There is this idea in the minds of many: a shining utopia, where society can exist without consequences. There is no war, no crime, no suffering. The people of this city experience only happiness and joyousness. This description is not of any world that can or ever will exist; it is merely a fantasy, one that is described in the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. Society cannot exist without consequences, there must always be retribution. This splendid city could not exist in the way it does without the monstrous torturing of a single child. This child suffers for all of the city of Omelas; the idea in Omelas is that the suffering of one does not outweigh the comfort of many. The child in this story, mistreated by
…show more content…
There is a happy parade filled with horse racing and flute playing. The architecture is magnificent, the food is sublime, and the music is poignant. There seems to be nothing amiss in this city of splendor. But there is a child, one who pays for all of the sins of Omelas. The child is kept in a darkened and dank broom closet far beneath the city, where no one can be reminded that it exists. It is the dark history of Omelas. While everyone in the city can experience its comfort and prestige, they all ignore the price that they the child has to pay for them to continue living as they do, in magnificence and …show more content…
Those who walk away from Omelas do not try to help the child, because they know that the entire city will meet its demise if they do so. So they leave, with it in their conscience that they are complicit in the suffering of that child. They each make their own decision to leave Omelas, when their grief or guilt becomes too much for them to handle. They have decided that they cannot morally be a part of a society that allows this and they remove themselves from the system. They continue on, passively opposing the treatment of the child but are not moved enough to bring down their entire society and free the child from its chains. It is said that there is no guilt in Omelas, and that is true. All of the guilt leaves Omelas when the citizens try to walk
There is a happy parade filled with horse racing and flute playing. The architecture is magnificent, the food is sublime, and the music is poignant. There seems to be nothing amiss in this city of splendor. But there is a child, one who pays for all of the sins of Omelas. The child is kept in a darkened and dank broom closet far beneath the city, where no one can be reminded that it exists. It is the dark history of Omelas. While everyone in the city can experience its comfort and prestige, they all ignore the price that they the child has to pay for them to continue living as they do, in magnificence and …show more content…
Those who walk away from Omelas do not try to help the child, because they know that the entire city will meet its demise if they do so. So they leave, with it in their conscience that they are complicit in the suffering of that child. They each make their own decision to leave Omelas, when their grief or guilt becomes too much for them to handle. They have decided that they cannot morally be a part of a society that allows this and they remove themselves from the system. They continue on, passively opposing the treatment of the child but are not moved enough to bring down their entire society and free the child from its chains. It is said that there is no guilt in Omelas, and that is true. All of the guilt leaves Omelas when the citizens try to walk