The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

I found this week’s shorter stories to be more interesting than many of the other things I have read this semester. I enjoy the short-story (or at least, shorter story) format, and often find that this allows for a more concentrated amount of interest. In other words, a small bit of something cool will hold attention more effectively than a lot of something cool. Less information also provides room for the audience imagination to fill in the blanks in ways that are most attractive to them.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas  by Ursula Le Guin was particularly mesmerizing to me. I found myself thinking about it for several days after I initially read it, which is a quality that I find highly valuable in literature. I believe that the mystery, and lack of explanation is what caused me to connect so strongly to the story. The subject was uncomfortable, which increased my want to know why the child was in the closet, who is it, and why are they so impactful that their freedom would drown an entire society of perfectly pleasant people?

I think that The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas also speaks to the human condition. It seems such a tragedy that no one is willing to go through with helping the child, however we are given clues that the situation allows for either the happiness of the one child, or the misery of many. Given this pretext, it is difficult to know what could be done.

I also thought that the end part of the story was well constructed. After being presented with such a strange format for the function of a society, we learn that some members simply leave. These people seem not to wander, but instead trudge with intention as if they already have a destination in mind. Of course at this point I want so badly to know what they know, to go with them on their walk to wherever, and get a clearer picture of what is happening below the surface of the text that we as readers are provided with.

This may have been my favorite part of this semester after the Kwaidan. And, I appreciated the shorter text as well J