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The unknown citizen
Critical analysis of the unknown citizen
The unknown citizen
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“The Unknown Citizen”
“The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden, is a commentary on government and the materialism of modern man. The poem is written in the form of an obituary inscribed on a monument built by the government in commemoration of an average, upstanding, and decent community member. Throughout the passage, the speaker lists facts about the citizen’s life which he believes prove that the deceased was a valuable person. In actuality these facts represent nothing more than the socially accepted values and actions instilled in society by materialistic views. This makes the government appear unconcerned with the true thoughts and feelings of its people, seeing them only as statistics. We can see this in the subtitle “To JS/07/M/378 This Marble Monument Is Erected by the State”. The citizen is being referred to by a number rather than a name.
Auden was very wise in choosing a title for this poem. The Unknown Citizen represents the common man, singular in his desires and attitudes, respected for the same reasons. He is unknown in the sense that his government and perhaps his peers were unaware of his true emotions and ideals, only looking at his exterior image as he did what he believed he was suppose to do. In the inscription the speaker portrays that the citizen lived a worthwhile and happy life, basing this assumption on reports and facts gathered from sources such as the Bureau of Statistics, the Press, and other government agencies. For the most part, the ...
Every individual has two lives, the life we live, and the life we live after that. Nobody is perfect, but if one works hard enough, he or she can stay away from failure. The Natural is a novel written by Bernard Malamud. It is Malamud’s first novel that initially received mixed reactions but afterwards, it was regarded as an outstanding piece of literature. It is a story about Roy Hobbs who after making mistakes in his life, he returns the bribery money and is left with self-hatred for mistakes he has done. Hobbs was a baseball player who aspired to be famous, but because of his carnal and materialistic desire, his quest for heroism failed, as he was left with nothing. In the modern world, the quest for heroism is a difficult struggle, and this can be seen through the protagonist in The Natural.
All human beings are born with genes that are unique to them and make us the individuals we become. The right to exist as an individual in society achieving the best possible potential of one’s existence irrespective of any bias is expected by most humans. In the essay, ‘The new Civil Rights’ Kenji Yoshino discusses how the experience of discovering and revealing his sexual preference as a gay individual has led to him proposing a new civil rights by exploring various paradigms of the rights of a human being to exist in today’s diverse society. In exploring the vast demands of rights ranging from political or basic human rights we have differentiated ourselves into various groups with a common thread weaving through all the demands which
In the short story “No One Is a Mystery” by Elizabeth Tallent the reader is introduced to a nameless female character. Throughout the story there are various descriptions that has great subtext to the relationship between the narrator and her lover Jack. One of the best descriptions in the short story is when the narrator is staring at Jack’s boot. The description Tallent uses makes the reader use one of their five senses, she makes the reader focus on the sense of touch. Tallent writes of boot’s frayed thread and scuffed toes. Another good description of the sense was muddy manure. The last part of the description is when the narrator gives a telling detail about the relationship between the two. She mentions that Jack has been wearing the
The 1920's were a time of change in the United States. For the first time in history, more people were living in cities than in the country. The United States was also wealthier than it had ever been. New methods of transport had been introduced. A lot more technology was also introduced, such as radios. This had made it easier to stay up to date with new stories.
“Without Conscience" by Robert D. Hare is one aimed towards making the general public aware of the many psychopaths that inhabit the world we live in. Throughout the book Hare exposes the reader to a number of short stories; all with an emphasis on a characteristic of psychopaths. Hare makes the claim that close monitoring of psychopathy are vital if we ever hope to gain a hold over Psychopathy- A disorder that affects not only the individual but also society itself. He also indicates one of the reasons for this book is order to correctly treat these individuals we have to be able to correctly identify who meets the criteria. His ultimate goal with the text is to alleviate some of the confusion in the increase in criminal activity by determining how my of this is a result of Psychopathy.
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the industry of consumer goods and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed. Farmers were paid very little because the price of food kept going down, they also had the Dust Bowl to worry about. African Americans became further infused with mainstream America during the Harlem Renaissance. They were also able to organize and elect officials who would make life better for them. The Roaring Twenties was a very exciting time to live in and we can all learn what the real world is like, and how we can prepare to be ready for it, today and in the future.
