Analysis of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
Within the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, there are many aspects of society that are portrayed. The story, written in 1973, represents the corruption within society. This classic short story makes the reader question what it really requires for a perfect world to exist, and if this feat is even possible. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin pushes readers out of their comfort zone by probing the ethical make up society through questioning the idea of Utopia and the moral decisions of society.
Within “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” the concept of Omelas pushes readers out of their comfort zone by questioning what utopia actually means. Utopia is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions” (Merriam-Webster.com). This means that utopia is a society in which every aspect is perfect, therefore creating a place where all of the citizens are happy. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” questions this view of society by creating an atmosphere where a utopia exists, but only with consequences. In Omelas, everyone is happy, healthy, and content with their lives. The citizens of this society live productive and pleasant lives in a community that fosters love, friendship, and kindness. The down-fall to this society is that in order for these individuals to live in such a perfect world, there has to be a sacrifice.
Within “The One Who Walks Away from Omelas,” Le Guin pushes the reader out of their comfort zone by creating a necessary sacrifice for the city of Omelas. This sacrifice comes in the form of one child who must suffer greatly. One child must live in a world which is completely different from the rest of those in Omelas. That one child is held forcibly to live in filth and darkness while the rest of the society lives in ideal conditions. The dependence of utopia on the suffering of the child can be seen in the quote “They all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery” (Le Guin). This questions the ethical makeup of society because it shows that what appears to be a perfect and ideal world still has its downfalls. In order for all of society to succeed, one individual must suffer.
Within “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” Le Guin shows readers the importance of the moral decision of society through the questioning of Utopia. Through doing this, Le Guin probes the ethical makeup of society by uncovering the sacrifices required to live in a seemingly perfect world. This can be seen through the way that Le Guin allows the reader to make their own decision regarding whether or not they find the conditions and sacrifices of Omelas acceptable. With Omelas, the citizens are made aware of the negative aspect of society as the mature from childhood to adulthood. The knowledge of the suffering child represents a coming of age for those within this society. Upon this coming of age, the individuals of Omelas discover the evil-doings that lie at the foundation of society and are forced to come to terms with the guilt associated with this sacrifice. Le Guin does not try to force the reader into believing that this is acceptable or not, rather she pushes the reader out of their comfort zone by forcing them to draw their own conclusion about the ethical makeup of Omelas.
Le Guin also pushes readers out of their comfort zone within “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by questioning the moral decisions of those who decide to stay and live within the society, despite the negative consequences of their happiness. Although the majority of the citizens of society decide to stay in Omelas, there are still those who make the decision to walk away from the utopia in which they live. Le Guin shows this through saying “They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness” (Le Guin). Through showing how some people chose to walk away from the happy lives of Omelas into the unknown world, Le Guin is questioning the moral decision making of those individuals who chose to stay verse leave. Although some of the citizens of the society do chose to leave, the majority of the people chose to stay. Le Guin pushes the reader out of their comfort zone by forcing them to make their own determination on whether or not leaving Omelas is the right thing to do.
So as we have seen, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin pushes readers out of their comfort zone by probing the ethical make up society through questioning the idea of Utopia and the moral decisions of society. This can be seen through the way that Le Guin questions the idea of utopia through creating a perfect society where the happiness of society depends on the suffering of one innocent child. This sacrifice calls to question the ethical make-up and moral decisions of those individual who chose to stay in Omelas, despite the consequences of their happiness. However, there are also other themes that are present within this story. Another theme would be the concept of the greatest good for the greatest number of people, which would put into perspective the suffering of one for the sake of the whole. This and many other humanitarian themes are present within “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. This short story is one that pushes the reader out of their comfort zone by questioning the basic fundamentals of society and what it means to be happy.
Works Cited
Le Guin, Ursula K. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. 1973.
Merriam-Webster.com. Webster’s Dictionary. “Utopia” Retrieved on 09 Nov 2012.
