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Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas Theme

 

            Modern society is always striving for perfection. We develop new technology, make new discoveries, and even fight wars just to keep our people happy. No matter how perfect we make this world, though, there will always be something bad behind it all. The perfection of something usually relies on the destruction of another. This notion is symbolized by pictures of celebration contrasting pictures of despair in Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". .
             Words like "joyous" and "shimmering" described the opening scene of this story. A beautiful wonderland is painted in the reader's mind as LeGuin writes of a sort of annual festival happening in the seemingly perfect town of Omelas. The city is described with plenty of room to imagine. As if trying to mold a picture of perfection for all the readers, the author often says things like "Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your own fancy bids. For certainly I cannot suit you all", giving the reader the ability to visualize their own utopia.
             Mentioned in this description is technology. The thing that upholds our society so much is also a choice for the reader. One can either have the luxuries of our modern technology and more, or could go the other way and have nothing but what the earth provides. Either way, the city's perfect. That's the whole point in the first part of the story, showing that this place is about as wonderful as it could get.
             People have troubles accepting such surreal beauty. In the back of their minds, they know that where there is good, there is always bad. Even Ursula thinks so. As she continues to describe this perfect place, she suddenly stops and asks: "Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing." That thing is quite different from the rest of the images conjured in the beginning. Suddenly, the feel of the story gets much darker, as if someone suddenly shut off the lights.


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