The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas free essay sample

One’s Existence by Means of Scapegoating Great writers often infuse their writing with various literary devices to enhance the interpretation and the quality of their writing. Ursula K. LeGuin’s allegorical short story, â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,† is a rich text describes how the use of scapegoats allows a city to function successfully. Thus, the use of scapegoats allows people to justify their own existence. By using the literary devices of allegory, characterization, metaphor and imagery, LeGuin succeeds in taking the reader on both an internally and externally reflective journey. This apocalyptic-type of society is not given a specific setting, and the context can be applied to historical contexts of the past as well as the future. The short story is best interpreted by examining the extended metaphor of allegory. The citizens of Omela live in a society where traditions are upheld without question. They truly believe that their society is harmonious, and even believe it to be a utopia. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, their blatant neglect of the one child in the village is a comment on the unethical mentality of the majority of this dystopian society. As supported in LeGuin’s story: â€Å"Some of them understood why, and some did 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 child’s abom- inable misery†(LeGuin 326). There could not be an outpouring of support for the unfortunate abominable child. If the Omela society wanted to enjoy all the luxuries of life and good fortune, it had to understand that there had to be a parallel of suffering: Additional evidence supports this:, They knew if the wretched one were not their sniveling in the dark, the other one, the flute player could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty. For the race in the sunlight for the first morning of summer†(LeGuin 327). In other words, the success of Omelas, its people and its institutions depended on the suffering of one child. If the child did not experience suffering and hardship, the entire system would collapse. LeGuin skillfully uses allegory to explore the sensitive message of scapegoating. LeGuin characterizes the children as innocents, and their hatred and malice was not fully developed. Their ability to scapegoat takes generations of conditioning and tradition. â€Å"They [children] know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science. It is because of the child that they are so gentle with children. † (LeGuin 327). Here, LeGuin states that bigotry and cruelty are not intrinsic to humanity. These sentiments develop over time and are passed on from generation to generation to generation. The children of Omelas did not understand the suffering of the child. Only through years of conditioning and habituation are these traits acquired. Eventually, the children of Omelas will come to understand the child’s suffering and that it is necessary for the success for their community. When describing the children, LeGuin’s text is particularly rich in imagery. Her writing is precise, and full of details that paint images in the reader’s mind like a mini motion picture. An example of this skillful imagery can be supported in the middle of the story when she is describing the procession of townspeople walking to the Green Fields: The faces of small children are amiably sticky; in the benign gray beard of a man a couple of crumbs of rich pastry are entangled. The youths and girls have mounted their horses and are beginning to group around the starting line of the course. An old woman, small, fat, and laughing, is passing out flowers from a basket, and tall young men wear her flowers in their shining hair. A child of nine or ten sits at the edge of the crowd alone, playing on a wooden flute. †(LeGuin 325). The children’s faces are sticky with what was apparently a pleasantly sweet snack and an older man still reaps crumbs in his beard. The food is obviously plentiful, and amidst the laughing woman passing out flowers to the young gentleman, a young child sits on the outskirts of the crowd serenading them with his/her flute. This passage clearly paints the picture of a perfect utopian society. Only when the story moves forward and the truth is revealed about the society and the desperateness of some of its people to escape, is the imagery even more vivid. The author uses imagery to describe experience and fearfulness of the unknown. For example, the text states: â€Å"Nightfalls, the traveler must pass doen village streets, between the houses of yellow lit w `windows, and on out to the darkness of the fields. Each alone, they go west or north Towards the mountain. The go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the dark- ness, but they do not come back. The place they go towards even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it all, it is possible that it does not exist†(LeGuin 327). Here, the author describes how leaving Omelas is a fearful endeavor into the unknown. ‘The ones who leave’, which ironically is the title of the story are the exceptions. They are the few who believe in a moral quest for certainty and happiness. The ones who refuse to allow someone else’s suffering create their own pleasure. These are the brave souls who risk contentment in its obligatory fashion for moral virtue. Although, this is a noble cause, LeGuin describes it as a step into the abysmal unknown. Few people leave Omelas, but the ones that do are painted as stoic, and fearless. Walking towards a place that is unfamiliar and mysterious, only to escape the day to day traditions of suffering and placing blame on others as to feel superior about themselves. This imagery carries a weight that is lofty and a message that is abundantly clear. Throughout the story, â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas†, Ursula K. LeGuin infuses her story with the literary devices of allegory, characterization, setting and metaphor to catapult her message. These devices are anything but subtle, and dramatically unveil the author’s message of a society that uses scapegoating as a means to feel superior. This fictitious society can be based on societies of the past, societies of the present, or unfortunately, of societies that are yet to come.