Though W. H. Auden's "The Unknown Citizen" and George Orwell's 1984 are both very different types of literature and each have their own unique features, both demonstrate the suffering caused by surveillance in totalitarian governments. One a short poem and one a long novel, both attempt to warn the reader of the dangers of totalitarian governments' and serve as a warning for the reader to never allow modern governments to reach that point of total control. In 1984, Winston the protagonist suffers greatly at the hands of the government. Winston is constantly under the surveillance of the party, constantly threatened by the presence of thought police which can be any citizen from the high and mighty to seemingly innocent children. Winston is …show more content…
As long as he fits into the parameters of their definition of a perfect citizen, nothing else matters. He is a good worker, a good father, a good friend. The way he is described in the poem leads the reader to believe he is living the perfect life, until the last two lines. “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: / Had anything been wrong we should certainly have heard” (Auden 29-30). Unlike in 1984, until these last two lines the average reader would not perceive anything wrong with the like of the citizen. However this is because the poem is written from the perspective of the government. Auden uses this perspective to demonstrate how governments can manipulate things to make it seem like their way of doing things is always best and that they are always right. The citizen that is the subject of the poem cannot possibly be oppressed or unhappy because the government would obviously be aware of it. After all they know everything else about him. The question itself is irrelevant because even if the government noticed he was unhappy with his life they would not share it because that taints the illusion that everything is perfect under the surveillance of the