All of these elements intertwine to tell the story of Omelas.
While reading this story, readers will notice the theme, characters, and tone.
To stay and ignore it or to leave Omelas and enter the unknown is a difficult decision to make. One cannot help but wonder what he or she would do in this situation. The society seems to be a utopia but what about the child who is suffering so that everyone else can enjoy the perfect society? The story forces readers to question their own morality, as well as the characters’. Le Guin acknowledges the awareness of the existence of the child, and how he "makes possible the nobility of their architecture." This passage was provoking in that it solidifies the towns awareness of the child and their own discriminate use of it as a means of siphoning off their own evils.Show More In the short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, by Ursula Le Guin, there is a lot of complexity involved. I chose the passage on the middle of page 766, in which Ursula K. The people of Omelas weren't happy at all, but so consumed with their own selfish existence that they didn't realize it, just as only those without conscience can be. In the end, some of the people left Omelas, whether out of guilt of fear. I also compared this story to Stanley Milgram's "The Perils of Obedience," in that the teachers, like the people of Omelas, had no problem inflicting torture on someone who had never done anything to them. The tone of the story, which started out with descriptions of an ideal town, suddenly becomes depressing as the reader realizes that these people have sold their souls for their comfort.
What seems to be so distressing to the reader is that the majority of the people don't care how badly the child suffers, as long as their own well-being is not interrupted. In the basement of one of the homes lives a poor, unfortunate child who apparently bears all the evils of the town, because the people of the town "know it is there" and that there contentness relies "wholly on this child's abominable misery" (765). But behind the scenes of brightness, there is a dark secret. There were abundant drugs and beer, but no hangovers or consequences to any actions at all. Le Guin even allows the reader to "add an orgy" (763) if the reader has stereotyped the citizens as "goody, goody" (763). They don't seem to need technology, civic leaders, "destructive" inventions, or clergy (763). Le Guin uses very vivid language in "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." Descriptions of the beautiful town, sparkling harbor, "merry women" (762), and "joyous citizens" (762) who are "not less complex than us" (762) reiterate Le Guin's assurances to the reader that the people in Omelas are deliriously happy, not stupid. The story concludes with some people escaping both the town and the child. Le Guin then introduces a poor, imprisoned child, who is either ignored or mistreated by the townspeople.
The ones who walk away from omelas discussion questions full#
The town is full of happy, artistic people, obedient animals, clean streets, and prosperity for everyone. Le Guin, the author of "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas," opens the story with a celebration of the first day of summer in what seems to be the perfect place to live.