Omelas
Literary Response: "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
Ursula LeGuin's short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a science fiction narrative set in the future, depicting a paradise of peace and harmony beyond the contemporary reader's wildest dreams. In LeGuin's fantasy world, there is no king, no discord. The people are wise and mature, and not coarsened by evil. In fact, LeGuin writes, arguing with the reader's presumed assumption: "The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting" (2). The people of Omelas are generous and curious, even though they do not suffer. They use just enough technology to make life pleasant (washing machines and public transport) but reject technology that enslaves people and makes life too hurried and ugly, like cars.
There is one awful thing about Omelas, however -- the creation of the entire society rests upon the suffering of a single child. If the child were to be treated kindly, then everything would fall, and the people of Omelas would no longer have their Eden. "Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence, that makes possible the nobility of their architecture," and the other good things about Omelas (6).
The metaphor of the child is a metaphor for our own, less perfect, but still pleasant existence. In America, while we enjoy relative prosperity, millions still suffer in poverty and want, suffering that could be eased by the price of a plasma television or a cell phone. In other regions of the world, people toil for pennies a day to make clothing we wear cheaply on our backs. It is easy to forget these people.
In LeGuin's tale, some people walk away from the pleasure of Omelas, unable to accept this societal bargain. As our own society is based upon the suffering of more than one child, the author argues by implication in her tale that there is no reason not to try to save the many whose suffering enables our own comfort.
Works Cited
LeGuin, Ursula. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas." 1974. [1 Feb 2007] http://www.cbe.wwu.edu/dunn/rprnts.omelas.pdf
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