Big Brother Writes a Poem: Conformity as a Virtue in Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen”

Big Brother Writes a Poem: Conformity as a Virtue in Auden’s “The Unknown Citizen”
In “The Unknown Citizen,” Auden creates an expansive and frightening dystopia as seen through the eyes of a dictatorial ruler.
Auden gives subtle clues about the world that “The Unknown Citizen” inhabits by playing with the meaning of certain words and phrases. For example, the second line, “That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint,” illustrates several important things. First of all, the fact that “saint” is an old fashion word suggests that religion is no longer a part of this new world. But the heart of the poem comes from what the narrator deems as the “modern” definition of a saint. Today, a saint is defined in the Catholic faith as a person in Heaven who lived a life of “historic virtue,” and was “holy” and “reverent.” In contrast, the unknown citizen is not necessarily any of those things; because a saint is described in his world as someone who “served the greater community.” There is a great contrast in the two definitions, which shows that the society he lives in values not great individuals but nameless parts of a whole. Also, in the tradition of other dystopian novels such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984, words are perverted to show a society that is itself perverted. In Auden’s poem, “The Press” is responsible for giving information to the government about individuals; whereas in real life the press is responsible for giving individuals knowledge about their government. Additionally, Auden capitalizes certain words (like the “Greater Community”) to show the emphasis society has placed on them. Finally, the tense of the poem— the royal “we”— suggests an adherence to some sort of “groupthink.”
The structure of the poem; a neat, organized checklist; adds a humorous and ironic tone. The humor results because Auden mixes two dissimilar elements (a balance sheet and an individual’s life) to an odd effect. No human being, who is filled with contradicting emotions and thoughts, can be reduced to a matter-of-fact laundry list. The irony exposes a government trying to run people like parts of a machine.
The opening to the poem showcases what a strange, sad world the unknown citizen inhabits. The fact that the monument was “Erected by the State” (as opposed to family or friends) suggests that loved ones play less of a role in one’s life than the government does. The fact that it is in the public view suggests that the government is openly emphasizing community over the individual. Also, the citizen is not given an identity save for some numbers and letters because he is not significant to the government as a person with a unique name.
What is left out of this man’s epitaph is as significant as what is put in it. Although it deals with his family in a scientific, biological sense (he contributed the right number of children to help his community), it does not deal with it in a social sense. In our world, obituaries are focused on the deceased’s family and friends. The exclusion of such facts on the unknown citizen’s grave shows how deemphasized a person’s family is in Auden’s world.
The point of dystopian writing is to serve as a cautionary tale for a society. Most famously, George Orwell’s 1984 stretched the ideals and practices of the Communist party in Russia to their frightening conclusion. Although there are numerous parallels between Auden’s poem and Orwell’s novel, Auden seemed to be using a different society as a model. In the poem, Auden hints at a capitalist system (the citizen works at an incorporated company whose name sounds suspiciously similar to Ford Motors and belongs to a union) that is not unlike our own. Therefore it would be reasonable to conclude that Auden is cautioning the U.S.A. just as Orwell cautioned the U.S.S.R.
Auden’s choice of company (Fudge Motors, which, as mentioned, is obviously an allusion to Ford Motors) is also significant. After all, Ford is famous for creating factories with assembly lines, and cutting costs by using interchangeable parts. This could be a metaphor for the man in the poem: he himself is an interchangeable part.
In conclusion, it is made clear through Auden’s language, tone, and descriptions that the unknown citizen is celebrated by his government because of his conformity and his function as a consumer. The government’s cruel ideals are dealt with explicitly in the final line: they believe that the unknown citizen has had a fulfilling life because he has fit into a preset role. His value as a free and happy individual is irrelevant to them.