Category: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

Identity, what it means to be one’s self or a part of a larger whole, has often been presented differently in different literary works; Take, for example, Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and Tomson Highway’s play “The Rez Sisters”. In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, Le Guin describes a conflict between the harsh and sometimes contradicting “truths” of a society, and the values that one believes in. On the other hand in “The Rez Sisters”, Highway takes a bit of a reversed approach. He details the journey of a group of individuals to find meaning and identity in their collective, or community. I will explore both of these literary works, and see how the narrative and form of these two stories set their presentations of identity apart from each other.

The form of the stories impact how identity is presented significantly due to the difference in how information is received by the audience. “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a short story, therefore it will have less words than a play or a novel, and must make the impact of it’s individual sections weight a lot more on the reader’s mind than other forms. That is why the main conflict in the story is so sudden and aggressive. In fact, after four large paragraphs describing the wonders of Omelas and the joys of its people, the narrator suddenly addresses the reader and asks “Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing”(Le Guin 107). Note the last part of the quote where the narrator asks to let them “describe one more thing”, this is important because typically in conversations or stories, the last thing said is usually the most important idea. By utilizing this last part, Le Guin is able to shift the tone from a joyful, light-hearted tone, to a darker more serious one very, very quickly. This also shifts the story’s focus to what is written after this quote and place importance not on what “Omelas” is, as that was what the first four paragraphs were about, but on who the people of Omelas are, as well as why some choose to walk away from it all.

On the other hand, Tomson Highway’s “The Rez Sisters” is a play, this gives it a longer amount of time to tell the story, as well as the added freedom of having actors who able to do actions to express emotions and vary their voices to change audience interpretation of a certain line. This is significant because this takes away the need use large portions of the text to stress the importance on the core idea of the story, and instead allows Highway to put effort into building well-flushed characters with copious amounts of detail. As such, Highway is able to construct his story like a journey, like something that builds onto itself overtime as opposed to the world-building to quick build-up to conflict template that Le Guin makes use of in “The Ones Who Walks Away From Omelas”. An example of the care that Highway puts into molding his characters is demonstrated in the big fight scene at the end of act I, where six of the seven main characters end up yelling insults at each other. From just this interaction, the audience is able to gain a general sense of personality for each character – Pelajia being bold and demanding towards everyone else, Emily being quick to anger and aggressive with her speech, Veronique’s love of minding other people’s business, Annie’s energized way of doing things, Marie-Adele’s motherly nature, and even Zhaboonigan, who doesn’t partake in the fight, shows the side of her that was hurt and ran away(Highway 44-46). This level of detail in each person’s identity, combined with the visual input of witnessing the actors take these personalities and clashing them against each other in real time enables Highway to flesh out his characters first, and then build a community out of these characters throughout the rest of the play.

In Highway’s “The Rez Sisters”, the identity of a society is both portrayed to be defined by the people in it, and portrayed to be changing as the individuals that make up that society changes. This is one of the core ideas that “The Rez Sisters” talks about. In the beginning of the play, the audience sees the individual characters, but probably isn’t familiar with First Nations culture and is therefore unaware of the identity of the society, although they will know that some type of society exists. This is evident in one of the conversations about bingo where a character, Annie, states that “All us Wasy Women, We’ll march […] all the way to Espanola, where the bingos are bigger and better”(Highway 15). This quote comes from the very beginning of the play when the audience has only just been introduced to the characters, and is still unfamiliar with them. At this point, it is evident that there is some sort of community, but it is unclear as to exactly what the identity of that community is – there is no meaning behind the term “Wasy Women” yet. This is a stark contrast to the end of the play, after witnessing these seven very unique women put aside their problems with each other and work towards their common goal of attending the bingo in Toronto, after seeing Marie-Adele pass away and listening to Pelajia’s actress remark that “When some fool of a being goes and puts us Indians plunk down in the middle of this old earth, […] I figure we gotta make the most of it while we’re here”(Highway 105). It is finally apparent what “Wasy Women” are now – just these seven, now six, Indian women playing bingo and trying to make the best out of what they were given, and despite losing a member so recently, these women would still push on with laughter until death do them apart, because that is just what their community is.

