The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
← The Cask of Amontillado | Blazing Saddles → |
The reader cannot doubt that the author of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelashas employed symbolism in her work in a very impressive manner. Ursula K. Le Guin clearly uses symbols in her short story to express her ideas and convey her message. The use of symbols here has played a major role in the crafting of the text. Her story is very captivating and in the same regard very unique. Her story attracts the reader to very rare situation in society but at the same time, the scenario can be practical.
The story starts of at a preparation of a summer festival in the city of Omelas. The city has a joyous mood since every person has joyous mood. The story is set in a utopian city of delight. Every person is happy with everything a part from secrete of the city. The cities prosperity and happiness depend on locking an unfortunate child in filth, misery and darkness. This condition must be told to every one inn the city that comes of age.
These fact shocks most of the people of the city when they hear of them for the first time. They feel disgusted and find it hard to come to terms with the reality. The resolve to live in a manner that makes the suffering of the child worth it, while other walk away silently since they can not withstand it. No one knows where those walking away are going. However, as the story comes to a closure, it presents that reality that the place they are going to is unimaginable to the readers. Despite being indescribable the place does exist and those who walk away from Omelas seem to know where they are going.
There are numerous symbols in this book. No reader can deny that the author has run short in the use of this literary style. She uses symbols such as the society, the child as well as the walking away. The readers must decode and then interpret them in order to get the meaning of the text (Evans). In this regard, Ursula K. Le Guin shows her prowess and her maturity in the use of symbols as they play a vital part in writing and conveying of the message in her short story. The way she describes events using these symbols in a systematic and comprehensible way makes the story alive and gives it an aspect of congruity (Thripp).
The symbols will be discussed herewith to deeply engage the readers into understanding her message and get to learn the proper way of using symbols to transmit coded information. The first symbol Ursula K. Le Guin has endeavored to use is the mention of the King. The Omelas society has no king who is a symbol of authority. Furthermore, the community does not have noble knights. This means that the society doesn’t engage in criminal activities and people observe all the regulations. It does not have a reason to have security or even soldiers. The community consists of people of good behavior and does nothing that would warrant the presence of the police or even the military (Flanders).
The absence of the King can also mean that the people of the Omelas society are equal (Le Guin, 1508). The society lucks stratification and social classes due to equality that exists in it. All the people live together with no hierarchy to follow (Flanders). They are modest people who are very happy with the status quo and do not wish for anything more than their peace.
Another symbol Le Guin employs in her story is the word ‘stock exchange’. The people encounter the word while trading at the stock market. As a result the people of Omelas do not trade in the stock market. They never do business (Thripp). It seems to me that the people in this society have no use for money. Perhaps they have it in plenty such that they do not need to increase it. Or better still, they do not have monetary system in their society.
One of the major symbols the author has used in her play is portrayal of the child. A child brings out life , health, joy, innocence and all those good feelings and emotions but this is not the case with the picture of the child who is locked up in the basement of one of the public buildings in Omelas (Le Guin, 1508). According to Thripp the picture of the child who is held captive goes against all the societal norms and beliefs. This act is not in conformity of what humanity stand for. The reader will find the way the people of Omelas are able to live ‘happily’ with this kind of situation amazing. The deprivation of a child of its freedoms and rights makes the reader wonder how these people can live with themselves as if nothing in the society is amiss. The enslavement of the child signifies the extent a society can go in order to achieve happiness. The child who is bound is a symbol of the ‘sacrifice’ a people can do in order to achieve happiness.
The reader can see that the values of these people are misplaced. They consider happiness as “a just discrimination of what is necessary”. This indicated that what they regard necessary can be a human being. They discriminate the child ‘necessarily’ so as to realize their happiness. This is the furthest evil doing the human beings can go to get happiness.
According Evans the same symbolism can be applied to a situation where people rejoice when a certain people undergo pain and suffering. A practical example is when there is war in a country and then another country rejoices in the problems of this warring country. Such happiness derived from the sufferings of other people should be condemned and the countries who rejoice in the tribulations of others should be held in contempt (Le Guin, 1509).
Symbolism in this story continues when the author describes the children who come to look at its counterpart held in captive. These are two types of these children. The first child belongs to the group those who get angry and feel disgust on seeing the captive child. They go home in tears and wish that they could to do something for the child. Their hearts are touched and they wish they could save it. This symbolizes the group of people in a society that have humane feelings towards each other and never wish anything bad to happen to others. They are concerned about the welfare of others especially the less fortunate in the society. They can do anything within their powers to make things right. Even in Omelas where everything seems fine, there are those who are in favor of what the society has done to this child (Thripp).
The other group of children consists of children that which understand why the child should be there. This group symbolizes the passive people in the society who do not want to take part in the affairs of the society and would best be left alone in their contentment. The reade can clearly see that this group of people is selfish. As long as their happiness is not infringed, they have no business poking their nose in matters that do not concern them. This group usually is contented with the knowledge that the child is there (Evans). Certainly, some of them do not wish to see the child and those that do go to see the child only want to confirm that it is there.
The room in which the child is locked is also symbolic. The child is held in a room in a cellar of one of its spacious private homes. The smallness of this room symbolizes the meanness of the people of Omelas. They enjoy a lot of prosperity and happiness courtesy of this locked-up-child and yet they keep it in the smallest room they can find. This enclosure symbolizes how they minds of the Omelas people are blocked (Evans). They cannot see how rotten their society is on pegging their happiness on the suffering of the child. They cannot see a way out of this situation and hence try to rationalize it saying that the child cannot be human again.
