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The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

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The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
Word Count: 1,076

Omelas is a place that seems like an ideal place to live. The people who live in Omelas have the perfect life with no worries. The problem is you cannot achieve complete happiness without some sacrifices. Which the people of Omelas had make a sacrafice, they had to deal with the sacrifice of a small child being neglected to achieve their ultimate happiness. Some of the citizens did not agree with the way the child was being treated and chose to leave Omelas and not be a part of something that was so wrong. This raises the question “Is Omelas really the best place to be with ultimate happiness?” When you have to treat someone so poorly to achieve your happiness, this is not the way to live life. The people of Omelas seem to be happy, but it seems like they may just be content with the life they are living. They seem very judgmental towards others which is not a happy way to live. The flute player plays beautiful music but is lonely. He is lonely because people are jealous of him and the beautiful music that he makes. Their lives are supposed to be lived by not doing anything morally wrong, but they are always judging people. The way the people of Omelas live their lives is by thinking they are better than someone else. Sex is something that people sometimes use as an escape; the people of Omelas embrace this and engage in sexual activities all the time. The child shows that the people of Omelas have something to push all of their problems and blame on just so that they can live a happy life. It is an easy choice to walk away, so are the people that walk away more compassionate towards the child or is it equal to the people that are staying? The ethical thing to do if you are living in Omelas is to walk away if there is nothing you can do to help the child. People that choose to walk away from Omelas have morals and cannot deal with living a life of happiness, if it means another person is miserable.


Cited: Guin, Ursula Le. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. N.p.: n.p., n.d. PDF File. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. <http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/dunnweb/rprnts.omelas.pdf>.
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