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The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Religion Essay

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The great city of Omelas as described in Ursula Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a utopian city where every citizen is prosperous and pleased. The only condition is having to live with the fact that a mistreated child is locked away with no chance of seeing the outside world and living a normal life. The story forces the audience to contemplate the morality of the situation. So, what influenced Le Guin’s creation of such a city? Le Guin’s utopian city underlies many historical and cultural practices/traditions such as religious and mythological influences and Western rationale. One of the religious influences is that of Christianity and its ethical questions about the nature of happiness, suffering, and morality. The sacrificing …show more content…

This justification suggests Christian ideas such as sacrifice and redemption. In Christianity, Jesus Christ offers himself as a sacrifice for the benefit of all of humanity, making up for humanity's sins and bringing about salvation. In Omelas, the child embodies a Christ-like figure, providing himself for the greater benefit of the community (although the child did not voluntarily agree to himself as the sacrifice). The description of the child's agony, which is similar to Christ's physical suffering during his crucifixion, emphasizes this comparison. The citizens of Omelas who walk away from the city can also be seen as reflecting Christian ideas of conscience and moral responsibility. In the Christian tradition, people are expected to acknowledge and uphold their moral duties, even if it means going against prevailing customs in society or individual interests. The people of Omelas who leave understand that the city's happiness and prosperity come at a great price, but they are unable to comprehend this price. They make the morally correct decision to leave, admitting guilt for the child's misery and taking responsibility for their own …show more content…

A philosophical and theological idea known as theodicy which Collins mentions in his article, attempts to explain how a good and all-powerful God can permit evil and suffering to exist in the world. Theodicy seeks to answer the queries and challenges raised by this apparent contradiction between the existence of evil and the concept of a loving and righteous God. In relation to the story, the religious controversy over theodicy can be seen as depicted in Le Guin's creation of Omelas. The story poses important questions to think about in relation to the character of God and the nature of suffering in the universe. It pushes readers to think of the moral ramifications of a utopian society founded on the pain of a single child. The story compels readers to consider challenging issues regarding the nature of good and evil as well as the place of pain in the

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