Different from the identity of a community being defined by its individual parts, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” suggests that the individual is defined by the society, a bit of a reversed approach when compared to “The Rez Sisters”. This is because Le Guin chose to describe the society first, in great detail, before even touching the individual. This is apparent by the first parts of the short story with descriptions like “[There] was no king. They did not use swords, or keep slaves. They were not barbarians”(Le Guin 105), talk of nude priests and priestesses experiencing the joys of flesh, and children who danced and smiled(Le Guin 106-107). No kings, swords and slaves meant there wasn’t a ruler, violence, or inequality, the nude priests and priestesses represented freedom while the children represented joy, Le Guin very clearly defines Omelas to be a Utopia of utmost beauty, a place so good that the narrator expects the reader to not believe. And so when the tone shifts and the suffering child is revealed, the short story immediately shows what the true conflict is – the choices of the young men and women who saw the child in the basement for the first time. Le Guin makes it clear that “Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, […] but as time goes one they begin to realize that even if the child could be released, it would not get much good of its freedom”(Le Guin 109). The first part of this quote suggests that the young people are overwhelmed with feelings of guilt or disgust towards themselves, but as stated in the latter part of the quote, as time goes on these young people concede. They give in and compromise, they still feel bad about the child, but they are able to continue living in Omelas knowing the child’s existence. However, compromise is not the only route for these young people, as the narrator goes on to describe that after seeing the child, some people “[…] leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness and they do not come back”(Le Guin 110). This is creates an interesting situation unlike in “The Rez Sisters” where the society changes with the individuals, in this case, it is impossible to change the society, so the individuals are forced to change themselves – either compromise moral standards and continue living a life of joy, or to stay firm and leave into the unknown.

Identity is for me a very difficult concept to describe in words, so it is refreshing to see how different authors express it in their own works. With Ursula K. Le Guin’s beautiful demonstration of a Utopia with a price, which the individual people must decide whether or not they can accept. Using the story, Le Guin expresses the idea that the society is what defines an individual’s identity as a person. In contrast to Le Guin’s idea of identity, Tomson Highway’s play suggests that society is not something that forces change on an individual, but rather something that is built by each individual member and can change according to the changes that the members go through. With this idea, Highway crafted a masterful play about a group of individuals finding meaning in each other and making the best out of what they have. If I had more time, I would write another essay putting more emphasis on either one of the two pieces. I would just focus purely on analyzing the text and exploring how the author manages to convey their ideas, instead of taking too long and explaining their ideas along with that, which is what I have done here.

Works Cited

1. Le Guin, Usrula K. “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” The Broadview Introduction to Literature . Edited by Lisa Chalykoff et al. Concise Edition. Broadview Press, 2015. pp. 105-110. 04/03/2019.
2. Highway, Tomson. “The Rez Sisters.” Fifth House Publishers, 1986. Accessed 04/03/2019.

Have you thought of happiness exists with misery and grief? Or is happiness described by the difference between misery and grief? Our happiness consumes off two unique sources that consist of positive, ironically and negative energy. Positive energy develop from the satisfaction we gain physically and spiritually and negative derives from your thought of the satisfaction being gone and no where near. Ursula Leguin’s story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, refuse to defeat the ironic energy and utilitarianism because the story has relevance to real world situation, and has the effect of demonstrating moral weaknesses like living in misery within our own society.

In the story “The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas” by U. Le Guin it shows a society living in a pursuit of happiness and prosperity at the expense of a one child’s in anguish. The author paint a picture of a utilitarian utopia, a world in which the well-being of the vast majority can be guaranteed through the suffering of a very few. In every society such injustice really exist such as the poor working hard for the benefit of the rich, however the author here introduce the cruelty by applying it to a poor innocent child. The author here is a strong supporter of pragmatism, she believes in necessity of the minority sacrifice for the good and wealth of the majority which leads to my next point.

Most of the people during some point in their life often base their own happiness on other’s suffering.As you can see, vary upon the individual. According to the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, the town’s happiness “depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (216).In other words some people happiness really can affect or depend on others people. For example is those “people in Africa would die for that” phrase or comment from people , it creates an analogy of the life differences that an average American citizen has compared to a poor African citizen. It makes the American feel better about him/herself such as being in a troubling situation, they have already the thinking of someone else has it worse. Which is stated that American are superior that African people. I believe that those people who are capable to do anything to satisfy others are the ones that don’t think for themselves first.

In reality exploitation has overcome the compassion and respect humans should have toward sacrifices and hard work people perform to please others . According to the story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, “They know that if the wretched one were not there snivelling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer”(Le Guin 209). In other words its explains that in both America and Omelas, the poor and underprivileged are often exploited and overlooked by the rich. Third world countries are seen with unlivable conditions compared to contemporary American citizens , as an example like cuba, Venezuela and etc. Those countries are struggling economically and are facing enormous lack of resources and others powerful countries have used those countries for their resources such as gasolines that comes from Venezuela. However no one does anything to help them. As those powerful country are in joy their government walks away just like the story.The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The government system of Americans is seen in Omelas where the happiness of the majority are laying down on the misery of a powerless minority. Something or someone need to be victimized in order for Omelas and America to live in happiness.

