The Unknown Citizen Explication Essay Example for Free

The Unknown Citizen Explication Essay Several conflicts are dramatized in The Unknown Citizen, the most prominent being: conformity of the middle class, government manipulation, and the loss of individualism to the standards of an average citizen. The speaker of this poem is non-traditional as the poem is, in fact, an inscription on a â€Å"marble monument erected by the State. † The inscription is dedicated to a â€Å"JS/07 M 378†Ã¢â‚¬â€presumably, â€Å"The Unknown Citizen,† although this term only appears in the title. The Unknown Citizen is essentially an elegy, a lament for the dead, written by either a government official or a strong believer in the government. This becomes clear through the speaker’s repeated use of possession, such as in line 12, â€Å"†¦our Social Psychology workers found†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"Our researchers into public opinion are content†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (22). These references establish the poem’s criticism of government manipulation and very closely mirror the same notions within the novel 1984. The speaker offers insight into just how severe this government infiltration is, mentioning an active â€Å"Bureau of Statistics† (1), a â€Å"Health-card† administered to all citizens (17), and personal information drawn from â€Å"†¦reports on his conduct†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3). Another conflict that arises within the poem is that of a dominating middle class. The author defines the â€Å"Modern Man†Ã¢â‚¬â€which is also capitalized to represent a distinct faction—as one who possesses all the â€Å"necessities,† including: â€Å"a phonograph, a radio, a car, and a Frigidaire† (21). The poem becomes almost satirical here. The speaker continues, â€Å"He was married and added five children to the population†¦the right number for a parent of his generation† (25-26). The poet outlines society and the government’s idea of the ideal middle class modern man, however, with much irony. Regardless, with this elegy, the author intends to praise the life of the unknown citizen, but succeeds only in detailing the fact that his life was undisruptive and that he closely followed the expectations of a rigid society. Among his â€Å"praises,† for example: â€Å"When there was peace, he was for peace: when there was war, he went† (24). In this, it becomes clear to the reader that you do not want to be an average citizen; you do not want this to be your elegy. Some critics argue this, however, as Auden stating that there is nothing disgraceful in being unknown. The poem is, above all, a satire of the way conformity hinders the individual and leaves ridiculous and solely external distinctions between human beings. Auden presents an allegory in The Unknown Citizen that begins even before the poem itself. The phrase â€Å"Unknown Citizen† appears only once—in the title. This term is an immediate allusion to and parody of the â€Å"Unknown Soldier,† especially considering the details of who the poem is dedicated to and the fact that it is found on a marble monument, much like those one might expect to see in Washington, D. C. here the United States is home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The â€Å"Unknown Solider† is a soldier who cannot be recognized after being found in battle. This sometimes-controversial idea can be interpreted to mean that many people die as unknowns because they lived uninfluential lives. Aside from this large allegory, the poem uses only a few rhetorical devices. In line four, for example, â€Å"†¦in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint† is quite an exaggeration because being â€Å"one against whom there was no official complaint† is hardly saintly (2). Another example, in line 20, is â€Å"†¦had everything necessary to the Modern Man. † If this were not an exaggeration, it would be extremely disturbing to agree that all one needs are the classic symbols of a squeaky-clean 1930s home: a car, a radio, and a refrigerator. This 1930s theme continues in two particular allusions. In line eight, it is written that the citizen was employed by â€Å"Fudge Motors, Inc. † which closely resembles the automobile giant of both then and now, Ford Motors, Inc. , but is, through â€Å"fudge,† slightly more appealing. Next, in line 18, are mentions of the groups â€Å"Producers Research† and â€Å"High-Grade Living† which are likely allusions to Consumer Reports and Good Housekeeping, respectively. Both U. S. publications are tokens of a middle class, â€Å"perfect† society. The Unknown Citizen consists of both patterned meter and rhyme, however, both are inconsistent. The meter is loosely anapestic, meaning that each metrical foot consists of two unstressed beats followed by a stressed beat. Line one is an example of such: â€Å"He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be. † Other anapestic lines are scattered throughout the poem. The rhyme scheme begins as ABAB and then, in line 9, proceeds for some time in rhyming couplets. These patterns are occasionally broken, however. Consistent or not, this rhyme does create a sort of melodious sound while reading. Some lines even resemble the simplistic and song-like style of nursery rhymes. For example: â€Å"Yet he wasn’t a scab or odd in his views/ For his Union reports that he paid his dues† (9-10). This type of sound is rather merry and is a stark contrast to the less-than-celebratory subject matter, which is yet another development of irony. The poem, because of how it rhymes, is also highly particular, almost robotic or even â€Å"perfect,† which parallels to the citizen’s â€Å"perfect† life. Auden completes the poem masterfully by leaving two questions on the monument— questions that any reader would beg after such an elegy. The speaker asks â€Å"Was he free? Was he happy? † and is immediately defensive upon answering, an obvious tone shift. Although the speaker insists that â€Å"had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard† (29), it is impossible to trust a government that erects expensive marble statues in honor of nothing more than numbers, statistics, and the status quo.

