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The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Symbolism Essay

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In the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” written by Ursula K. Le Guin, the ones who walk away from Omelas represent evil just as much as the ones who stay in Omelas. This evil being the act of injustice against the child stowed away to spare the town’s prosperity and happiness. It seems fair to argue that the ones who walk away from Omelas are no better than the ones who stay and don’t try to help the child. Instead they go somewhere else to find their happiness. The child in the short story symbolizes a sacrifice. A sacrifice for happiness. The child symbolizes The people of Omelas have seen utter despair from viewing the suffering child, so if they let the child go free, they will have nothing to be happy about because their life will be the same as everybody’s life. Everything in the town of Omelas …show more content…

How can it be a real utopia when there is unhappiness? This is why some people choose to leave Omelas. They are too fearful of ruining the utopia feel of Omelas. They are unable to live knowing that they can’t do anything for the child so instead they leave.This is just as bad as if they were to stay and live without doing anything for the child. Rather living in the town itself, where the child is, they go and live somewhere else. What they have seen or heard has not changed, just their surroundings have changed. They are no better than the ones who stay behind and live with the knowledge of the child. The town of Omelas needs to have this small bit of evil in order for them to truly understand what is good in life. They compare their well of lives to the horrible life of the child and are thankful for what they have. They do not want to end up like the child so they do not take their lives for granted and they dwell in their happiness and prosperity instead. The narrator says, “The trouble is that we have a bad habit…of considering happiness as something rather stupid.”

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