In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin, the utopia-like city of Omelas is virtually perfect. Festivals and celebrations are held and the whole city is friendly. All inhabitants of the city are happy with the exception of one. A miserable child who is trapped in the basement of one of the many beautiful buildings in Omelas. All who are not adolescents know of this, but none show any compassion for the child. Some who come to see the child go home silent, and leave the city soon after. The joyous city of Omelas is dependent on the misery of one child.
The city of Omelas is a joyous place. It is compared to being, “like a city in a fairy tale” because of its happy people and being seemingly old-fashioned (1). The citizens gather …show more content…
The child is scarcely fed and, “sits [naked] in its own excrement continually” so that it will never experience any feeling of happiness (3). Not even a kind word is allowed to be spoken to the child, and on occasion, people will come and view the horror that the child endures. The child’s body is frail and covered in soars. Although the environment the child lives in is horrific, it is because of this, that the joy and prosperity in Omelas can exist.
The joy of Omelas is completely dependent on the depression and despair of this child. The happiness of the city and, “the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery” because the happiness in Omelas could not exist otherwise (3). This is due to the fact that good cannot exist without the coexistence of evil. If there is no evil, good cannot even be defined. This is why the child sits in the tool closet.
To restate, the city of Omelas is nearly a utopia. All are happy except one child, who it locked in a closet in horrible conditions. The child must be miserable in order for the city of Omelas to remain the way it is. This is because good cannot exist without evil. This short story teaches that nothing is perfect. Even the seemingly perfect city of Omelas has its
The city of Omelas is a joyous place. It is compared to being, “like a city in a fairy tale” because of its happy people and being seemingly old-fashioned (1). The citizens gather …show more content…
The child is scarcely fed and, “sits [naked] in its own excrement continually” so that it will never experience any feeling of happiness (3). Not even a kind word is allowed to be spoken to the child, and on occasion, people will come and view the horror that the child endures. The child’s body is frail and covered in soars. Although the environment the child lives in is horrific, it is because of this, that the joy and prosperity in Omelas can exist.
The joy of Omelas is completely dependent on the depression and despair of this child. The happiness of the city and, “the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery” because the happiness in Omelas could not exist otherwise (3). This is due to the fact that good cannot exist without the coexistence of evil. If there is no evil, good cannot even be defined. This is why the child sits in the tool closet.
To restate, the city of Omelas is nearly a utopia. All are happy except one child, who it locked in a closet in horrible conditions. The child must be miserable in order for the city of Omelas to remain the way it is. This is because good cannot exist without evil. This short story teaches that nothing is perfect. Even the seemingly perfect city of Omelas has its