The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Essay

Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is about the justification of exploitation. David L . Porter believes the story comments on the dependence of modern day societies operation on misfortune as a lack of morality. Conversely, both Sarah Wyman and Jerre Collins feel the story addresses the ethical predicament that people of modern society face. Barbara Bennett believes its primary purpose is to reveal the exploitative activities that modern society actively participates in. Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” suggests humans will promote the rationalization of exploitation in order to preserve their luxurious lifestyle.
Ursula K. Le Guin was born in 1929 and raised in Berkeley, California. Her father
Soon after divulging the condition and life of the child, the narrator claims, “if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but […] to exchange all the goodness and grace of life in Omelas for that single, small improvement” (Le Guin 1000) is not a sensible decision. This passage illustrates the development of rationalization through the course of the story since the narrator finally acknowledges the people’s sympathy for the child, however not enough concern to destroy their world of comfort for it. They recognize the numerous sacrifices of the child to exhibit they have compassion towards it, but solely to make themselves appear to retain a sense of humanity due to their selfish decisions. In “Through Ecofeminist Eyes: Le Guin's ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,’” critic Barbara Bennett relates, “[l]ike the people of Omelas, [humans] have found a way to live with the knowledge that the child is there, a way to live in spite of the knowledge” (67). This statement suggests humans in actuality perform this act of rationalization daily. For instance, through the the use of the objects ranging from clothing to cell phones, one may be supporting companies that employ their labourers in inhumane