The ones who walk away from omelas symbolism

What should we think of those who do leave? Are they to be admired or pitied? Have they just enough moral clarity to separate themselves from the ongoing evil at the heart of Omelas, but not enough courage to resist? By choosing exile they have tacitly accepted the continued depravity of the childвЂ™s imprisonment. Thomas Stockmann, who risks all to expose the contaminated water supply in his town, the вЂњones who walk awayвЂќ are-by comparison-passive, not active, in their resistance. Unlike Henrik IbsenвЂ™s вЂњEnemy of the People,вЂќ where we can identify with the heroic Dr. There is some ambiguity about their departure. Where they are bound when they leave Omelas is not revealed, but вЂњthey seem to know where they are going.вЂќ These are вЂњthe ones who walk away,вЂќ who are so disgusted and troubled by the вЂњwretched childвЂќ in the basement that they leave. Indeed, perhaps (drawing from Eastern religious thought) the wretchedness of the child makes possible the beauty of Omelas by stirring the compassion of the cityвЂ™s denizens.Д®xcept, we are told, there are some who cannot accept the rationalizations and the treatment of the child. The narrator tells us that вЂњthe terrible justice of realityвЂќ is that this child has been so damaged by its environment that freedom would be relatively meaningless. It is carefully explained to every citizen of the city that freeing the child will destroy all вЂњthe prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas.вЂќ So, while they may come to view the child, no one intervenes.ДЄnd it is easy to rationalize the situation with a coldly logical Utilitarian cost-benefit analysis. вЂ¦Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, 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 childвЂ™s abominable misery. What is worse, everyone in this вЂњjoyous cityвЂќ knows about the child they are complicit in its inhumane treatment. (A number of critics have seen Christ-like symbolism in the description of the child). This society is founded on the misery and degradation of one child, imprisoned in a dirty, dark cellar room furnished with a bucket and two mops, kept from human contact and sunlight. (Is Omelas the model society Swedish socialists thought they were building?)Д«ut this fairy tale has a flaw. Le Guin introduces us to an exotic, mystical city, Omelas, вЂњbright-towered by the sea,вЂќ whose fortunate residents (вЂњthe people of Omelas are happy peopleвЂќ) enjoy a Utopian existence, with plentiful creature comforts (drugs, sex, and musicвЂ“if not rock-and-roll), magnificent public buildings, ideal weather, and without вЂњmonarchy and slaveryвЂ¦ the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb.вЂќ And, as the narrator hastens to tell us, without guilt.

Le GuinвЂ™s short story, вЂњThe Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,вЂќ is-she has written-based on the вЂњpsychomythвЂќ of the scapegoat she says she was inspired by William JamesвЂ™ statement that вЂњone could not accept a happiness shared with millions if the condition of that happiness were the suffering of one lonely soul.вЂќ The story, which won the Hugo Award, has been included in a number of literary short story anthologies-even though the prolific Le Guin is best known for her science fiction and fantasy-and it surfaces on the reading list in some English and Philosophy classes. We respond instinctively to certain symbolic tales, and find literary themes that address elemental human concerns to be compelling. The power of storytelling and myth is real, whether or not JungвЂ™s theory about archetypes is correct. The HeroвЂ™s Journey, what Joseph Campbell called the вЂњmonomyth,вЂќ borrowing from James Joyce, has always seemed right to me in its depiction of an underlying collective memory that storytellers tap into (Christopher VoglerвЂ™s The WriterвЂ™s Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers admirably decodes literary myth-making with its incisive analysis of both classic literature and more popular fiction). Those stories with mythic qualities have even more power, for they tap into our collective unconscious, those memories that seem hard-coded into us. We have been drawn to stories from the time our ancestors huddled around the fire and listened and learned and were entertained and enthralled by the tales of others.

The ones who walk away from omelas symbolism