The Happiness of Thousands and the Misery of One Child in the Short Story, the Ones who Walk Away from the Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

Summary:

In this short story, a utopian city named Omelas is described as a place of peace and happiness. There are very few laws, no tyranny of religion as there are no priests, no slaves, and general welfare and happiness. However, the people are still regular humans who live complex lives, not an idyllic lifestyle. The author, later on in the story, reveals that there is a small child who lives underneath the city who has never seen the light of the city before in his/her life. The child sits in its own filth all day and is holed up in a small room. Everyone in Omelas learns about the child and they all go to visit at least once in their lives to go look at the child. The fact that all this happiness and peace of the city relies on the misery of this child is too much for some denizens to handle. These people leave the city and never return. On the other hand, most of the inhabitants accept the child's misery as a fact of life and see the happiness and peace as more important than saving one child from a wretched life.

Analysis:

This story can be largely seen as an allegory of concurrent society. The fact that all the inhabitants of Omelas rely on the misery of one child for their happiness and peace reflects the fact that the wealthy rely on the poor in current society. Throughout history, first world countries have used third world countries to make themselves richer, in the same way that Omelas uses this child to make themselves happy. The allegory can be extended as many people in society are aware of this fact but accept it and do nothing about it. However, there are those few who are disgusted by this and try to change it and make it better, similar to the people who leave Omelas to escape the guilt. The author wrote the story in such a way that allows us to create our own version of Omelas. By leaving many of the details up in the air, readers can fill it in with their own ideas and thoughts, making the city as much theirs as it is the author's. This was an effective tool because when the child is brought up, it makes the readers think as to how much they value their utopian society. Is the happiness of thousands worth the misery of one? That is a question that every reader get the chance to ponder and answer upon reading the story.

Two Questions:

Do you think the time period in which the author wrote this short story have any significance? 2. How does this story comment on human nature? Is it in a positive way or negative way?

Significant Quotation:

"To praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else." (Le Guin 2). I found this quote significant because it states that people either love or hate good and evil and they cannot love or hate both. For example, if someone embraces good, they have to despise hate. However, the inhabitants of Omelas are different in that they embrace both the good and evil aspects of their city. They accept the misery of the child in order to be able to have the happiness and peace in their city.

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