Oedipus The King Sophocles :: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles

THE GREEK THEATRE 2) Is Oedipus a Tragic Hero? Answer this question demonstrating specific understandings of the concepts of Tragedy and the Tragic Hero. In the Greek play, â€Å"King Oedipus† written by Sophocles, certain characteristics, which determine the traits of a tragic hero, reveal themselves as the play unfolds. These traits enable readers to enjoy a more enhanced reading of the play and also serve to evoke a particular response from the reader. Readers acknowledge that King Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is he is an important and influential man. He isn’t just looked up to because he’s the king; he is genuinely admired and respected from the people of Thebes who come to seek comfort and advice from Oedipus, the â€Å"wisest in the ways of the gods.† This is demonstrated in the opening of the play when King Oedipus appears and is concerned about what ‘his’ people are worried about. Readers acknowledge King Oedipus’ wisdom and love; â€Å"I would willingly do anything to help you.† Through this quote readers respond favorably towards this character as readers are aware that King Oedipus actually genuinely cares about his people and Thebes as he steps down from the throne and makes the effort to correspond with the people and get to the bottom of the dilemma. King Oedipus can also be classified as a tragic hero because he is not perfect but most certainly has tragic flaws, one of them being excessive hubris and self- righteousness and he refuses to believe anyone who doesn’t agree with himself. This is evident in the beginning of the play when Teiresias and Oedipus are debating about who killed Laios. Hence readers are aware through the following quote, â€Å"Do you think you can say such things with impunity?† that King Oedipus has a strong passion for the truth and high moral standards. As the play progresses further, King Oedipus’ hubris becomes more prominent as he is determined to find out about his birth no matter what the cost is. Oedipus’ search for the truth leads him to the discovery that he isn’t a â€Å"child of luck† but, â€Å"a man of misfortune† which of course horrifies him as he learns that at birth he was nailed to the top of a mountain top and was considered to be of low standing social class. King Oedipus’ pride seems to be more injured as he went to such great depths to discover the truth – only to discover that he was born of low class.

