The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas: A Comparative Analysis

Many people, families, and or groups of people have their own traditions that make them who they are; but what is tradition? Tradition is the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation. Being a part of tradition is something to be proud of but what if that tradition is hurting others? “Tradition was the name given to those cultural features which, in situations of change, were to be continued to be handed on, thought about, preserved and not lost (Graburn 6). Tradition as a reservoir is the concept that tradition is a strength to draw upon, a source of historically defined identity, and a source of a sense of safety, specialness, or difference” (Graburn 9). In these two different societies there are both many similarities and differences between them. “The Lottery” and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” are two stories that share a …show more content…
But like in “The Lottery” no one seems to want to step up and make those changes out of fear. These people choose to walk away from the town and leave the utopian lifestyle behind them. They simply cannot live in the town knowing what is happening behind the scenes. “They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do. If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of the vile place, if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed” (LeGuin 868). With this; think the pressure put on these people to make the decision to stay or leave this utopia and a life they always wanted, but to always have to know this child has the worst life