The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas By Ursula Le Guin

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Recommended: The utopian idea

Utopia: what is it really? The conclusion that most scholars have come to is that is the ideal world, a perfect society. The debate comes in whether it is achievable or not. Many famous authors; Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ursula Le Guin to name a few, have tackled the topic in short stories they've written, and the conclusion they've come to is simple: that utopia is impossible. These short stories all share something in common: in them, at least one person in the utopian society is suffering for others to prosper. This is why utopia can not be achieved by human society until there has to be no one suffering for others to be happy.
In "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin we’re are introduced to what …show more content…

But in doing so, the whole concept of a utopia falls apart. Later on it is found out that even though most people live with the knowledge that their society is built upon the suffering of one child, some cannot. The text states "At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all. Sometimes also a man or woman much older falls silent for a day or two, and then leaves home. These people go out into the street, and walk down the street alone. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman." So it is not only the child unhappy in Omelas, but other members deemed fit to the society cannot take the guilt of having a child suffer for their happiness, so they leave the society. As a rule, happiness of the people and Utopias go hand in hand. If people suffer for a world to succeed, it is not an ideal world. Some may argue that a "food chain" or a "pecking order" is necessary in any society; it cannot be necessary in a utopian society since not everyone in the society is satisfied and happy. In this case the one suffering child brings the happiness to most citizens of Omelas, but most is not enough for a true

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