Analysis of the Story Called The One Who Walk Away from Omelas - Essay Example

Instruction: Task: The One Who Walk Away from Omelas The short story, The One Who Walk Away from Omelas, is a short fictitious narrativebased on a utopian society where everything seems right. The story talks of the life in a town called Omelas, with happy residents, as there seems to be no sadness, hunger, poverty or bay other atrocity that characterizes any ideal society. As the story starts, the city residents are preparing for the summer festivals, and the society is exuberant as the feel of ecstasy and overall happiness is evident all over. In light of all this jubilation and general state of happiness for the city inhabitants, a child is held prisoner in a small dingy room within the city. Apparently, the overall happiness of the city inhabitants lays in the misery and suffering of this child. The child is in a despicable state, as the room lacks enough light and the child’s body is covered in blisters and sores. Furthermore, the child occasionally begs to be released from this condition, but the pleas are ignored as the city inhabitants cannot fathom a life without the happiness that the child’s misery brings to them. The author puts this into perspective "…I will be good," it says. "Please let me out. I will be good!" They never answer. The child used to scream for help at night, and cry a good deal, but now it only makes a kind of whining, "eh-haa, eh-haa," this further shows how they often ignore the child (Le Guin 17). The state of the child is shielded from the city inhabitants until they come of age, after which they get to know of the existence of this child apart from having to actually see the child. Upon this realization, most city inhabitants feel sorry and wish for the child to be set free, but this will apparently spell doom for the city, as all the benefits they enjoy would vanish should the child be released. Due to this state of affairs, some city inhabitants choose to leave the city, while others remain altogether, seemingly proponents to the theme of the story that tries to discern the ethicality of sacrificing the happiness of an individual for the overall benefit of the society. This highlighted plot sets to expound on the entire theme of the story, as the inhabitants are initially happy and content with their utopian society. However, upon learning of the reason behind their happiness and prosperity, most city inhabitants are faced with a scenario that puts them in a dilemma. They can either conform to the societal norms of Omelas or continue to enjoy the happiness courtesy of the suffering child, or critically analyze the ethicality of the whole system and walk away from the utopian society. Moreover, the structure of the plot, that first lets the city dwellers enjoy the happiness until they come of age before letting them know of the source of this state of utopia, is enough to critically set ground for an empirical point of view for the theme that highlights the way in which an individual’s suffering can be overlooked for the sake of societal contentment. The author exceedingly uses symbolism throughout the story to highlight deeper meanings akin to the contemporary societies. The most evident is that the child’s misery serves as a reference point for viewing the morally unsound grounding that most successful societies are built on. This symbolism tries to highlight the price that most societies pay in order to achieve that state of overall contentment, happiness and prosperity. The author conceives that most societies are built upon filth, and most inhabitants accept this, nonetheless, choosing to enjoy the benefits and overlook the muck on which it is built. Furthermore, the society of Omelas tries to describe the situation to its inhabitants once they come of age, but however much they try to describe it, the adolescents often have a feeling of anger and contemplation on why their society disregards the welfare of a child to support good state of the rest of the society. Furthermore, the author uses a first person narrator in describing the characters and layout of the setting in which Omelas is, and how the society relates. The narrator paints the picture of a society in which the citizens are happy though there is an air of guilt and responsibility in spite of all the happiness they seem to enjoy. The narrator postulates, “…it is there…” to show how the characters are wary of the state in which the child is, all for the sake of the overall prosperity of the entire society (Le Guin 14). The state of the child’s misery keeps some of them from fully enriching themselves in the activities of Omelas, as it occasionally bites through their conscience and ego. Such characters in the narrative represent the ones who walk away, as the eventually leave the city though their destination is not known. The main reason for these people leaving this city of apparent happiness is their principles not in conformation with the Omelas idealization of sacrificing the welfare of one child for the happiness of the rest of the society. The narrator puts this to view thus “…it is said that they seem to know where they are going, but do they? Is it that they know where they are going or are they merely confident in their decision to leave?” (Le Guin 7). Moreover, the story portrays a lonely young flute player, who spends most of the time just playing the flute and allowing himself to be immersed in the feel of the music. Despite the good music that this character is producing, and the overall state of ecstasy portrayed in the society, people still pay little attention to him thereby leading to his loneliness. This probably portrays the way in which the state of happiness in the society is a cover-up for the real state of how the people feel. This shows that despite the way in which the people in the Omelas seem to be enjoying connection and tight chemistry, the underlying state undermines this as shown by the child who plays the flute. They are apparently not as happy as the society tries to portray them to be. Considering the narrative, its characters and plot, it aptly tries to highlight the state in which the filth onto which most societies are built is not sufficient to guarantee overall contentment for the citizens. Though on a shallow perspective all may seem right, especially as highlighted by the manner in which the people of Omelas are seemingly happy, a deeper perspective paints a different picture, as not all is as right as it seems to be. Moreover, this is further augmented by the as shown by the manner in which people occasionally leave the city, despite all its happiness and apparent prosperity. Therefore, the manner in which this state of utopia is reached actually means more than just achieving this state through unethical means of sacrificing the welfare and well-being of a single entity within the society-the way in which the Omelas society did. Works Cited. Le Guin, Ursula. The One Who Walk Away From Omelas. California, CA: Creative Company, 1993. Print. Read More