Analysis of Storytelling in The One Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

The Tale of Omelas

The tale of 'The One Who Walks Away from Omelas' is composed by Ursula K. Le Guin. The story opens with the depiction of a perfect city, Omelas, a brilliant place by the ocean, with residents celebrating festivals. The harbor sparkled with flags on the rigged boats. All the people were dancing, the music beats were faster, a shimmering of gong and tambourine, their procession was just dancing. The scene sounds like a joyous fairy tale. Youngsters evaded in and out, their high considers rising like the swallows' intersecting flights, over the music and the singing. All children, boys or girls, were roaming naked in the bright air, covered with mud from top to bottom. Everyone just seems happy.

Now the author talks about the people of the city, Omelas. Le Guin describes that they are not simple folks; they do not say the words of cheer much anymore. They are looking for the new who are surrounded by their knights, or maybe by big-muscled slaves. But there is no king. The narrator also explains that he does not know the laws and regulations of the society, but he suspects that they are very few. These individuals have come to a comprehension of what is essential, what is risky, and what is both or neither. Those things that are indispensable, they have. Those guilty pleasures that are neither essential nor ruinous, they in like way have. Omelas is a cheerful city constrained by mature, sharp, enthusiastic grown-ups. Their lives are not despairing, nor are they serious. The city has a confirmation of joy; it has struck an arrangement, but how and with whom it isn't clear. The arrangement is this: In a room under the city is an impeded, panicked, half-starved adolescent, and everyone in Omelas understands that the child is there. Thus, the overall public has been shown the awful truth of value, and on this, they base their lives.

Analysis of Storytelling in 'The One Who Walks Away from Omelas'

After that, the storyteller clarifies the terrifying foundation of this place. One little youngster is kept in high debasement, in a small, damp, and austere room in a basement. Nobody addresses the kid, and the child is malnourished, as the majority of the time, the kid endures starvation. The kid is typically referred to as 'it' instead of using a gendered pronoun. Everyone in the city knows about the youngster. In short words, the child is the cost of bliss and joy of the city. Nearly everyone is shocked when told about the youngster, and some even express their guilt, yet many of them later figure out how to accept the situation and see the child as a sad reality. Also, a few people decide to leave the place. The storyteller itself doesn't know where they go, but all of them do not accept the child's wretchedness.

The story highlights the appalling and unpleasant state of the human condition. People and societies have always struggled with morality while facing situations with what's wrong and what is right. The story portrays a bright community celebrating a summer festival, which illustrates Omelas as a city of unbounded happiness. Nevertheless, all these comforts are made with the exchange of a tragic condition. Le Guin emphasizes that the true measure of happiness is not material wealth or carefree living but the moral choices we make.

The story conveys the message of integrity: to be truly happy, one must stand up for what is right, even if it means sacrificing the familiar. Omelas is an ideal place to live. The people of Omelas have the perfect existence without any pressures and stresses. Yet, even the people of Omelas must make a sacrifice by dealing with the sacrifice of a little child, failing to achieve complete and ultimate joy.

After knowing the reality of Omelas' happiness, the inhabitants of Omelas are left with two options. First, ignore the suffering of the child and continue with their normal happy life, or second, to fight for what is right and leave their home and move to another city. Which one should be preferred and respected: allow an innocent child to suffer and continue living your life as it is, or forgo the comforts of Omelas and leave the city?

Conclusion

Finally, it may be concluded that everyone takes things in a different way, and there are a few youngsters, and sometimes even an adult, who, not long after examining the child, leave Omelas through its portals and head into the mountains. They don't return. This choice highlights the complexity of human morality and the different ways people choose to act upon it. In conclusion, Le Guin's story is peculiar in terms of its narrative structure. The setting is established, and the development of the plot begins, but the plot is never fully developed. Instead, the author focuses on the ethical dilemmas faced by the people of Omelas.

References

Le Guin, U. K. (1973). The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. In The Wind's Twelve Quarters. Harper & Row.