Maggie A Girl Of The Streets And The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

The Slums
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people” - Martin Luther King Jr. In the two stories, Maggie A Girl of the Streets and “The Common Herd”; Crane and Riis focus on the harsh conditions people live in at the Slums of New York. In the other story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", Le Guin presents the readers with an ideal society, however recognizes that there is an “evil” that exist. All three writers agree that the Slums of New York is abandoned by society, but all have their own reasoning why society chooses to ignore those who live in the slums.
In Maggie A Girl of the Streets, Crane describes the Slums of New York through the perception and surroundings of a young girl named Maggie. The book immediately begins with a clash between two young children defending their honor of the Rum Alley. Even though seeing children violently harm each other would startle most “humans”, it does not faze anyone living in the slums. “From a window of an apartment house that up reared its form from amid squat, ignorant stables, there leaned a curious woman. Some laborers, unloading a scow at a dock

at the river, paused for a moment and regarded the fight” (2). People quickly dismiss the fight and go about their day making it seem like this is nothing of the unordinary. Yet, there is still hope for the slums as one of the fighter’s father comes to interrupt the dispute.
A father trying to protect their children is nothing odd, until it is reviled that there is no such thing as a decent being in the slums. Crane’s description brings the readers to believe that the slums are nothing but a filthy, worthless; a place fitting for those who live there. "Here, you Jim, git uts, now, while I belt yer life out, you damned disorderly brat" (10). The slums are the pits of society containing those who do not care for their children. Creating violence with each other and never being able to escape their dreadful life. Crane show the readers there is no escaping the slums, those who are born into it will follow their parent’s path.
In “The Common Herd”, Riis describes the conditions that the people of the slum live in. For people who are looking for cheap rent, the slums were the ideal place, but it comes at the cost of living in a building were you are surrounded. “It is in hot weather, when life indoors is well nigh unbearable with cooking, sleeping, and working, all crowded into the small rooms together, that the tenement expands, reckless of all restraint” In these dangerous conditions sickness are easily spread, filth fills the air, and roof are made to become the number one hangout. Investigating their lifestyle it is easy to speculate the reason their life are short lived.
The people of the slums living conditions are unreasonable; hallways are like highways, drunks roaming around, and full irrational human beings. To top it off, people die just the way they lived, cramped together. “But even there they do not escape their fate. In the common trench of the Poor Burying Ground they lie packed three stories deep, shoulder to shoulder, crowded in death as they were in life, to “save space;” for even on that desert island the ground is not for the exclusive possession of those who cannot afford to pay for it” (19). Again we are given the assumption that those who live in the slums cannot escape their fate. They are to forever to be bounded to the slums’ lifestyle.
Crane and Riis have many similar descriptions of the slums, however Riis adds a new component, “hope”. Riis suggests that the beauty of nature with the combination of taller buildings is the solution for the slums. “The changing of Tompkins Square from a sand lot into a beautiful park put an end for good and all to the “Bread or Blood” riots of which it used to be the scene, and transformed a nest of dangerous agitators into a harmless, beer craving band of Anarchists”(6). Riis believe the beauty of nature can contribute beauty in the slums, yet does not realize that it will take more than a few parks to turn around a place full of people unaware of life outside the slums. They might receive better living conditions, but they are no likely to profit much off it.
In the story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", Le Guin does not describe the slums in anyway, but would realize that there is a more pressing issue than the others are suggesting.

“They feel disgust, which they had thought themselves superior to. They feel anger, outrage, and impotence, despite all the explanations. They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do” (507). In the story there is a child that everyone is aware of, it lives in fear and looked at with pity and disgust. Even though people know that this is cruel they chose to do nothing if there is a chance that it would affect them. This is similar to how people view those who live in the slums. People pity them, but there is no way that you will ever catch the citizens doing anything to help

them.
There are people who care about the well-being of others and attempt to make a difference, offend find themselves unable to escape the cruelty of humans. “They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist” (508). Those who live at the slums are faced to live in these harsh living conditions and society chooses to ignore their need of help. However when they do decide to help they come to realize their no escaping the cruelty of human nature. Everyone is in need of help whether people chose to do anything is up to them, but will one thing make a huge difference?
Stephen Crane and John Riis agree when it comes to the living conditions and the people of the slums. There is truly no escaping their life, however a little beauty may create happiness for them. Ursula Le Guin creates a compelling argument saying that it is impossible to escape any type of cruelty people chose to ignore it. The slums might not seem like the ideal living environment, but it will not change by describing who awful and revolting it is. We cannot choose to ignore it, instead accept that there is something that is needed to be done.