The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas By Le Guin

“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Le Guin, is not just a story, but a story that has depth and a lesson for the readers. This story begins with explaining a perfect utopian city, where people live and thrive in their everyday lives. She quoted it as “a city in a fairy tale”. Le Guin then explains one thing, this happiness is only because of an abandoned child who is suffering in the basement of a house. A child suffering is at expense for people’s happiness.
In Kerry Dirks “Navigating Genres”, she states that “all genres matter because they shape our everyday lives”. Genres are made to structure a story, and to give the readers an expectation. “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a story based in a utopian society, where it is to

show readers that there is no “perfect” society. Kerry Dirk also says “when something new happens that requires a response, someone must create that first response. Then when that situation happens again, another person uses the first response as a basis for the second, and eventually everyone who encounters this situation is basing his/her response on the previous ones, resulting in the creation of a new genre”. Omelas is making the readers question their actions and decisions in their own life, are we only worried about satisfying ourselves or do we have the heart to think of others and how our actions are affecting them?
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, is a story for people to think what would they do?

This society sounds amazing, it is explained as a fairytale, until we are told one ultimatum, to live their you must not speak to the abandoned child, and you will be able to keep happiness. In our society many people are only worried about their happiness, they will do anything to achieve happiness. In Omelas, that's what people are doing also, “they know that if the wretched one were not there snivelling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer”. People are completely aware of what is happening, but are choosing to not make a change. One of Le Guin’s purpose is examine the nature of happiness, its not true happiness if someone else is suffering from it, but sometimes one person's suffering does not affect an entire population. In this story we are shown two sides, the people who stay in Omelas, and walk away, the ones who walk away are not changing anything though. They are just removing themself from the situation. People in today's society dont want conflict and would rather choose the easy route “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.” The people living in Omelas, are removing

themself from this horrendous situation but, is it helping the child not suffer anymore? No.
Kerry Dirk states that when a new situation happens, another person will then use that situation as a basis for the same upcoming situations. This is shown in Omelas, by the people leaving or choosing to stay, one person's actions affect others. Dirks choice in the reading made the reader think what would they do in that situation, and many people may say that they would stick up for the child. This same situation is happening today, its repeating itself, and people are still only worried about their own happiness. Dirks structure in the story begins with a lively beginning making everything sound perfect, and then it quickly changes to a dark, unimaginable story about a child suffering. She is trying to define this social monster, by having it affect an innocent child, but in real societies today it may be the difference between the wealthy and the poor.