The 1920’s was a great time for The United States. It was called the Roaring 20’s for a reason. One of the reasons why it was so great was because of the emergence of professional sports and Sports heroes. We had Babe Ruth one of the greatest players ever in Baseball. Also had Red Grange who helped Football become what it is today. We have Caroline Ederle who became the first women to swim across the English Channel. Then we have the phenom Bobby Jones who took the golf world by storm.
It was a known as a colorful time, the jazz age and the dollar decade. As World War I (WWI) came to a close many Americans wanted to simply forget about the Europeans and the war and live life to the fullest. Some chose to amuse themselves with soaring stock profits, illegal liquor, short skirts, and what many would look upon as shocking morals. This was a time of dramatic social and economic change. Many people were uncomfortable with this sometimes-racy “mass culture.” The Roaring Twenties was a time filled with youth hosting wild parties. Everything had a feeling of carelessness to it. People from all around the world were doing the same type of things as Americans were. As for the economic change, the total wealth of the U.S. nearly doubled from the year 1920 up until the great crash in 1929. Most African Americans knew this period to be the Harlem Renaissance. Many famous Jazz artists, playwrights, and sculptures came from the Harlem Renaissance. Some of which were Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Augustus Savage. Many other discoveries included sports legends, writers and gang life. Some of which were Babe Ruth, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Rudolph Valentino.
In 1918 when World War I ended, American society and culture changed immediately after. World War I resulted in the death of nine million soldiers and twenty one million wounded. Families were left mourning the loss of their relatives and people titled World War I as a “war to end all war.” With the nation going through such tragedy, change was bound to happen. During the 1920s there was a change in consumer culture, art, music and literature. So much changed happened during the 1920s that it’s referred to as the roaring twenties. Entertainment was on a rise and the way that Americans were used to living started to change. Along with that came immigration laws that changed American culture as well.
The 1920s are known as the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, and the Golden Twenties. During this time, there were dramatic social changes in society. The Great War destroyed old perceived social conventions and new ones were developed. The 1920s was a decade that saw a great change in the role of women. The Roaring Twenties was a common name for the 1920s, due to the rise in consumerism and advertising at the time. Morals began to decrease during this time period. The 1920s was a period of time with great societal changes.
Most of the population doesn’t get a certain taste in their mouth when we hear a certain music note and we don’t see certain letters in colors. But for people with forms of synaesthesia, they experience many of these mixing of senses. Typically synaesthesia starts in early childhood and is consistent as the person ages. It is known that the experiences occur with no conscious effort. There are two common forms of synaesthesia, color–graphemic synaesthesia, where specific numbers and letters or words, written and/or spoken, provoking a reaction to seeing different colors. And the second being, color–phonemic synaesthesia, the spoken form. There are reports that state that there are many types of inducers (the stimulus that triggers the synaesthetic experience) and concurrent (the synaesthetic experience itself).
The 1920s were a time of political and social changes. Americans began transferring from farm life to city living and the economy kept growing. People all over the country were doing the same dances, listening to the same music, bought the same items and even talked the same. Although the 20’s brought much conflict, for some young people and cities, they were definitely roaring.
The Roaring Twenties was America’s golden age. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said,“The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper” (“People” PBS). The cultural undertone of the twenties was very different from the times before and during World War I. “ For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms…people from coast to coast bought the same goods…listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used the same slang” (“Roaring” History). The Twenties was a time of social and cultural change. During this time, things like the automobile and jazz became more popular and mainstream. These things were possible because America
The 1920s were a pivotal period in American history because the nation established many of the structures that it required to promote a lifestyle that is enjoyed by many diverse people across the country today. In the United States, the 1920s were a distinct decade because a majority of its citizens enjoyed immense wealth, and this period marked an expansion in the country’s establishment of infrastructure and the people who lived during this time contributed significantly to music and the arts. For the first time in history, more Americans moved to the cities and the surrounding suburbs, which created a cultural shift to emphasis on the middle class working individual, rather than on the rural farmer. It is important to understand the implications of the 1920s on modern American culture, because this was an essential decade that had a significant influence on the American way of thinking in addition to the American way of life.
Found out about government reaction is the reason of this poem. I would say it was a