Discussion Topic
Key Elements and Resolution of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"
Summary:
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin explores a moral conflict between individual conscience and societal happiness. The story depicts a utopian city that thrives on the misery of a single child, symbolizing the cost of utilitarian happiness. The citizens, the protagonists, grapple with this ethical dilemma, while the child represents the antagonist. The climax reveals the child's suffering, and the resolution sees some citizens choosing to leave Omelas, rejecting its moral compromise. The narrative challenges readers to consider their own societal values and moral choices.
Describe the conflict, protagonist, and antagonist in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".
I would describe the main conflict in this story as one existing between character and society. The narrator tells us that all young people are informed of and offered the opportunity to go and see the miserable child upon whom all their happiness rests. Many feel anger at the injustice of the child's horrible existence, and a few choose to leave the community and never return, either then or even later, after they've become adults and had more time to consider the situation.
Each of the citizens of Omelas, to my mind, fills in as the protagonist while society, a society which has tacitly decided to continue with this arrangement, becomes the antagonist . When faced with the community's decision to enjoy complete contentedness at the price of one child's abject misery, each citizen must decide whether they can live with this decision and themselves, should they decide to accept...
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the benefits it confers.
The conflict in this story is a philosophical one. The conditions in the community of Omelas where smiles have become extinct since the residents are always content are predicated upon the tribulations of one miserable child.
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is an allegory that examines William James's theory of pragmatism or the practical application of ideas. This theory is associated with "the greater good."
[This theory] considers the meaning of ideas and the truth of beliefs not abstractly, but in terms of the practical difference they can make in people’s lives. (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The child bears the burden of all the selfish desires of people who would allow certain conditions so that the majority can be content and comfortable. From this perspective, then, the child is the antagonist. "It" (as the child is called in the narrative) represents the challenges to the conscience with which the individuals are faced when they become aware of the existence of this being whose "abominable misery" is what allows the "all the goodness and grace of every [other] life."
It is the custom of Omelas to expose the "young people" to this malnourished, neglected, feeble-minded, and fearful being. When these young people, who act as the protagonists in this story, are faced with the conditions under which this miserable being lives so that they can enjoy life in Omelas as they do, they must accept or reject this evil. While some accept this evil as a necessary factor for the greater good, others walk away alone "out into the darkness of the fields," and they do not return.
The original question had to be edited down. I would say that the conflict in the story rests in the choices that individuals make. The level of choice that an individual makes is where there is conflict. On one hand, the idea of remaining in Omelas knowing at what cost one's happiness is derived is part of this choice. On the other side of the equation exists what happens when individuals fully understand the implications of their own happiness in terms of needing to leave, to become "the ones who walk away" from Omelas. It is here where I think that there is a clear conflict present. One side of the dilemma displays individuals who find it acceptable to have their happiness come at the cost of this child. The other end are the individuals who either cannot live with this situation or find themselves needing to assuage their own guilt by leaving Omelas. It is this particular choice that Le Guin forces upon the reader, who must wrestle with what they would do and how they function in their own social setting with paralells to the situation offered in the life of Omelas.
What is the climax and resolution of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"?
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin describes a utopian society. It seems to be what one would think the Garden of Eden might have been like if Eve had not listened to the serpent. The story is told by a third person narrator who relates the events of the story without emotion.
Summary
Omelas lies by the sea. The weather is ideal. It has great parks, grand architecture, and residential areas that are well-built. Everyone seems to be happy. The workmen do not seem to mind their jobs.
On the day of the story, it is the Festival of Summer. There are parades with people dancing all leading toward the Green Fields where all the citizens are gathering. There will be a huge horse race. The children are playing naked in the park. There is music and bells ringing.
The people of Omelas are different. The people are happy. Only the things that are necessary are found in the city.
They were mature, intelligent, passionate adults whose lives were not wretched. They were not simple folk, they were happy. All smiles have become archaic.
Offering her view of this world, the narrator suggests that there would be no policemen, no stock exchange, no advertisement, and no monarchy or slavery.
This ideal world has a singular flaw. The wonderful world of Omelas comes with a price. In a dismal, dark basement closet somewhere in the city, there is kept a depraved ten year old child. This child is naked and alone. He has lost his sanity because of his circumstances. He is fed once a day corn meal and grease and only enough to survive. There are mops in the room of which the child is afraid. His bottom is covered with sores because he has no way to clean himself. When his feeders come in, he no longer cries, but he makes a moaning sound.
The terrible knowledge of the child and its miserable survival is the climax of the story. When the reader learns that the children are told about the child when they are between eight and twelve years old, the story becomes more horrific.
The city of Omelas exists on the misery of one child. All of the citizens know about the child. Acceptance of the misery of any child calls for action. Yet, the people are willing to go on with their happy existence with this terrifying knowledge. The people tell themselves that it would do no good to free him because he is no longer able to be saved.
Many of the people, particularly young people, come to see him. The Omelas do not like to think about the child. They grieve for him, but there is nothing that can be done. Yet, it is their tears and anger, and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of their surrendering to the rules. They know like the child that they are not free.
The catch to living in Omelas is that the child has to be there, or the city cannot exist. These are the terms that must be followed: If the child were brought out, there would be no goodness, grace, or happiness in Omelas. The terms were strict and absolute; there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child.
Resolution
Some of the citizens leave the city after seeing the child. They walk away and are never seen again. No one knows exactly what it is like where they go or whether this place even exists. Unfortunately when they walk away, they still leave the child to suffer. How can that be freedom with the child in their memories?
Who are the main characters in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"?
The only character who is specifically referenced is the child whom the people of Omelas keep imprisoned, forcing this child to suffer so that they can live a better life. The child is malnourished, abused, and deprived of meaningful human contact and is forced to sit in their own excrement. This leads to the development of painful sores, and the child lives in constant fear of his surroundings. The child's sole reason for existence seems to be to bear the scorn and suffering of the town.
Collectively, the townspeople of Omelas can also be classified as main characters. They know about the child, even visiting the area of confinement so that they can look upon the child in disgust. They follow the rules, speaking not a single kind word to the child. They believe that everything from the health of their own children to the bounty of their harvests to the beauty of their town depends on the continued suffering of this child. Placing their own comforts above the needs of the child, they turn away from this suffering and back to their own beautiful lives.
There is also another collective group of people: those who walk away. This is a much smaller group, but periodically, someone recognizes the inherent injustice of their town and decides to leave. These people walk right out of Omelas and never return. They are willing to reject the false happiness which their society offers, escaping the darkness which shrouds all the beauty.