- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas critiques societal themes such as individualism, coming of age, the ideal society, and the happiness of the majority for the suffering of the few, beckoning the reader to critically think on these themes as the story progresses.
- The opening scene portrays the city of Omelas as the seemingly perfect society in which everyone is happy, introducing the themes of the individual in society by depicting the joyous society of Omelas where everyone asks perfectly
- We are introduced to the theme of Coming of Age when LeGuin depicts the children of Omelas as perfect and innocent as they wait by their horses ready for the Festival of Summer race to start
- Citizens in Omelas gauge happiness on the concepts of necessity and destructiveness where only necessary or unnecessary and non-destructive things are in the city, for example, “central heating, subway trains, washing machines, a cure for the common cold.”
- Only technology that is either necessary or unnecessary and non-destructive can be found in Omelas, however, many of the technologies available to us in modern society are not present in Omelas this forces the reader to draw comparisons between modern society and the perfect society in Omelas
- By directly asking the reader to imagine the details of Omelas for themselves, LeGuin suggests that rather than being an actual place, Omelas is the idea of the perfect society. This further forces the reader to make comparisons between modern society and society in Omelas
- LeGuin uses the Festival of Summer to further solidify the idea of the perfect childhood to the reader. LeGuin illustrates the children at the Festival of Summer as joyous and emotionally attached to their horses. Furthermore the children of Omelas enjoy all of the luxuries of Omelas
- When LeGuin asks the reader, “Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy?” the reader is asked to reflect if a perfect society is possible and what makes a society
- Although the citizens of Omelas know that they are indebted to the child in the basement, they do not choose to help the child because they know that happiness in Omelas cannot exist without the child’s suffering. Furthermore, the citizens of Omela are stuck in the societal structure just as much as the child in the basement.
- The citizens of Omela are unable to change the societal structure that keeps the child in the basement, however they are able to choose to abstain from life in Omela altogether and leave as the ultimate act of individualism. Those who walk away from Omelas reject Omela and its luxuries to stand for their own morals.
Summary
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas starts by introducing the Festival of Summer in the city of Omelas by the sea, picturing the city as almost utopian but most importantly everyone in the city is happy. In the city of Omelas, all of its inhabitants live in complete happiness because they understand what is necessary and what is destructive. The author asks the reader to imagine Omelas as a city where citizens have what is necessary and unnecessary but non-destructive, for example, they might have access to “central heating, subway trains, washing machines, a cure for the common cold. Or they could have none of that; it doesn't matter” so long as what is in the city is not destructive.
The author then asks us “Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy?” and introduces a secret of Omelas. In a dark and windowless room about the size of a room closet beneath the city, lives a single malnourished child, who the author refers to as ‘it’. Due to the child’s situation, “It has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect” the child only receives visitors only when the child’s water and food need to be refilled. However, the child has not always lived in the dark basement, the child remembers “sunlight and its mother’s voice.”
The child’s existence is not a secret to the inhabitants of Omelas, furthermore, everyone in the city understands that the happiness and perfection in Omelas is dependent on the child’s suffering. Learning about the child’s existence is the coming of age ritual in Omelas, during the Festival of Summer, each child learns about the existence of the child. The children are initially disgusted and angry about the mistreatment of the child however most soon accept the misery of the child as reality and a necessary evil. The people of Omelas do not forget about the existence of the child, understanding the child’s suffering allows the citizens to further appreciate their own happiness.
Although most of the children are able to come to terms with the suffering of the child, some reject the terms of life in Omelas and they choose to leave the city alone and in complete science. The author does not tell us where those who walk away from Omelas go, but we are told that they walk away with a sense of purpose, seeming to know where they are going.