The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Like with Bloodchild, I really enjoyed the writing style of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The short story is written as if you are sitting down and listening to an old folk story about some mysterious place called Omelas. What makes it feel genuine and conversational is the the tone of speech and the rhetorical questions the author brings up. For example, the piece begins with a description of this glamourus festival, from the music to the meadows, to the decorated horses until it leads to the question "How is one to tell about joy? How describe the citizens of Omelas?"

Then we go on to learn about the Omelas. Bit by bit, the image of a glorious society, where everything is joyous and beautiful, begins to crumble. While the citizens appeared happy- they were not. Eventually, we discover the poor, starving sacrifice hidden away from the public's eyes. Out of sight, out of mind. A child starves for the happiness of the Omelas!

 It was a turn I was half expecting. The beginning reveals such a beautiful, wonderful, perfect society. But we all know nothing can be perfect, who would write a story about a perfect place? The story would be over in a few seconds. So I was definitely waiting for things to get worse, but I was not expecting this little child. Although the author earlier stated these people, "were not barbarians" I would consider torturing a young child the most barbaric thing to do!

As I mentioned in our class discussion, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas reminded me of The Giver. I had to reread it for my Children's Lit class last semester, so the story was still fresh on my mind. It too had a Utopian society with a dark secret. Both stories have ambiguous descriptions to "leaving" the society, where it appears that a person most likely would have to die in order to escape the utopias. I looked up the two stories, and apparently there have been a lot of essays and comparisons written about The Giver and the inspiration it draws from Omelas.

The Biggest difference for me however is that I greatly enjoyed The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and I really despise The Giver.