James Lee

English 110 AA

Dr. M Brennan

February 16, 2014

In the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin the theme is that in order to be truly happy, one must stand up for what’s right, even if it means leaving everything that they know. Society creates traditions and ways of thinking that are not easy for everyone to follow. In Omelas, the citizens have the choice to ignore the suffering of a child locked in a cellar, or leave the life and the city they are familiar with. The people of Omelas must ask themselves whether it is better for a child to suffer for the city’s happiness and wealth, or should the city suffer, just to give the child a shot at happiness? It is ironic because Omelas is a utopian city however they treat a feeble minded child horribly for the good of their city. The symbols and themes of this story play a huge role of how I interpreted the story, such as the horse, bird/swallow, flute player, and the cellar child acting as a ‘scapegoat’.
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” begins with the narrator describing a beautiful utopian city called Omelas. It is a city with more happiness than can be imagined. The scene shifts from a bright Summer Festival to one of a child locked in a cellar. One reads of the isolation, neglect, abuse, and fear that this child suffers, and all of the citizens are aware of what the child is going through. They have also seen the child and decided that they are helpless. They believe that the child must suffer in order for the city to be happy and prosperous. Some of the people leave town after they see the child and realize that they cannot be truly happy knowing the child is suffering. They walk out the city of Omelas never to go back “The story ends with “The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it