The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Literary Analysis

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“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin exhibits many fairy tale qualities by incorporating childish fantasies with grim reality. Omelas is a city made of happily ever afters, where happiness flows from the very foundations of society and is steeped in customary life. Although ignorance coupled with harsh laws and enforcement don’t dictate happiness, the happiness of Omelas comes with terms even more awful and absolute. From the loathsome existence of a detestable child springs the bliss of Omelas. Nevertheless, the rules stand: if but a single act of kindness is extended to the child, all the joy would perish in that instant. Yet no solicitude is yielded for every man, woman, and child knows that such an act would be a terrible …show more content…

The short story begins with the Festival of Summer where descriptions of meadows and music entrance while the citizens and city of Omelas practically substantialize. The festival, in its complexity, is illustrated in its entirety through scrupulous writing describing the customs and ways of the people of Omelas. “A boundless and generous contentment, a magnanimous triumph[:] … this is what swells the hearts of the people of Omelas, and the victory they celebrate is that of life” (754). Not only does Le Guin’s sesquipedalian vocabulary allow for specific word meanings, but it also invites the reader to connect to said emotion. It is simpler to feel “contentment” than happiness for the reason that it indicates a specific category of happiness. In addition, this quote shows that the people of Omelas are capable of feeling not just happiness, but the subtleties of human emotion, such as “magnanimous triumph,” which paints them as more understandable by emphasizing their humanity. Such a quote also demonstrates the utopia of Omelas. Unlike the prevailing enforced utopia, the people of Omelas celebrate life and find solace in the “boundless and generous contentment” that exists there. The utopia of Omelas appears to be a perfect place, however there is much that lurks beneath its appearance for true utopias are “no places” because there will always be a price to pay. With the same rigor Le Guin stipulates the price of Omelas’ happiness: the wretched life of a woeful child. The disturbingly intricate details evoke sympathy from the reader for the woebegotten child. All the people of Omelas know of it; some even visit the cellar it dwells in, while others simply know of it. Regardless, they all confront the miserable paradox and come away with feelings of anger, disgust, and anguish. “Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their

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