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meaning of the unknown citizen
meaning of the unknown citizen
essays on W.H. Auden poems
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Analysis of The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden
“The Unknown Citizen”, written by W.H. Auden during 1940, is a poem
where the speaker, a representative of the state or government,
directs a speech to the audience about a monument being erected for a
citizen. Written in free verse, although using many couplets, this
poem is a poem that describes the life of a certain person through his
records and documents. This citizen is portrayed as a normal and
average human being who is being honoured for being normal. Auden,
however, uses the fact that the state is honouring someone for being
normal to criticise his society. By emphasizing certain grammatical
conventions and the structure the author explains the true meaning of
this poem, and the unidentified citizen.
“The Unknown Citizen” is a poem that directs an epitaph to a common
man in the country. In honour of the monument for the citizen, a
speech is given as a tribute to his doings. This man is depicted as a
man who obeyed the law and never did anything incorrect, and he was
known for taking part in many government handled activities. He served
his duty in War, worked in Fudge Motors Inc., had a Health-card, and
never caused any sort of rebellion towards the state. This citizen had
an overall average life, where he was married and had five children.
Auden is writing about the state erecting a monument in honour of this
citizen’s doings as a great citizen in the community whom represented
many other people in the country.
This poem might seem to be very direct and clear; however, the author
does not literally mean what he wrote. The title, “The Unknown
Citizen”, is a reference to countries that erect a monument for the
“Unknown Soldier”; this is an honou...
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...aditionally sound according to the government, and since the Union is “sound” it is not really a Union. The sense of this poem depends greatly upon the tone, because literally the poem has a completely different connotation than it does if u considers the tone. The poet has a critical attitude towards this subject and it is clearly demonstrates once the reader analysis the poem.
W. H. Auden is a poet who portrays his emotions and feelings through his poetry, and in this certain poem, “The Unknown Citizen”, Auden criticises the state. He uses allusions and capitalization to make the reader understand the actual meaning of the poem and by adding the final couplet in the poem, Auden reaches tries to get the reader to think. Auden leaves the reader hanging and makes them think; is our society and government really totalitarian? Or is this how our government will be?
Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Pericles “Funeral Oration” are both speeches that clearly portray similar and diverse components.
A captivating novelette in which a man’s priority is to serve only for his brothers, Ayn Rand’s Anthem illustrates a society that has suffered the ghastly consequences of collectivism. She depicts an oppressive culture in which the word “I” is unheard of and men belong to the collective “We.” Men’s lives are determined through the Council of Vocations, a group that maintains a powerful dictatorship by subjugating the public from the beginning of their lives. The idea that “If you are not needed by your brother men, there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies” (Chapter 1) has been forced into average mindset of the vehemently maintained society. In contrast, Rand mocks the totalitarian civilization through the main character Equality. Since he was born, Equality possessed a quick mind and constantly strayed apart from his peers. Through his life, he shows an unwilling behavior to conform not only to his name, but also to the rules of society. After he is found guilty of independent thought, he is sadistically beaten and dragged into the Palace of Corrective Detention, an unguarded jail that castigates the public of their wrongdoings. Shackles are unnecessary as a result of the brainwashed society and their compliance to obey orders, which consequently allows Equality to escape. In a collective society, citizens are denied their inalienable right of individualism, which ultimately eliminates all thoughts of opposition. Through their submission, the presence of their souls vanishes and society deems the collectivist tenet true. The lack of guards and old locks in the Palace of corrective Detention symbolize the evils that result from a collectivist society.
“…and [I] shall first give an account of his deeds at home and abroad, then of his character and pursuits, and lastly of his administration and death, omitting nothing worth knowing or necessary to know.”
...es of individuals can be used to explore a broader social wrong, in this case the injustice of a totalitarian government. Both authors use their protagonists to depict how a dictatorial state can destroy all sense of individuality, Orwell by presenting Winston in his fight against “The Party” and Niccol by depicting Vincent in his battle against society. Both authors also use individuals, who must isolate themselves in order to survive to expose how an unjust authoritative government can manufacture isolation. Orwell and Niccol also present conflicting views on the possibility of individual rebellion in an oppressive society, reflected by the success of Vincent and failure of Winston. In their prophetic dystopian texts both George Orwell and Andrew Niccol use the experiences of their protagonists to explore the broad social wrong of a totalitarian government.
...coming a public speaker for everyone he had to combine all of the different cultures and experiences that he learned overtime to create one culture and have one voice for everyone. His evolution from one career to the next was like the evolution of man. It evolved and transformed with every step until the achievement of greatness.
While government as an institution can be used for benevolent purposes, George Orwell’s novel 1984 contends that when taken to an excess in the form of totalitarianism, government becomes dangerously self-serving.
Imagine a society in which its citizens have forfeited all personal liberties for government protection and stability; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, explores a civilization in which this hypothetical has become reality. The inevitable trade-off of citizens’ freedoms for government protection traditionally follows periods of war and terror. The voluntary degradation of the citizens’ rights begins with small, benign steps to full, totalitarian control. Major methods for government control and censorship are political, religious, economic, and moral avenues. Huxley’s Brave New World provides a prophetic glimpse of government censorship and control through technology; the citizens of the World State mimic those of the real world by trading their personal liberties for safety and stability, suggesting that a society similar to Huxley’s could exist outside the realm of dystopian science fiction.
In the novel 1984, George Orwell elaborates on the idea of an autocratic government. This novel describes Orwell’s views on the dark, twisted form of government that he believes will develop in future years. The culture he created for this story was the most horrifying, troubling place a person could reside. The goals of the Party consisted of keeping the citizens squared away and oblivious to the unethical actions taking place around them. This unrealistic society gave Orwell the opportunity to create a vision of what a future communist nation might resemble. The purpose of this work is believed to be informative to citizens of how the government impacts our way of thinking, living, and believing. Fear from the citizens is used as manipulation by the government; this means the government shapes the citizens that will not conform to their society. Throughout this writing, the author remains in a dark, cold mood; thus, creating the feeling of negativity and opposition to the government. Ethical appeal is revealed in this
...t orator and rhetor, his ability to integrate emotion into fact and still have facts exist as true and unbiased. As a result of the heavy factual details, his logos in this speech was excellent.
equality. His speech highlights his main points of his speech while using rhetorical devices that the
This essay is anchored on the goal of looking closer and scrutinizing the said poem. It is divided into subheadings for the discussion of the analysis of each of the poem’s stanzas.
This book was written in the 1940’s as a warning to society against the danger of allowing a totalitarianism society and even though it is fictional in nature, many of the dangers warned against are still real today. Throughout the world, many live with extreme governmental interference in their daily lives, unable to freely speak their mind without fear of reprisal. Governments use modern technology to invade the privacy of their citizens. There were many aspects to the book that left this reader feeling just a little bit uneasy.
Safire, William. Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2004.
In "Civil Disobedience," Thoreau criticizes the American government for its democratic nature, namely, the idea of majority ruling. Like earlier transcendentalists, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau believes in the importance of the individual. In a society where there are many individuals with conflicting perceptions and beliefs, Emerson chooses passivity and isolation to avoid conflict with others. However, unlike Emerson, Thoreau rejects passivity and challenges his readers to stand up against the government that focuses on majorities over individuals. Thoreau argues that when power is in the hands of the people, the majority rules, "not because they are most likely to be in the right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are physically the strongest" (Thoreau 64). Thoreau portrays this very fundamental element of democracy, w...
One of the first ways that Orwell exposes Totalitarianism through the oppression of the i...