Symbolism is overwhelmingly employed in this literary work and this style it gives the story its aesthetic value. The ones who walk away from Omelas are also symbolic to the fact that they cannot take it anymore. They cannot accept the situation and continue enjoying happiness while the child is suffering and so they walk away in search of true and genuine happiness.
- Blazing Saddles
- WalzerРІР‚в„ўs Just and Unjust Wars
- The Cask of Amontillado
- Critique of Alien Relative by Amy Tan
![]() |
Kyle N.
Tempe, AZ
|
|
Dear Sirs: I have just placed my third order from EssaysEmpire.com this term. I feel confident that my paper will be written on time and that the quality of it will be out of the ballpark. The first two papers I ordered from you got A+ marks, and I know this one will, too. It is so great to be able to sit back and concern myself with my reading and exams while you do the difficult writing projects for me. That is really great. You guys are a class act! |
![]() |
Sharon Q.
Lexington, OK
|
|
Working with your writers is always such a pleasure. Thanks again. |
![]() |
Tom J.
Jackson, MI
|
|
Many thanks to your writers and customer service representatives for helping me get through a very difficult time in my college career. I needed writing assistance and your crew came through for me, big time! My papers were written impeccably. Thanks so much! |
![]() |
Bruce B.
Purcell, OK
|
|
I had a hard time articulating what my professor wanted, so I was able to speak straight to my writer. After I had explained a little bit, I could tell he understood everything. He then took the ball and ran with it, so to speak. He wrote my paper in two days and it was the picture of perfection! I am very grateful that he knew what to do and how to do it so perfectly. |
![]() |
Willow P.
Park City, UT
|
|
You guys do top-notch work. Time after time, I have had to rely on your help and I can say honestly that you have never let me down. Thank you so much for coming through for me every time. I am not a good writer. I try. I study hard, but when I need help, you are always there to give it to me at an affordable price. |
![]() |
Enrico V.
San Diego, CA
|
|
I was really happy about the speedy turn around time for my paper. It is rare to find a writing service that can write things so quickly without taking away from their quality. Hats off to EssaysEmpire.com! |
![]() |
Louise O.
Oakland, CA.
|
|
The A+ that I got on the paper that I ordered from you, helped boost my grade up an entire letter grade! Thanks, EssaysEmpire.com! |
![]() |
Grace G.
London, UK
|
|
I was quite satisfied with the results of my paper order. EssaysEmpire.com sure has some good writers! I thought it might just be some college kids who were writing in their spare time to earn some extra bucks. No! EssaysEmpire.com hires legitimate writers. They all seem to be well educated and intelligent, too. My paper was terrific! |
![]() |
Della M.
Belfast, IR
|
|
I had to turn on my laptop for the express purpose of writing to you. I had to let you know what lifesavers you people are! I had never even considered hiring a professional writer to help me and was almost resigned to dropping out of school altogether. Then, I thought about it, and asked myself what it would hurt to try EssaysEmpire.com for just one paper. That paper was written astonishingly well! From that one paper, I learned many of the things that I did not know about writing. It was perfect, so I learned all about formatting in the APA style. I learned a lot, so I want to thank you for that. |
![]() |
Celeste H.
San Francisco, CA
|
|
EssaysEmpire.com always gives me a plagiarism report to prove that the work they wrote for me is authentic. I appreciate this. It helps eliminate worry. |
![]() |
Cleo P.
Oakland, CA
|
|
I submitted my order as a ‘rush order’. I only had 2 days to get my paper finished and I just felt like I was sinking. I didn’t understand the material I was writing about, and I didn’t know what I was going to do. My friend recommended EssaysEmpire.com. I had very little lost by attempting to use this writing service, so I did. It was an excellent move on my part, because, not only was my paper finished on time. It was also excellently written. I will always be grateful to my friend for recommending your service. It is wonderful. |
![]() |
Bruce R.
Tulsa, OK
|
|
Thanks for everything. You guys know how to write so well! I will call on you again in the future. |
![]() |
Mark R.
Seattle, WA
|
|
I am so happy with my term paper. The writer did a spectacular job!! Thanks to the writing team and also to the customer service team. |
![]() |
Ohjasi O.
Tokyo, JP
|
|
The essay that your writers turned out for me far exceeded what I was expecting. It even came with a plagiarism report to prove that it was original. The customer service center was the picture of perfection, too. I loved everything about using EssaysEmpire.com and plan to use your services again. You are one class act! |
![]() |
Celine H.
Calistoga, CA
|
|
Thanks for doing a great job on a paper that was an important part of my semester. You guys rock! |
![]() |
Nancy T.
Little Rock, AR
|
|
The quality of the work produced by your professional writers is second to none. No wonder you have the reputation for being the best writing service online! You certainly met up to all of my expectations! You’re the best, for sure. |
![]() |
Kris K.
San Francisco, CA
|
|
I would like to say thanks to writer #48376 for doing such an astonishing job on my paper. I really gave him very little to go on. Still, he was able to do the research and come up with a champion paper for me. I am speechless. I didn’t expect anything nearly this good. |
![]() |
Glen M.
Oakland, CA
|
|
Your writers are awesome! I got an A and two A+’s on the papers that they wrote for me! |
![]() |
Beverly S.
Cambridge, MA
|
|
I appreciate the help your wring service gave me with my biology paper. I have never cared much for biology. It is a tough subject for me to grasp. This is why I needed so much help with my paper. The writer absolutely understood the whole topic and turned out work that would have made anyone proud. Thanks a million for the great paper. |
![]() |
Jaffar M.
Salt Lake City, UT
|
|
My sincere thanks for a job well done. My professor loved my paper and commended me for handing in the one that your writing service helped me with. The paper flowed very well. It was logical and intelligent-sounding. I was very pleased overall. |