The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

             Analyzing "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
             "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin, is a surprise-ending short story that shows how society can create traditions and ways of thinking that very few people can stand up against. The story takes place in an imaginary town where the people are happy and simple. Le Guin constantly reminds the reader that people are happy, but there is phoniness. She says, "All smiles have become archaic." The author gives the reader a basis for the town's setting. The story takes place during a summer festival. Then she lets the reader's imagination create what the he or she thinks is a believable, "perfect" town by giving him or her options. The options are small details like whether there is or are not religion, technology, drugs, alcohol, and even sex without inhibition. The reader is given these options because she wants them to participate in the story. Le Guin does not want a king, monarchy or any person who thinks that they have power over the other townsfolk in Omelas, because that would create rebellion, which would ruin the ending of the story. The overall tone in the story is sarcastic. LeGuin makes the town out as too good to be true and in fact, it is. Then she goes on to describe a small dark broom closet where a child sits. The child has been there for a long time. It sits in its own filth completely nude and is horribly malnourished. The child has no concept of time and does not ever see light unless a few people come to witness the child's suffering. The townspeople come to see the child when they are between the ages of eight and twelve. When they are able to understand the reason for why the child has been locked up. The reason is "If it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would...

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The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:01, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/92673.html