Ursula Burns

In the short-stories “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry, “The Washwoman” by Isaac Singer, and “Gwilan’s Harp by Ursula K. LeGuin, all of the characters struggle with many losses. One of the main and most apparent loss is life in each story. In “The Last Leaf”, ironically, a failure of a painter, Old Behrman dies, when it is least expected. Behrman was not respected, but his death leads the reader to instantly admire him for his brave attempt to save someone he loved. “Gwilan’s Harp” displays a loss of…

Omelas is a smaller town beyond the darkness of the fields where the people live with happiness flowing through the air. There are green meadows, tall buildings, red roofs, painted walls and avenues of trees but no such thing as rules or judgment only purely joy. Without any rules can this exist? Within the city in the basement of a public building there is a room which holds a child, no windows, no light and only one door where small a small amount of light peaks through. Sometimes the door is…

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a short story written by an American author Ursula K. Le Guin. Also, the author won several awards like the Hugo and Nebula Award. Her winning novels (The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974)) are extraordinary. Furthermore, the story titled The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is about a child and his/her sacrifice for the society for their happiness and sickening bargain that is needed to be maintain. As the narrator describe it, “Omelas…

In the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” written by Shirley Jackson and Ursula K. Le Guin. The prominent commonality in beliefs between the texts is that in society, an individual's false sense of security and happiness is usually at the expense of another person's quality of life or bliss. In “The Lottery” and “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas,” whether the characters in the communities have knowledge of the person being sacrificed or they are unaware,…

Yes, I think that the Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas should be a required story for the students in 8th grade. I believe this for multiple reasons. One is that it brings more of an understanding that a utopia can not be real. Another reason I believe that it should be required is because I personally think that it makes you think a little deeper into something that has a theme that can go into a lot of different things, such as in your general day to day lives. Lastly, I think it should be a…

The short story,” The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas”, by Ursula Le Guin unifies the central idea that there is no such thing as a perfect (Utopia) society; every society has their own dark secret. The central idea that there is no such thing as a perfect (Utopia) society, every society has their own dark secret is evident through Ursula Le Guin’s use of symbolism. On page 3, the author states,” In the basement under one of the beautiful public buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of…

Human nature plays a huge role in how our societies function. Even in a utopian environment such as Omelas in "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas", by Ursula Le Guin. This society values happiness as one of their greatest virtues, but like any human civilization, it comes at a steep price. Because of humans' tendency to become violent, this story focuses on how this society practices no destructive behaviors whatsoever. Although this is true for the most part, they are still human, and must find…

“The Lottery” and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” are both stories that share one pivotal theme, sacrifice. “The Lottery” follows a town that blindly follows tradition and sacrifices one of their own every year believing it will bring them good harvest. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” follows a similar path in that the citizens of Omela’s happiness draws from the suffering of one small child, residing underneath the city. While the motivations in both stories are slightly different,…

The Bible and “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” connect deep below the surface. Understanding the Bible will help readers understand Le Guin's short story. Ursula Le Guin’s story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” creates an allusion of finding the christian faith through--the child in the darkness, the city guarded by beautiful gates, and those who leave and never return. In Le Guin’s utopia, every citizens happiness is at the cost of the suffering of a child. This child is locked…

A Human’s Mask “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin is a short story of a city and its choice to sacrifice the happiness of a child for the well being of the city. The city itself, Omelas, is representative of human facades, and the child represents human insecurities. Le Guin’s use of imagery to describe Omelas symbolizes a human’s attempt to mask their insecurities or their pain. The depiction of Omelas parallels the authenticity of a facade. Le Guin describes Omelas as “a…