Post 26 | The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas isn’t a light read. When I say, “light read”, I don’t mean in the sense that it is a long or cumbersome text, but instead that it makes you think; it makes you think hard. The exposition of the city Omelas is one that describes it to be the “perfect city”, almost a utopia that knows nothing but happiness. Although the clincher is that this happiness doesn’t come from the acquisition of intellect or things such as central heating systems; it comes from a content heart. Simply put “happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary.” Note that the text specifies despite their lack of things mentioned like central heated, its not because Omelas can’t acquire it; it just doesn’t desire to. This phenomenon alone can teach us a lesson for life in the subject of contentment. So now we have a city that rest in the happiness of contentment, but the story continues to describe an interesting feature of the city. A child who lives underneath the city is introduced. This child is a miserable being that falls in the category of indescribable torture. It is underfed and lives in its own feces. It has only enough strength to utter the words, “help me.” Nevertheless it cannot find help. The reason it cannot find help is because the overwhelming joy and prosperity of the city it lives in depends on its unfortunate fate. Everyone from the city comes to visit the child usually around their mid teenage years. The majority leave in tears while the minority burden with hurt for the child, leave the city of Omelas. I feel the minority is whom the title of this story is speaking about; “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” It seems that to find true contentment to reside in Omelas, one must see true depravity. Although the defining line between the citizens of Omelas and those who choose to leave, is the impact depravity has on the viewer. The majority chooses to acknowledge but continue in their ways, while the minority sees and cannot continue another day without facing the guilt from their new knowledge. An impacting quote from the story says, “The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by the pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting.” I found the relevance of this quote quite interesting in that before reading it, only hours earlier, I heard a statistic that intellect and wealth are the things most coveted in America. Although the irony is that consequently its societies’ view towards the likelihood of success is truly a depressing one. So is happiness found in intellect, contentment, or the humble awareness and action to help those who have less than we do? Americas’ happiness, or lack thereof, is found in intellect. Omelas’ happiness is found in contentment, which I must agree is a step closer to happiness. Yet I feel “The Ones Who Walk Away” have the purest form of happiness. It’s not a selfish happiness that ensures comfort, but a happiness lead by a humble spirit that knows it is in the will of God.