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Ursula Le Guins short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas in allegorical form addresses the topics of exploitation and social injustice. It describes a city where the happiness of many depends on the suffering of a child, which mirrors the structure of many modern societies founded on exploitation. According to Le Guin, happiness is based on injustice, and the moment of awakening that this injustice exists becomes a fundamental experience in the life of an individual.
The story describes an idyllic city of Omelas whose inhabitants are celebrating life with a festival of music and joy. Their life is peaceful and free of war, oppression, technology, laws, monarchy, slavery, [&.] the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb (Le Guin 6). It is a utopian society, which the author describes vaguely, leaving place for the readers imagination and inviting them to add any details that would contribute to the image.
However, it is revealed that the happiness of the citizens of Omelas is not as idyllic as it seems. In a basement under one of the houses, there is a mentally deficient boy trapped inside a room and kept in horrible conditions. Some vague social contract states that if he is released, the city will lose its prosperity and beauty and will be destroyed (Le Guin 7). The citizens know about the child and sometimes come to see him, but, in most of them, the inner conflict is settled in favor of the societys prosperity at the expense of the childs misery, and they do nothing to help him.
Overall, the story is a metaphor of exploitation that mirrors the principles on which the happiness of modern society is based. The prosperity of Omelas, as well as the prosperity of modern developed countries, basically depends on the suffering of some child in the basement (Brooks). Those who are rich need the poor to sustain their lives on their expense. As Brooks notes, When we buy a cellphone or a piece of cheap clothing, there is some exploited workera child in the basement (para. 10). The misery of some is necessary for the happiness of many.
Another topic that the story touches upon is the concept of justice and the moment of awakening that injustice exists. The author claims that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid (Le Guin 6). In other words, people tend to perceive ignorance as bliss. Peoples understanding of justice is shaped by their own selfish interests, and, as the story suggests, people can only truly be happy until they do not realize it. The moment of awakening that happiness is based on someones suffering is described in the story: when people see the child, they feel anger, outrage, and impotence despite all explanations (Le Guin 7). They would like to do something, but they cannot, and the painful realization that their bliss depends on his misery makes some of them leave the city.
Overall, the story can be considered as a philosophical deliberation on the nature of happiness and injustice. The author implies that the foundation of every societys prosperity is suffering, and people either do not have a choice to end it or deliberately decide to tolerate injustice for the sake of their own good. Happiness does not come from ignorance or stupidity; it comes from peoples willingness to sacrifice one person for the good of many.
Works Cited
Brooks, David. The Child in the Basement. The New York Times. 2015, Web.
Le Guin, Ursula. The One Who Walk Away from Omelas. HarperCollins, 2017.
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