le guin the ones who walk away from omelas summary

Some leave when they first learn of the child’s existence and others leave after months or years of wrestling with their guilt. There are, however, some who cannot reconcile the child’s wretched existence with the comforts of their lives. To most, the beauty and richness of their lives justifies the sacrifice of the child. Directly above the child’s locked room, people go about their daily business, choosing to ignore the child’s suffering by accepting it as a mere fact of life. Most citizens eventually overcome their guilt and continue to live happily. The happy existence of everyone in Omelas depends upon the child’s miserable condition, and the knowledge of this creates a conflict within the minds of some of the people of Omelas. The child lives in a tiny, windowless room underneath one of the beautiful municipal buildings in the city, without any comforts or social interaction save the occasional people who come to gawk at it.Įach person in the city learns of the child’s existence at some point in their lives, and most come to peer at the child at least once, though some come for a return visit. This child, of unspecified gender, is chosen from the population to exist as a living sacrifice that allows the rest of the city to live in peace and happiness.

Beneath the city lives a nameless child who knows only darkness and squalor. This is, however, just a picture of life above ground in Omelas. Lu Guin only suggests free love is readily available in the city, where potential lovers wander the streets ready to participate in sexual activity. Sexual mores in Omelas are left to the reader’s imagination. Furthermore, the people are free from the tyranny of religious leaders, as the city lacks any priests or oligarchical elements. There are no slaves and the laws that govern the city are not outlined, but Le Guin “suspects that few” (2).

In terms of law enforcement and government rule, Le Guin leaves this area vague stating only that there is no military presence within the city, and that the people are not governed by a king. Their lives are complex and they do not live in an idyllic fairytale, as the description of the city might suggest. They are “mature, intelligent, passionate adults whose lives are not wretched” (2). Despite their happiness, the people of Omelas are not simple. In Omelas, the people have precisely what they need, and have managed to trim away the more destructive excesses of life.

Boys and girls in the Green Fields exercise their horses in preparation for the festival race.īells clang and people sing and dance so that the city seems alive with music. For the festival, the entire population of Omelas joins together in various processionals through the city.

The city is characterized by its happiness and beauty underscored by its close proximity to a sparkling sea. In this short story, Le Guin describes the utopian city of Omelas during the Festival of Summer.

Le guin the ones who walk away from omelas summary