Running Away From Responsibility
In Ursula Le Guin’s story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” a Utopian society sacrifices the wellbeing and happiness of a child for the gain of the society. They believe that this nameless child has evil inside it, although it has done no wrong. In Ray Bradbury’s “Mars is Heaven” there is an underlying similar theme. The humans have no ill wishes for the Martians, but the Martians are fearful of what the humans might do. The Martians kill the innocent humans in self-preservation much like the Omelas. When ‘society’ becomes an entity capable of ruling over the lives of individuals it will receive all the power but none of the repercussions because there is no one individual to blame.
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” shows the effect of tradition on society and the individual. Many traditions are archaic and in many instances it is unknown as to why we carry out certain traditions. In a famous experiment called ‘5 Monkeys and a Ladder’, tradition is tested. The researchers place bananas on top of a ladder in a cage with 5 monkeys, when one monkey tries to get the bananas the rest are doused in …show more content…
You can scapegoat this guilt into the lap of society but your conscience is not going to let you forget where your ‘happiness’ comes from. Looking at this excerpt from the story, how happy do they truly seem? “They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer much anymore. All smiles have become archaic” (“The Ones Who Run Away From Omelas”, Ursula Le Guin) Individual responsibility gets lost in the mind hive of the society in this story, no one individual is at fault for this child’s suffering. Le Guin neglects to even mention authority figures in the story, stating “But there was no king.” (“The Ones Who Run Away From Omelas”, Ursula Le Guin). In a blameless society, guilt is still for
In Ursula Le Guin’s story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” a Utopian society sacrifices the wellbeing and happiness of a child for the gain of the society. They believe that this nameless child has evil inside it, although it has done no wrong. In Ray Bradbury’s “Mars is Heaven” there is an underlying similar theme. The humans have no ill wishes for the Martians, but the Martians are fearful of what the humans might do. The Martians kill the innocent humans in self-preservation much like the Omelas. When ‘society’ becomes an entity capable of ruling over the lives of individuals it will receive all the power but none of the repercussions because there is no one individual to blame.
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” shows the effect of tradition on society and the individual. Many traditions are archaic and in many instances it is unknown as to why we carry out certain traditions. In a famous experiment called ‘5 Monkeys and a Ladder’, tradition is tested. The researchers place bananas on top of a ladder in a cage with 5 monkeys, when one monkey tries to get the bananas the rest are doused in …show more content…
You can scapegoat this guilt into the lap of society but your conscience is not going to let you forget where your ‘happiness’ comes from. Looking at this excerpt from the story, how happy do they truly seem? “They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer much anymore. All smiles have become archaic” (“The Ones Who Run Away From Omelas”, Ursula Le Guin) Individual responsibility gets lost in the mind hive of the society in this story, no one individual is at fault for this child’s suffering. Le Guin neglects to even mention authority figures in the story, stating “But there was no king.” (“The Ones Who Run Away From Omelas”, Ursula Le Guin). In a blameless society, guilt is still for