Post 9: Grace Goulson

The Unknown Citizen

W. H. Auden, 1907 - 1973

(To JS/07 M 378
This Marble Monument
Is Erected by the State)

He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be
One against whom there was no official complaint,
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.
Except for the War till the day he retired
He worked in a factory and never got fired,
But satisfied his employers, Fudge Motors Inc.
Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views,
For his Union reports that he paid his dues,
(Our report on his Union shows it was sound)
And our Social Psychology workers found
That he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.
The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day
And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.
Policies taken out in his name prove that he was fully insured,
And his Health-card shows he was once in hospital but left it cured.
Both Producers Research and High-Grade Living declare
He was fully sensible to the advantages of the Installment Plan
And had everything necessary to the Modern Man,
A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.
Our researchers into Public Opinion are content 
That he held the proper opinions for the time of year;
When there was peace, he was for peace:  when there was war, he went.
He was married and added five children to the population,
Which our Eugenist says was the right number for a parent of his
   generation.
And our teachers report that he never interfered with their
   education.
Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:
Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.

Auden, W. H. "The Unknown Citizen." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

This poem stresses how the "unknown citizen" in question is completely ordinary and normal, and it satirizes this to the point of where it seems as though the citizen is being honored as a fallen soldier. We can also infer the connection to an unknown soldier by noting the ironic epigraph at the beginning. The poem serves as a commentary on the utter boringness of American society at the time, and mocks the ordinary aspects of the citizen's life. Perhaps Auden wrote this poem as a reflection of society as a whole, or perhaps as relating to his personal life. Regardless, the message is clear: Auden is not a fan of conformity and lack of individuality. But the deeper meaning comes in the last two lines, "Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard." Through all of the data gathering and intense monitoring by (presumably) the bureaucracy, the citizen has really lost all of his individuality. However, the reader is left to assume that the citizen is neither happy nor free, which shows that the bureaucracy doesn't really know everything about the unknown citizen.