The Ones Who Leave Omelas By Ursula Le Guin

In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, the informally-speaking narrator depicts a cookie-cutter utopia with perpetually happy citizens that sing and dance in the music-filled streets during the Festival of Summer. However, under one of the beautiful public buildings lays a child, no older than ten years-old, who lays in its own excrement. Although the citizens know the emancipated child is there, they refuse to act upon the child’s suffering, for their happiness depends entirely on the child’s abominable misery. Through ethos, the narrator illustrates this utopian society with a casual tone and frequently asks the audience for their input. Le Guin’s fairy-tale introduction of the story establishes her credibility through her extensive knowledge and understanding of the people of Omelas. Le Guin utilizes logos through the narrator’s second person point of view which incites the audience to draw their own conclusions about the city of Omelas and question their own justifications of the child’s existence. The concept of the happiness of many relying on the necessary suffering of one forces the reader to question their own morals and their justifications for the child’s physical and mental condition. Through ethos, logos, and pathos, Le Guin presents the contrast and divide between the citizens of Omelas and the child in the cellar in order to challenge the reader’s capacity for moral self-conception.

The town of Omelas is a deceptive dystopia that at the beginning, sounds like a world dreamed up by a child, full of joy and peace. Le Guin illustrates this environment of tranquility: “In the silence of the broad green meadows one could hear the music winding through the city

In "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" author Ursula K. Le Guin uses the utopian society of Omelas to symbolically highlight the ugly and unsavory state of the human condition. The stories unidentified narrator paints a colorful picture of Omelas and ironically describes its residents as happy, joyous and not at all barbaric. Although Le Guin describes Omelas as a delightful even whimsical place that affords its citizens “…happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of the of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weather of their skies”; we come to discover just the opposite (5). At its core we find a

The short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, written by Ursula Le Guin, is about a so-called perfect society where the sacrifice of a child is what provides harmony, equality, and prosperity to the citizens of this city. As a reader, one is invited to create and visualize their own utopia, so that one is emerged with the reality of a moral dilemma: the happiness of many for the unhappiness of one. The symbol represented in the story reflects current and past society issues such as military sacrifice, slavery, and injustice.

As we explore this peculiar world of Omelas, we are prompted to ask ourselves, "What do I think is the `perfect society'? What is happiness to me?", and most importantly (to me), "Would I walk away from Omelas?" While we explore these

All of the narrator's questions invite the reader to place ;himself in the position of the people of Omelas. Do you need this to make you happy? Then you may have it. Once the reader begins to enjoy the city and begins to see its happiness as a good thing, then the reader, like the adolescents in the story, must be shown that on which the happiness depends. Readers must face the question of what they would be willing to sacrifice for happiness. In Omelas, the people have no guilt so they are able to sacrifice the child for their happiness with no remorse because they are happy.

Her writing persuades readers to think more deeply about the issues going on in our society when it comes to happiness. Throughout the use of pathos, ethos, and logos in Le Guin’s short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”,

The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas is a short story written by Ursula Le Guin. In her story, Le Guin creates a model Utilitarian society in which the majority of its citizens are devoid of suffering; allowing them to become an expressive, artistic population. Le Guin’s unrelenting pursuit of making the reader imagine a rich, happy and festival abundant society mushrooms and ultimately climaxes with the introduction of the outlet for all of Omelas’ avoided misfortune. Le Guin then introduces a coming of age ritual in which innocent adolescents of the city are made aware of the byproduct of their happiness. She advances with a scenario where most of these adolescents are extremely burdened at

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" demonstrates how happiness can’t exist without moral sacrifice through its use of symbol. The child being kept alone in a locked room underneath the most beautiful building of the city is a symbol of how someone’s happiness in Omelas depends entirely on that child’s misery: "they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships…depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery" (246). This passage makes it clear that happiness can only occur if Omelas’ citizens act like they constantly forget the child’s existence and let it "live" in its constant suffering. It’s evident that this symbol illustrates the delicate relation between happiness and moral sacrifice.

After reading “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. Everyone wanted to live in the perfect society, but people realised that it is not perfect and that one child has to suffer for the rest. I do not think Omelas is a true utopia. The definition of a utopia is a place where every little thing is perfect, but in the story Omelas is far from perfect.

I believe that one of the ultimate questions that all members of the human species asks is ‘How can I find happiness?’ and reflected in this question is a desire to find a happy, fulfilling, quality life. Many people try to find such happiness through their careers, material possessions, and all manner of other pursuits. What a large portion of these people do not realize is that happiness and the elements necessary to achieve a quality life may not come from place, position, or possession but from attitude. In both Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell and Sunny Chernobyl by Andrew Blackwell, the reader can see these ideas explored in great detail.

Therefore, happiness seems to be at the expense of justice. “The folks were not simple folk, though they were happy” (1312). They would not use the word “cheer” anymore because they weren’t cheerful (1312), but yet all smiles would become archaic (1312). They didn’t have slaves or swords nor did they use their people as barbarians (1312). Yet their society, rules, and laws were especially less complex, but the people of Omelas “were not less complex than us” (1312). “The trouble was encouraged by sophisticates considering happiness rather than being stupid” (1312). Their children were happy, mature and intelligent; perhaps happiness is based on what is neither necessary nor destructive. Omelas strikes some as all smiles and good people. The people of the Omelas have guilt, and the joy they have is built on successful slaughter. What swells the hearts of Omelas is the boundless, generous and magnanimous triumph in souls of all men and against some other enemy.

The people of Omelas are materialistically happy but are morally unhappy. The narrator implies that happiness is knowing the differences between what are needs, desires, and detriments to a person. Every person alive has basic needs which are deemed necessary, such as sustenance and shelter. All honest humans will admit that they have wants and desires that are not necessary, and many push the limits to attain them. And always there are those who are willing to allow the suffering of others to achieve their own desires. The adults of Omelas are not using just discrimination, and because of their immorality, are not happy.

“Omelas sounds in my words like a city in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time”(Le Guin 254). In this town being happy comes at another’s suffering. In our society we tend to live for our own happiness even if that means harming others in the process. We strive for success in this world, we want money and we want to be the best. Our happiness is important to us but we are willing to take from others in order to get to our happiness.

Ursula Le Guin in her written short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” gives the reader a psychomyth type motive, with this picture of a dystopian like society where a child is used as a sacrifice for happiness. Ursula Le Guin in a way allows the reader the opportunity to try and decide what they think the ending of the story should be. She begins by leading the reader through the journey of the beautiful and happy society of Omelas. When you first start to read this you think of this society that came from a fairytale where there is noble nights, happy children, kings and queens, true love, and everything else you would see in a perfect fairytale. The people of Omelas were always known to be happy, merry, joyful, and so on. There seemed to be no crime, no enemies, and no war.