This aspect is a feature of the philosophical story that Le Guin perfectly depicted in her work. The story does not have a clearly expressed and formulated morality or final thought, but each reader finds or does not find it himself or herself. This smooth transition allows the reader not only to receive information but also to draw conclusions.
Another feature of the story’s structure is that the author leads the reader from joyful and hopeful images of celebration to gloomy pictures of reality disguised as a fairy tale. In this way, it seems that the story is built in the form of dialogue, although the narration is conducted in the first person. The narrator asks, “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No?” ( Le Guin 2). The author continually appeals to readers to emphasize the incredibility of Omelas’ reality and make them participants in the events. Such a contrast creates a complete picture of the real world with its miseries and joys.Īnother interesting feature of both the structure and composition of the text is the rhetorical questions. “Mops, with stiff, clotted, foul-smelling heads,” dirt, darkness, excrements, festered sores, and fear – all these images bring the readers down on Earth after the happiness of the outside world (Le Guin 3). The contrast between the cellar and the child’s suffering is also vivid because of Le Guin’s word choice, which makes the reader feel, see, and smell this room. At the same time, the author also uses contrast to strengthen the effect of negative images of the monarchy, soldiers, or banks (Le Guin 1-3).
#LITERARY ANALYSIS ON THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS FULL#
“Old people in long stiff robes,” healthy and “mud-stained young people, and even gorgeous horses with decorated manes create a world full of life (Le Guin 1).
For this purpose, the author used many epithets and comparisons to create bright and unforgettable images. Every line of the story paints a sunny and joyful picture of a city where happiness and harmony reign. However, the topic’s importance was conveyed by Le Guin due to her vivid descriptions and images that take the reader to the Omelas world. In this idea, the author demonstrates that happiness cannot be simple, and it always carries part of the suffering. Emslie says that such behavior of some residents is an allegory to modern neoliberal society since many principles and practices that create beauty and good also create injustice and inequality. Others leave Omelas in search of justice, even if it makes them less happy because they cannot accept this order of things. However, most people suppress this feeling, which becomes the basis of their happiness. All people are aware of the suffering of the child in the basement, and many even come to look at her or him, which causes them sympathy and guilt (Le Guin 4).
Residents of the city do not feel guilt, which is one of the underlying messages of history. Such a description avoids the emphasis on the understanding of happiness by different people and the condemnation of various forms of its manifestation. The author also does not describe people as saints, naive, or stupid and shows that they also tend to desire physical pleasures, whether it is dancing, orgies, or perfect and fictional drugs “drooz” (Le Guin 2). The author does not know about technology, political structure, or religion, but she talks about the lack of luxury and destructive things. However, those who do not want to build their happiness on the misfortune of another leave the city, fleeing from injustice.Īn important part of the plot is that Le Guin creates the perfect city, but does not describe it in detail. For the inhabitants of Omelas, the suffering of an innocent child is the basis of their city’s happiness, and although many residents feel empathy, they cannot change anything. These images embody the worldwide idea that happiness is not simple, and it does not exist without suffering. This story’s moral is based on a blurry and, at the same time, a specific image of an Omelas resident and a poor child locked in a damp basement. The main philosophical idea and the central thesis of history appear almost at its end since the author wanted to draw the reader into the world of the beautiful world of Omelas before revealing its secret. The first and most significant element of “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is its topic, which Le Guin gradually reveals throughout history.