Omelas seems better than the world we currently live in. People in other countries undergo an immense amount of hard working also harming themselves so that we can have resources t a lower price like clothing ,oil, T-shirts and other luxuries of society. The cumulative suffering brought about by this exploitation appears much greater in real life than the misery of the one child in Omelas. Furthermore, we are substantially less happy than the people of Omelas. The author want us to condemn the Omelas society as morally wrong therefore to admit that we ourselves are moral deviants of a much worse degree.

As a conclusion we can agree to this story by U. Le Guin that is an allegory, in which the author criticizes the present society and uses the story to symbolize human actions. Due to the constant propaganda of pain and misery, claims the author, we can no longer describe a happy man., but it doesn’t mean that she agree the way the citizen of Omelas treat the poor child. As human beings we need to stop thinking for ourselves , happiness its not only about what you feel inside it also include your surrounding which complete your happiness and have compassion toward others people because there’s no perfect life or happiness.

Recurrently, ideals comprise a further connotation apart from the word arrangement on the paper, the symbols so graciously called letters constitute the smallest portion of the main theme. A wordsmith is entirely capable under approximate circumstances to tell a short story with scarcely any indirect utterances that substantiates the theme. Words do not perpetually comprise the theme; under certain circumstances a writer will use literary devices and methods to present the theme. For instance, In ‘The ones who walk away from omelas’ the audience has to comprehend the symbolism, word choice, and plot to comprehend the theme. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” postulates that happiness cannot exist without pain resulting from suffrage. In the fantasy town with a idealized content, LeGuin persistently declares that a single individual uncircumstantial has to endure extensive abuse in exchange for others contentment

The theme could not be perceived in the story without the symbol of the sole neglected individual that represents self conceit and iniquity. Iniquity by the means of believing that it is alright to abuse an individual and remove contact from society for everyone’s happiness to blossom. If this child was“cleaned and fed and comforted. . .in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed” (Le Guin, 601). Those who do not walk away have placed themselves above the life of another. These self conceited individuals believe their content is more significant then that of one child, because “To exchange all the goodness and grace of every life in Omelas for that single, small improvement: to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed” (le guin, 601). Yet, the ones who walk away from Omelas stand for the fight against self conceit and iniquity.

Word choice is a significant contributor to the foundation of the theme. The author uses imagery and adjectives like “decorous” or “bright” to enhance the perception and give dimension to the theme. The name Omelas was carefully chosen because of its mythical sound when spoken. However, most importantly is the point of view which is particularly third person because it creates the opportunity to further influence the audience. That is by virtue of all things being acknowledged, the audience is able to significantly comprehend the contentment of the Omelas while perceiving the immolate of the individual.

In contrast to the importance of symbolism and word choice to the foundation of the theme, the plot creates the theme. Without a plot there is no story or theme. The plot actuates the characters to influence the story, and chronologically associates the events. Not to mention it, creates the audience’s urge to continue reading by catching their attention. If the readers never finished the story they would not clearly comprehend the theme. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, the narrator starts the story with the introduction of the citizens assembling at the festival. Then leads into the rising action with the suffrage of one individual for the content of the town. Many individuals see the suffrage, some becoming hysterically disturbed. Tho, as the audience reaches the climax it becomes clear that those hysterically devisatated eventually come to terms of acceptance that the individual must endure the suffrage for Omelas’ prosperity. Yet, the falling action shows that not everyone, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, was accepting of the uniquity.

The theme is not perceived by the arrangement of letters but by the use of literary devices and methods. The audience has to comprehend the symbolism, word choice, and plot to comprehend the theme. The plot creates the opportunity for the theme to develop while symbolism and word choice lay the foundation for the theme.

In the short story “The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin the narrator uses many different literary devices. Some of the devices are allegory, utopia and imagery. Although you see many themes throughout the short story one of the biggest ones is morality. With these literary devices and themes together, the author is giving an open invitation for you, the reader, to become the main character yourself. To make that story ending choice of staying or leaving.

The story begins with the author describing the setting of this perfect city. Here we are building the city of Omelas which is drawn out to be a Utopia. Which is an imaginary ideal world where laws and social conditions are perfect for everyone. Where you can be part of what religion you choose, drink, smoke, and have sexual pleasure without any human authority to say anything about it. In the selection the author says “O miracle! But I wish I could describe it better. I wish I could convince you. Omelas sounds in my words like a city in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time.” (Le Guin 250). The author is using imagery to put this picture of a perfect city inside your head. She is leading you to think of your own kind of perfect world. Your world where your just free. Free to be who you want to be and do what you want to do at no cost.

