In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” Usula Le Guin describes a utopic community that hides a dark secret. The story is like a thought experiment in ethics, calling into question the efficacy of ethical consequentialism or utilitarianism versus deontological ethics. Omelas is a thriving, joyful place but the happiness and health that abounds there “depend wholly on” the “abominable misery” of a single child (Le Guin 252). Le Guin’s story reveals the “terrible paradox” at the heart of human existence: that technological progress and the other trappings of civilization are directly dependent on exploitation (253). Upon perceiving the child trapped in the room at the underbelly of Omelas, residents have two choices: they can walk away from the community or they can remain within it, feeling poignantly the tragedy of compassion and of knowing that the sacrifice of one can and often does lead to the uplifting of the many. Le Guin makes it clear that freeing the child would destroy Omelas. Although it seems noble to walk away from Omelas, doing so does not change the fact that the city will continue to thrive because of the suffering of the one child. Therefore, the logical, wise, and compassionate choice in this case would be to remain in Omelas rather than to walk away. To better understand Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” it helps to be familiar with utilitarian ethics. Essentially, remaining in Omelas is the...
The good of the many is more important than the good of the one, and the ethical objective is to maximize happiness and minimize suffering. If the child is liberated, then all will suffer on some level. There are many human beings who would be willing to be sacrificed, to be a martyr, if it meant that their life would contribute to the betterment of humanity. The main catch in Le Guin’s narrative is that the child presumably has no free will, and was never empowered to make that choice. Therefore, the decision of whether to walk away or to stay presents a clear ethical dilemma. Even considering that the sacrifice is an innocent child, it still makes more ethical and logical sense to remain because it is the best of the alternatives.
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
" The people are prevented from doing anything to try and make the child's life better, and they all follow the rules. As readers, it is easy for us to say that the trade-off is not worth it, that the citizens of Omelas should rebel against the rules and save the child, but the moral question Le Guin presents is complicated. How do we weigh the needs of the many against
Walk Away from Omelas tells the tale of a city that must torture one of its citizens so that the rest can live a happy and cultured life. The one child that must be kept in misery is a scapegoat and must receive all of the filth, poverty, darkness, and misery so that others may have a utopian life. This poses a moral dilemma that the citizens must come
The victim protests that it is not fair when it is her own fate that is at stake, not when another person might be selected. The character's in Jackson's town are named, and have more distinguishing characteristics than the vague protagonists of Omelas. But because they are so utterly unaware of the moral consequences of their actions, the reader does not feel much compassion towards them, unlike the residents of
Lottery" and "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Ursula LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" are both short stories that relate society's tolerance and apathy of needless pain and cruelty for the sake of superstition and tradition. Each story is set in a small village or town and centers on a yearly festive occasion. LeGuin's story takes place in the town of Omelas
We accept these injustices because in theory the poor and the suffering can better themselves through hard work, due to the nature of the capitalist system. We try to rectify these injustices to some degree through social support safety nets: yet for many individuals, there is too much to overcome, too many obstacles placed in their way even before they are born. On a macro level, the developing world often
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