The One Who Walks Away From Omelas

“The One Who Walks Away From Omelas” In the short story “The One Who Walks Away From Omelas,” author Ursula K. Le Guin describes a magnificent, joyous city that appears to be almost perfect. When I was first reading this, it made me think of a city that was somewhere in the orient. I thought this because there were gongs being rung in the city before the parade, “In other streets the music beat faster, a shimmering of gong and tambourine, and other people went dancing, the procession was a dance”(236). I liked the way that the parade was coming out of the city and then going into an open field where the horse race was going to be held. The whole city seems to be perfect, but they have a secret. In the b

asement of a building, there was a young child who was locked in a closet and abused. I wish that some things had been explained a little bit more such as, where everyone goes when they leave Omelas, and why the young child was locked up in the basement. Sometimes after people go to see this child, adolescent girls or boys are not upset. Cousins 2The reason why the city of Omelas is always so joyous is because of the one child misery, ""the tenderness of their friendships, the beauty of their city, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child"tms abominable misery. After people have come to seen this child they often leave very upset, "Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, when they have seen the child and faced this terrible paradox"(239). Instead they begin walking and continue walking until they walk all the way out of Omelas, "These people go out into the streets, and walk down the street alone. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman"(240). I was not sure how everything could depend on one child. This shows that the people of Omelas are not always completely happy. Why was this child there What had he done to be locked in the basement The children of Omelas would be taken to see this young child when they were between eight and twelve years old. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Why does something such as the weather depend on the young child"tms misery This all confused me. Where do all these people go When I was finished reading this I was still kind of confused about some of the things that happened in this story.