The mere mention of martyrdom may arouse an array of reactions because of its association with killing, violence and/or death in everyone who is familiar with the practice; and although martyrdom is not limited to any person, religion, or society and often, we find ourselves faced with a moral dilemma. But at what cost, are we willing to sacrifice in order to be happy and/or to find what we consider true happiness? Many like to say true happiness is dependent upon various circumstances and/or situations, yet we sometimes base and compare happiness on the misfortunes of others. The means by which people attempt to achieve these goals are mischievous an evil. The martyr theme is represented heavily in the works of LeGuin and Marquez; of which
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Is the pain and the inhumane treatment of this one person worth the bliss of an entire community? The characters of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” find themselves faced with an ethical dilemma; depicted through the analogy of the abandoned child in this utopian society. The story opens, with a vivid description of perfection LeGuin writes about the “houses with red roofs and painted walls, between old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees”, we are pulled in picturing perfection (LeGuin 1); further stating the happiness in the society by stating that the children “flared their nostrils and pranced and boasted to one another” (LeGuin 1). However, as the story unravels, the reader is introduced to another part of this seemingly perfect place; a dark place where the unthinkable exists “there is a room” (LeGuin). A filthy basement with a child is subjected to the unsanitary surroundings; thus giving readers feelings of disgust and raise questions regarding the expense of the happiness of the people of Omelas because of the conditions the child is kept in. Is the child a sacrifice for the happiness of this town? Not all area happy about the condition of which the child is kept; as the author writes that if the child was “cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing” (LeGuin) but all of the good of Omelas would be destroyed. Therefore, the child exists and although the people feel “shocked and sickened” (LeGuin) there is nothing that can be done; until people of the town begin to walk away into the
Is the pain and the inhumane treatment of this one person worth the bliss of an entire community? The characters of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” find themselves faced with an ethical dilemma; depicted through the analogy of the abandoned child in this utopian society. The story opens, with a vivid description of perfection LeGuin writes about the “houses with red roofs and painted walls, between old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees”, we are pulled in picturing perfection (LeGuin 1); further stating the happiness in the society by stating that the children “flared their nostrils and pranced and boasted to one another” (LeGuin 1). However, as the story unravels, the reader is introduced to another part of this seemingly perfect place; a dark place where the unthinkable exists “there is a room” (LeGuin). A filthy basement with a child is subjected to the unsanitary surroundings; thus giving readers feelings of disgust and raise questions regarding the expense of the happiness of the people of Omelas because of the conditions the child is kept in. Is the child a sacrifice for the happiness of this town? Not all area happy about the condition of which the child is kept; as the author writes that if the child was “cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing” (LeGuin) but all of the good of Omelas would be destroyed. Therefore, the child exists and although the people feel “shocked and sickened” (LeGuin) there is nothing that can be done; until people of the town begin to walk away into the