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The Ones Who Walk Away From The Omelas Literary Analysis

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In the Omelas, there is a perfect and beautiful surface where all the citizens live in luxury and happiness, but the city holds a dark secret beneath it. The narrator uses two very different tones to create the story, one that is very light and positive and one that is dark and brooding. The story unfolds to show the paradox of selfishness that the citizens of the Omelas live out every day. It is a dystopian society that shows that there is no such thing as a perfect world because it could never be achieved here on Earth without the suffering of at least one person. In Ursula Le Guin’s story “The Ones Who Walk Away From the Omelas,” Le Guin uses the ones who walk away from the Omelas as an example of the true and righteous action that we should all have the courage to do when we are faced with an unjust situation. The beginning of Le Guin’s story is very joyous, lively, and positive. The narrator goes into detail to explain the perfect life of the citizens of the Omelas. It begins with the description of the beautiful landscape and the preparation of the Festival of Summer. The positive tone then continues to explain the citizens who were “not simple folk, you see, but they were happy” (290). The …show more content…

The Omelas has a mask of a perfect and beautiful surface where all the citizens live in luxury and happiness, but holds a dark secret beneath it. The ones who see the injustice of the society decide to leave because they are the ones who choose not to conform and accept living their lives based on the suffering of another. The story unfolds to show the paradox of selfishness that the citizens of the Omelas live out every day. The ones who walk away from the Omelas are an example of the true, righteous action that we should all have the courage to do when we are faced with an unjust

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