Q. How does the nameless addressee justifies to carry the theme of the poem?
ANSWER
Auden brings an anonymous or nameless addressee to announce that the modern society is losing its identity with the name of identity number. The only numbers are working. The individual's are losing their identity and they are counted like the bricks of the wall. These types of the situation only give the identity number to the individuals. The poem introduces a long list of the different activities that the person has and that prove him as a 'saint'.
The unidentified person's movement has only the numbers of his identity. Whatever the information are kept, listed are shown in very passive way. The Bureau of statistics finds no official complaint, and he is like a saint. He always supported his country whatever that was in war or in peace. He never becomes a killjoy. He was never a scab or odd in his views. He always supported with whatever plans the country brought. He was a popular person among his friends. He had even taken the instalment plants for whatever the modern facilities and technologies brought of his time. He had a phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire; and he had five children for the support of the number of populating.
Above mentioned features and the duties and responsibilities are successfully completed by the persona. He does all for the state, his family, and the society but these indicators are not the measurements for his happiness and satisfaction. His happiness and freedom is always questioned. We can conclude that he was happy. If any thing had not been in his happiness and his satisfaction, we would have certainly heard.
Q)Make a character sketch of the anonymous persona.
ANSWER
He is never complaining man. He completes his duties but never demands anything. In this whole scenario we never hear him demanding anything. It is not an individual story. It might be the story of all the people who are concerned about the war time. This is a real predicament of the person who is really a patriotic one. His patriotism is seen over all in his life in every steps. He never raises voice against country. He never goes against the country's demand.
WH Auden, through this poem, marks the personal identity of a modern man, who has fallen in the modern facilitated world. A modern man demands the most to be seen same in the world. The individual person is unknown. Nobody knows him but he is dutiful, responsible and laborious. He dedicates his life to society. He loves to be known by the numbers. It is not an individual choice to get a nameless identity but his destiny is as such.
The theme of the poem is that having a no name by the persona is not important rather we do not ask his name, identity and social standard: But when we are known by the number of the identity we do not ask about his satisfaction, freedom and happiness. When we ask these questions about his freedom and happiness the question become absurd, meaningless. We speculate that if anything had been about his dissatisfaction, we should have certainly heard. The homeless persona is sufficient and successful to carry the theme of the poem in every aspect.
Q). The last question "was he free?, was he happy?" is taken as absurd. Discuss its ironic elements.
ANSWER
The poem is a satire on the modern man's plight in the modern society The word 'saint' in the very beginning satirizes on the modern man's very nature. The man is ready to accept whatever the situation falls in front of him. He is ready to pay every dues to the state. He is ready to accept every rules of the society and so on. But none of the details or the questions known about the freedom and happiness of the p persona.
The persona works in a factory, he loves to be in the company and he is liked by all his fellows, he never goes against the state rules. He follows the schemes of the society, state or the economic and family plans. He is taken as a sensible person but his sensibilities falls apart when we make the questions about his satisfaction and the freedom. The poem smoothly runs, develops up to his duties and responsibilities. The poem is ready to answer every questions related with its tasks. But we never hear about the individuality and choices of the person. The speaker is kept under the mask of the numbers.
The man is read under a blanket and is taken as the normally expected happy He loves to give rather he expects from the state. The modern mans' expectations are overshadowed. We assume that if he doesnot demand that means he doesnot have any desires to be fulfilled.
The absurdity of the last question is appropriate. Absurdity means that it is meaningless, senseless and useless when we use in certain level. The point has given a long list of his duties and responsibilities in the whole poem. And after these, asking about the freedom and happiness is a senseless question. If he had some, he certainly would have asked. But in real he never thought in the way beyond the box. The poet generalizes the situation. But asking about his freedom is not an absurd rather it might be the serious and relevant issue for the poet to raise.
It is meaningless to ask these fatal and absurd questions at the end. But in real the whole meaning of the asking the question is to show/ point out the real hidden concerns of the poet/ person. The irony of the absurdity regarding the question is becoming strong. Calling, absurd to the question is any irony. Why do we call it so can't be the man who is completely responsible and dutiful to be happy and free? He feels never free to know about his happiness in the stage of completing the responsibilities. In real. the man was neither happy nor free though he completes his official, social and familial life. All are important for him but he is never important (to be happy, free) to anybody.
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