History Essay

To what extent was England dominated by Spain and the serving of Spanish interests during the reign of Mary When Mary decided upon making Spain a close ally in 1554 through the marriage of herself and Philip II of Spain, she took special precaution to not give the superpower too much authority over England. Despite that Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, after they feared that England would be relegated to a dependency of Spain, this fear in many cases came true. Philip viewed the marriage as entirely political and his second visit to England was clearly only due to wanting involvement in England, Spanish interests in England were helpfully reinforced through the marriage and Mary’s foreign policy, subsequently making England a Spanish pawn. However arguments to indicate that England was not dominated by Spain are also clearly noticeable, as Mary received her own advantages out of the marriage with Philip and assured Spain of the little authority Philip would receive through the terms of agreement. The marriage between Mary and Philip which he viewed to be entirely political and leaving Mary to defer heavily on Philip allowed him to also enjoy titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including acts of parliament were to be dated with both their names, parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple and coins were to show the heads of both Mary and Philip. As well as Philip as a figure receiving authority in England, other advantages also lead to Spain being able to use England for Spanish interests. Involving England in the Hapsburg-Valois conflict, they made England into a ‘submissive satellite around the Hapsburg power’; this finally led to the loss of precious Calais for England after there was limited assistance in defence of Calais. Philips coincidental investment in the English navy led to huge advantages as he could consequently use this for his own benefit, and his communication with the Netherlands. This could perhaps be seen as pre-planned by Philip and therefore strongly suggesting Spain was using England for its benefit wherever its interests lay. Other examples are obvious of Philip taking advantage of English involvement, and this can be seen at the Siege of St Quentin, where 5,000 Englishmen joined 70,000 Spanish. Philips forces broke through French defence and the English support was made to seem more important than it was, in fact English troops were not actually needed at all. Overall England can be seen as doing exactly as Spain wished and Spain doing as they thought themselves necessary, the English cleared the channel for Phillip as he wished and Philip only visited England when he required England’s involvement, the marriage appeared completely one sided as Mary showed reliance on Phillip and heavily on Spanish advisors. Alternative views can also be noticed, as England received huge advantages through the alliance with Spain and perhaps gained just as much if not more than Spain had. The marriage with Phillip increased Mary’s Spanish inheritance, Philip was heir to vast territories in continental Europe and the New World and upon marriage Mary became Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem. It was obviously clear to Mary that she was in need of a husband and an heir, in this case Philip was providing both, he had already one son from his first marriage and this proved him a good breeder so subsequently benefited Mary hugely and her security in England. Alternative support and security was also established upon the alliance as Henry II had strong Scottish support he was always a threat to England as he wanted Calais, however Mary alone would seem an easy target, but aligned with Spain she appeared stronger. We must also notice that Mary’s tactical approach to the terms of the marriage agreement left her in a very safe position. If no heir was secured or Mary died, neither he or his heirs would have any claim to the throne of England, Philip was to receive the title of King and rule as joint sovereign but he had no sovereign authority. He could not promote foreigners to hold office in England but he must uphold the laws of England. Those in Spain felt that Philips honour had been disparaged and it’s probable that Philip felt the same, however Mary was left safe and secure with the ability to use Spain as she wished. Mary was able to secure England’s main commercial outlet with the Netherlands and could use Spanish help if necessary against political instability, overall English security increased hugely and the benefits were clearly noticeable, proving in fact England was not dominated by Spain and Spanish interests and Mary’s own interests were not left abandoned. In conclusion, both arguments provide fair points and an equal understanding of advantages and disadvantages for each monarch due to the Spanish alliance; however the view that England was a Spanish pawn is a weak one. It is obvious England played along with the serving of Spanish interests but Mary still upheld authority and power, she only behaved to Spanish wishes to keep the alliance strong and secure. This did not necessarily mean that England was dominated and under Spanish dependency. Mary had a necessity to marry and produce an heir, this was an expectation she was forced to follow, and subsequently Phillip filled this position and secured many other insecurities which needed to be attended. Consequently England possessed access to numerous things; Spanish inheritance, Charles V as an ally, England’s main commercial outlet with the Netherlands, access to Spanish Atlantic treasure and political stability. Overall England received increasing security and benefits from the alliance with Spain, proving England not to be dominated by Spain but using Spain to it’s advantage equally as much.

The Importance of Preserving Traditional Family Values to...

We live in a culture where we fear each other, hate each other, and even kill each other. How bad do things in our culture have to get before we stop and look at what brought us to this place? I believe that a key part of the answer to that question lies in the family. Although I know there are many good single parents in our culture I want to draw focus to the traditional family as I write this. If we look up the definition of the traditional family we find that it is a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children. Since time began this was how the family was meant to be. A mother and father jointly raising their offspring with their values and beliefs so that those offspring would then continue to improve their†¦show more content†¦Co-director of the National Marriage Project, Barbara Doafoe Whitehead found that Psychologist and Researcher â€Å"Judith Wallerstein challenged the earlier notion that divorce is healthy for kids† (322). Wallerstein went on to do a study of middle-class families who had gone through a divorce (322). What she found was â€Å"Almost half of the children in the study entered adulthood as worried, underachieving, self-deprecating, and sometimes angry young men and women† (322). This helps us see that when mothers and fathers stay together they have more of an opportunity to raise their children with the love, values, and self-worth needed to succeed with resorting to hate and crime. Having a pleasant and sincere family can also create a support system that will help us with our daily struggles in life. The support we get from family can help us succeed in many ways. I know from personal experience that the support I receive from my family has given me the determination to go back to school, as a result, contributing to our culture when I graduate. Although I have considered it many times throughout the years, if it were not for the guidance and persuasion of my family I never would hav e had the confidence to follow through with those thoughts. The encouragement we get from ourShow MoreRelatedThe Decline Of Marriage And Family Life1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe concept of a traditional American family has been profoundly changed over the last 100 years. Fewer marriages are forming, divorce rates are higher than ever, and childlessness is much more common. The decline of marriage and family life seems to be the inevitable product of progressive ideas and modern socio-political conditions. Feminist and contemporary liberal critics of marriage and family life appeal to individual rights, liberty, consent, equality, and love as they seek to dismantle andRead MoreTraditionally, A Common Hmong’S Custom Is That A Soul Can1180 Words   |  5 Pagesbody and a shaman possesses power to control spiritual forces. 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