The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas analysis

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

By Ursula Le Guin



"Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it".

This quote stood out to me not only due to the core truth it represented for the people of  Omelas but also for its applications in today's current world. The world of Omelas is one in which most accept and purposefully remain oblivious to the fact  that an innocent must supposedly  suffer for their happiness and livelihoods. In fact, one of the most shocking contrasts described in the short story by Le Guin is the picture of blissful happiness she paints of the townsfolk of Omelas as they attend a town clelbration and then the shocking scene of depravity and inhumanity she depicts as the environment of the child. Yet Le Guin claims  these citizens are not not inherently evil but rather possess, " the finest and fairest souls of all men everywhere". This then brought me to the thought of how could one ever claim to be so good, when you knowingly have knowledge of  such great evil  and choose to do nothing. For example, recently during a human rights seminar I participated in, I saw a picture of luxury high rise apartment located not more than twenty feet away from a slum area filled with people  living in makeshift tents made out of plastic, cardboard, and cloths. After I saw that picture the first thought that popped into my head was how could those people carry on with their affluent lifestyle, when literally right outside their window so many suffered.  I arise at the same realization after  reading Le Guin's story as I did when I saw that picture. This realization was remaining blissfully ignorant is  morally irresponsible and wrong . Yet still the situation is more complex than it may initially seem? For aren't there countless citizens in affluent countries aware that many starve to death and live  day to day in horrendous conditions. The number of those who act are disproportionate to the number of those who do not. Instead like the quote says its as if " Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it".  There is also the condition that when one chooses to act they in a way acknowledge that they have a moral responsibility to do so.  The weighty  word in that sentence being responsibility. For you can acknowledge  that the world can be extremely brutal at times and you can accept that this occurs often. Yet where do you go from there? Do you accept this fundamental truth and separate yourself form the issue by claiming that the situation has nothing to do with you or do you advocate and act in the name of preserving people's fundamental human rights? However Le Guin's adds an interesting twist  to this dilemma by claiming that all the citizens of Olema  are taught that if they help the child then joyous  life as the know will come to an end. The key phrase in the sentence being they have have been told . This threat  that they child's wellbeing holds against the people of Olemas is not a fact that has been proven but rather a beleif they hold dear. The situation reminds me of Nazi Germany. There was no solid proof that the Jewish people where responsible for all the terrible deeds the Nazi's claimed they where. However through  Nazi propaganda there was common belief that they were and because of this they deserved less than humane treatment. In fact, in Olemas past there could have been some perverse person who claimed in order for the citizen's happiness to be maintained a child must be sacrificed and before you know it this claim became a common truth. Then there are the people who choose to leave Olemas who I find to be the most interesting of all.  I say they are the most interesting because clearly by leaving Olemas they recognize   the wrongness in living happily supposedly  at the consequence of an  innocent child suffering  immensely. However by leaving are they silently protesting the inhuman treatment of the child or are they running away. i say this because none of them take the child with them when they leave.