“Would You Walk Away from Omelas?” In this short story, the fictional society of Omelas seems nearly perfect, but something is lurking just beneath the surface. It is revealed that an innocent life must suffer for this society to exist in its “perfect” state. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, Ursula K. Le Guin uses a fictional scenario to present the controversial idea of a moral scapegoat in order to sustain a perfect society. The society of Omelas is described as being a picturesque Utopia. It is a town that sits next to a majestic body of water and is also partially enclosed by a beautiful mountainside. Even simple things such as the parks and public buildings are described as “great” (258). The narrator claims that the
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During the procession to the meadow there is joyous music and dancing. The narrator even goes as far as to say that Omelas sounds like a city in a fairy tale.
The citizens of Omelas were described as very happy though they were not “simple folk”. (Le Guin 257). Le Guin argues that these people are “not less complex than us” (257). In this society, Le Guin declares that there is no need for many laws and rules. Though the people of Omelas might sound naïve or uninteresting, the author claims that they not only are complex people, but also “mature, intelligent, and passionate” (259). As for technology, there most likely were no cars or helicopters in Omelas (259). The people in this society seem to only have the desire for things that facilitate their state of happiness. Le Guin states that: “happiness is based on just a discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive. In the middle category, however—that of the unnecessary undestructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc.—they could perfectly well have central heating, subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of …show more content…
The ones who walk away are the most important members of this “utopian” society. Some leave immediately after witnessing the child, while others leave later in their lives. When they leave is not of importance, but just their act of leaving is. This is the group that cannot live this life with the knowledge of the suffering manifesting itself just beneath their “idealistic” life. We do not know where they go, or what happens to these people. The people who leave do not know what kind of life they will have outside of Omelas, but they leave anyway. Are they altruistic, or so morally repulsed by what they have seen, it is not clear. What is told is they leave and are never heard from again. It is likely the remaining people of the society do not mention the ones who leave so as not to remind themselves of the moral injustice their lives are built
During the procession to the meadow there is joyous music and dancing. The narrator even goes as far as to say that Omelas sounds like a city in a fairy tale.
The citizens of Omelas were described as very happy though they were not “simple folk”. (Le Guin 257). Le Guin argues that these people are “not less complex than us” (257). In this society, Le Guin declares that there is no need for many laws and rules. Though the people of Omelas might sound naïve or uninteresting, the author claims that they not only are complex people, but also “mature, intelligent, and passionate” (259). As for technology, there most likely were no cars or helicopters in Omelas (259). The people in this society seem to only have the desire for things that facilitate their state of happiness. Le Guin states that: “happiness is based on just a discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive. In the middle category, however—that of the unnecessary undestructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc.—they could perfectly well have central heating, subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of …show more content…
The ones who walk away are the most important members of this “utopian” society. Some leave immediately after witnessing the child, while others leave later in their lives. When they leave is not of importance, but just their act of leaving is. This is the group that cannot live this life with the knowledge of the suffering manifesting itself just beneath their “idealistic” life. We do not know where they go, or what happens to these people. The people who leave do not know what kind of life they will have outside of Omelas, but they leave anyway. Are they altruistic, or so morally repulsed by what they have seen, it is not clear. What is told is they leave and are never heard from again. It is likely the remaining people of the society do not mention the ones who leave so as not to remind themselves of the moral injustice their lives are built