The Unknown Citizen -- A poem by W. H. Auden

The Unknown Citizen

(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.

-- W. H. Auden




Recently I came across this poem written around 1939, just before the WW2.

Wystan Hugh Auden was born in England in 1907 and moved to the United States in 1939. This is his observation or view toward American state and bureaucracy. The narrator in this poem, I think, is the state. He is saying about a citizen who is just an average person, nothing unusual about him. Also the state is viewing its citizens only by letters and numbers. The state, by its various agencies, is monitoring all his actions. He is expected to do things in a certain way, give certain opinion, work hard to satisfy employers and pay his dues to the union. Basically the state is pre-planned the “right way” for every thing and make sure he and all average citizens fill into that.

The state through is press make sure that “he bought a paper every day” and that “his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way”. That’s how the bureaucracy creates an opinion that they want. Auden said “When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went”. Auden describes as many as 10 people and groups check and monitor this individual person, but still he is an “Unknown Citizen”. That’s because no one is interested about his individuality, they monitor him through his record and numbers, just like you would do to a machine if you want to make sure that it is working “properly”. The state and its bureaucracy are manipulating the whole system and give you an illusion of freedom. At the end, Auden is saying it is really an absurd question to ask if he is free or even happy. No one is interested on that. If any thing goes “wrong” according to the master, we would certainly have heard and he would have been dealt with.

-x86