THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

In Ursula Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, a child is being held in constant torment in exchange for the happiness of his city. The people of the city know of the boy and accept that it is the price they must pay for their happiness. This duality of happiness and sadness, present throughout Le Guin's story, is proof that utopian societies cannot exist. Omelas is in fact nowhere near being a perfect society. Even if one were ...