Ursula Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

In Ursula Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, it is stated that, “...the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery.” The city of Omelas is utopian on the outside, with grand architecture, extravagant festivals, and a joyful citizenry. The reason for its perfection is much darker, however. The constant neglect and suffering of a small child balances out the good in the society, and if not for the child’s suffering, Omelas would crumble. In some ways, Omelas is similar to the world of today. People around the world, especially children, suffer for what some would say is the greater good, working in factories and mines, and endangering their lives by serving in the military. At first glance, it may seem that the world is very similar to Omelas, or that it is in danger of becoming like it. However, the world is not like or in danger of becoming like Omelas because, while there is

The use of child labor across the globe presents one way that the world is similar to, but largely different than Omelas. In the article, “Child Labor: An Overview,” Melanie Barton Zoltan states that, according to UNICEF, “168 million children between the ages of five and seventeen are employed in some form for wages, accounting for one in ten children worldwide. Most of these children are from the world’s bottom 20 percent income bracket.” Child labor is obviously a major