked, and does everything to serve the common good. He is a conformist, a person whom the governance holds high and promotes for others to strive toward becoming.The monument covers everything from his stemma record to his health history, all attested parts of his bearingtime, showing the reader incisively what the State is concerned with. look at the poesys structure, use of sound, and the way of life we see that the man is celebrated because he served the Greater Community (Auden 5) in everything he did and never questioned the giving medication. The n arrative structure of the poesy represents a speech by the topical anesthetic congresswoman. The statue scarcely has a reference enactment JS/07/M/378 because to the government the behavior is to a greater extent important the man himself.While the verbaliser calls this man, in the modern sense of an antiquated word, he was a saint (4), he only knows this because of the research prior to the even outt. The representative decides to talk about how the man performed all t he correct tasks throughout his life. The introduce hardly cares whether or not the man was popular with his mates and care a drink (13) so large as he wasnt a blabber or odd in his views (9). It is overly important to note that he held the fit opinions for the time of year (23) than if he was dislodge and riant (28).The use of sound notices that the unnamed Citizen lived an ordinary life. The loudspeaker systematically uses a simple rhyming scheme- Our report on his Union shows it was sound/ And our Social psychological science workers ground (11-12) to show the mans founding. The reader learns that the citizen was fully insured (16) and that he was once in hospital plainly left it cured (17). The fact that the poesy scheme is hardly tampered with suggests that the citizens life was consistently regular and ordinary.The most signifi understructuret use of sound comes at the end of the poem, when the speaker asks, Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd (28). Here, the speaker reinforces the states billet over the individual and dismisses any design that happiness and license are part of the states plan. It also forces the reader to acknowledge the states lend control over its citizens and how the mans passive life was led according to the governments will, not his own.Looking at the style and the use of run-in in The Unknown Citizen it reveals that the man served the state in every aspect of his life and was rewarded to show other concourse the make hea dway of doing the same. The poem states that there was no authoritative complaint (2) against this model man and it goes so far as to saying he was a saint (4). The speaker describes more(prenominal) of the mans qualities in order to show the people what a model citizen should be like. Thus, he explains that the man never got fired, / but at rest his employers (7-8) and paid his dues (10) on time.By doing this, the citizen had everything indispensable to the Modern Man, / a phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire. (20-21). The man even had the state in mind when he had a family of five children, for he had the responsibility matter for a parent of his generation according to the governments Eugenist (26). For those citizens who may have doubted whether the mans existence was an ideal one, the speaker explains that questioning whether or not the citizen was happy is absurd (28) because only the mans servitude to the state is important.The overall theme of the poem can be v iewed as a symbol as a whole, as it is a symbol of how the government treats conformists versus individuals. A symbol can be found in the line Our researchers into Public perspective are content / That he held the worthy opinions for the time of year (22-23). Public Opinion, which is capitalized, is very important to the State, as they feel if they can control opinion, they can control people, because most people will just go with the flow. It is through these subtle symbols that Auden is able to reveal how he feels about conforming to government xpectations, as most writers stray from conform. further despite the states assurances, the Unknown Citizens monument is clam up dedicated to a reference number instead of an actual name. Being a model citizen does not amount to lots in a country where ones freedom and liberty are nonexistent and ones wide-cut life is planned by the state. Indeed, the mans instrument illustrates this point To JS/07/M/378 / This Marble remembrance is Erected by the State follows the familiar verse scheme that marked the mans passive life.