BP #3

Why do the citizens of Omelas have to be made aware of the existence of the child in the basement?

It is important for the citizens of Omelas to be aware of the existence of the child being tortured in the basement because their overall structure and happiness depends on the suffering of that child. In order to maintain their utopian life, they must acknowledge the presence of the child’s sacrifice for the entire community. We can relate this back to the real world where we oftentimes make certain decisions so that we are able to maintain the happiness or satisfy the greatest amount of people.

What does walking away from Omelas represent? Which option do you think Le Guin believes is the right choice – staying in Omelas or walking away? Which option would you pick? Why?

Walking away from the Omelas represents the rejection of the community’s choice of normalcy and morals of having a child suffer in a small basement the size of a supply closet. Those who walked away from Omelas represents refusing to accept the harming of an innocent child all for the community to function the way it does. I believe that Le Guin may agree with the choice of leaving the Omelas and I think this because it seems that when she’s asking the questions before explaining about their lifestyle, she seems almost sarcastic in her writing. For example, after describing the citizens of Omelas, she asks “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing…” and then proceeds to speak about the terrible living conditions of the child.

I would also choose to walk away from the Omelas because I feel like even though it would be easy to live in a fantasy world where one is always happy, I wouldn’t be able to get out of my mind that there is a child, sitting bare in the corner of a basement. I also wouldn’t be able to get over the fact that his torture is what is maintaining our lives and happiness so when I am enjoying my day, I would feel some sort of guilt. In order to avoid all of this, I think walking away is the best option and sacrificing my personal comfort is the best way I find to do so.