Political Roles And Symbolism In Omelas By Le Guin

Register to read the introduction… In the text, Le Guin uses Omelas to represent Americas political morality. The child represents the poor and lower class in the United States, as well as Americas perception of third world countries. “They know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence,that makes possible the nobility of their architecture...They know that if the wretched one were not there snivelling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer”(Le Guin 209). This example from the text shows that in both America and Omelas, the poor and underprivileged are often exploited and overlooked by the rich. Third world countries are seen as unlivable conditions to contemporary American citizens. Without this sense of atrositiy on the other side of the world, Americans would not feel content with having another culture beneath them. The Political system of American culture is seen in Omelas where the happiness of the majority rests on the misery of a powerless minority. Something must be victimized in order for Omelas and America to live in happiness. There is no reason for somebody to be victimized for …show more content…
This message is conveyed by Ursula Le Guin in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by the child's awful life being ignored by the citizens. Contemporary American society is so caught up in individual prosperity that when stripped of all the wealth, it's as empty and sick as the child's stomach that made it possible. The slavery to ignorance in American culture is covered over by it's notion of freedom. It is important for Americans to realize that ignoring these problems is like a neglected wound, there will come a point when it can no longer be