This week we had a fascinating discussion led by Glenn Loughran (feilimy) about the short story ' The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas' from The Wind’s Twelve Quarters: Short Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin. The story was published in 1973 when the Peace Movement was in full swing in America, which was against violence and exploitation of people. We examined the idea of utopia, the themes of the story and whether we would walk away from Omelas.
The word 'utopia' was coined by Sir Thomas More in 1516. The word comes from the Greek ou-topos meaning 'no place' or 'nowhere' which is a pun on another Greek word 'eu-topos' which means a good place. 1 Feilimy asked us if a perfect world can ever be realized. I personally think that everyone has a different image of a perfect world. My idea of a perfect world can never truly be realized because it is in human nature to overly defensive or greedy. There is no way to get rid of traits like this from manifesting some people. Ironically enough, this viewpoint is very relevant to ' The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas' as it challenges the idea of the utopia that we may live in.
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| The origin of the word 'utopia' is very telling. [ Image Source - Stack Exchange] |
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Some choose to walk into the unknown and
risk it rather than continuing to live in Omelas
[Illustration by Charis Loke] |
The story begins by describing a summer festival happening in the seaside city of 'Omelas'. The city is picturesque and almost has a dreamlike quality to it. The people who live there "were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy.....All smiles have become archaic." Omelas is a utopia where nearly everything is perfect. Nearly everyone and everything is joyous, perhaps too good to be true. Sadly, as the story continues it is revealed that Omelas is not as perfect as it seems. The happiness of the city is dependent on the suffering of a small child. The child is trapped inside a basement and has become "imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect." The child is a reminder to everyone that even a supposed 'utopia' isn't truly perfect. The people living in Omelas are aware of this child who is suffering for the sake of their happiness but, the majority have chosen to ignore it. However, there is a select few who walk away from Omelas "into the darkness" after witnessing this great injustice.
Would I walk away from Omelas? My avatar is a reflection of my real-life self and as someone with a strong sense of morality. In an ideal world, I would like to I would walk away from Omelas if I were to see a child that was tormented for the sake of my happiness. But, we are already living in Omelas because maybe first world countries take advantage of poorer countries in order to get more resources, luxuries, etc. How do I know if what I'm supporting is truly ethical? I try my best to support goods that give back, but how do I know if every piece of fruit or technology that I purchase is clean? I'm not scared of the dark unknown and I very much welcome change for the better. I don't welcome the exploitation of a few innocent people for the sake of the majority. But considering that I already live in Omelas right now, then I would probably, unfortunately, stay although I wish that I truly had the strength to completely walk away.
1 British Library, https://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/21cc/utopia/utopia.html
2 Le Guin, U.K., 'The Wind’s Twelve Quarters.', 254-262, http://engl210-deykute.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/omelas.pdf
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