Now that the author has spent this time to build this paradise in your mind, she then gives you the catch, but this catch is quite normal. The city is nothing but one big complete deception. It is a prison for say that provokes the smiling wonders of the Utopia. The author reveals that all the good in Omelas is only possible due to a child. A child that is tortured and abused daily so that the other citizen doesn’t have to. This is major factor that makes this short story to be considered an allegory. The child that we don’t know why is chosen to be sacrificed for the better of the community is a symbol that can be represented as political or religious allegory. Political being how the wealth and privilege given to the upper-class people is often dependent on the denial of the lower. Religious being suggested that the child is a Christ-like figure, sacrificing oneself so that the many may live. All of this to try to convey a message to the readers or even teach them a lesson. That wherever there is yang there will always be yin. Also referred to as wherever there is light there will always be dark. This perfect place of pure happiness and joy, this city of Omelas can not exist in the real world. There will always the one or many that suffer for the enjoyment of others. By presenting such a dilemma, the author forces the reader to consider which is more important to them. Having unlimited happiness or their morality.

Now that your told of this glorious Utopia but also of the one that suffers for it. The author talks about how some of the citizens of the city cannot bare to stay in a city like this. In the story Le Guin says “They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas” (Le Guin 253). These who choose to walk away from this city represent morality. By walking away from the glory of this fine city they are stating that no one person should have to suffer this way for the good of the life of others. When the ones who walked away from Omelas leave they are giving up this perfect Utopia for something lower in society. It may not be perfect, but they don’t have to live with the guilt. Knowing that their enjoyment is due to another’s suffering.

So, we see how the author has shifted the tense throughout the story from the happiness and worth that you felt from the description of a Utopia. To the sadness or guilt that you felt your heart as you found out why this city is indeed so great. All being used as some form of manipulation by the narrator to be forced to be her main character. To be forced to make a choice. Forced for your mind to decide to stay or walk away.

Works Citied

1. Le Guin, Ursula K. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, 13th ed., Pearson, 2016, pp. 249–253.

Everyone is aware that reading is an essential tool in emerging a successful life. Reading allows a person to take on new ideas and sharpen their intellect. Unfortunately, many people are too consumed with reading nonfiction books to the point that fiction books are forgotten. While nonfiction books help a person improve their lifestyle, fiction is still a gold mine that is not tapped into as often. The limits of storytelling are explored in, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula LeGuin, and, “Good Old Neon” by David Foster Wallace. In addition to these two readings, Barry Targan’s article, “Where does Fiction go?” also demonstrates the value of fictional stories. All these works establish the idea that fiction helps us understand the perspectives of other people, it helps us understand truths about our world through the idea of evolution, and it helps us understand everything in the world and society.

Works of fiction help us understand the perspectives of other people. Firstly, fiction puts us in other people’s points of view through imagery. That means that readers can connect with the characters of stories and the actions of characters. For example, in, “Good Old Neon”, the main character describes himself with powerful imagery that sets up the reader to immediately put themselves in the character’s position. The story begins with the narrator saying, “My whole life I’ve been a fraud. I’m not exaggerating.” (Wallace 141). This quote is a good demonstration of how a story can allow readers to view the world from a different perspective, and form ideas based on what they read. Secondly, fiction allows us to analyze stories to form ideas and reveal truths about the world based on the symbols and plot provided in fictional stories. Fictional stories all tend to have an underlying message, such as in, “The Ones who Walk Away from Omelas” where the main message was all about the fact that happiness has a price to it. In this story, it is all about citizens living in a happy utopia, however, they all must be made aware that their happiness comes at a cost of one child who is isolated and suffering for the sake of everyone else. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelasis a great example of a story that has several underlying meanings. Therefore,this proves that fiction is something that allows us to think and articulate ideas about what the author wants to let the world think about. Thirdly, fiction allows a person to change, because fiction allows us to understand things that we have never understood before.

BothThe Ones Who Walk Away from OmelasandGood Old Neonshowcase important lessons for the reader to understand. These lessons help shape the lifestyle and intellect of a person. For example, inGood Old Neon,when Neal was thinking about killing himself, he was thinking of the little things in life, “This is the last time I will look at this rubber tree on top of the stereo cabinet…” (Wallace 174). This quote gives several lessons for the reader to grasp. One of the main lessons is to let the reader understand the mental suffering that a suicidal person faces. Another lesson from this quote would be for the reader to realize that a person must enjoy the little things in life as if they were going to die tomorrow. In“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, the narrator describes people walking away from Omelas after seeing the suffering child, “But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.” (LeGuin 57). Omelas is a symbol of happiness and eternal satisfaction, but when people realize the cost of happiness, they are strong enough to conquer darkness and live their own life outside of a perfect utopia. The lesson for the reader here is to recognize that all suffering happens so that happiness is truly appreciated and enjoyed. Both fictional stories teach the reader about important lessons; therefore, fiction allows people to reveal truths from the story and apply it to their own lives.

Fiction reveals truths about life through the idea of evolution. To begin, fiction teaches the idea of evolution of society. Every fictional story has the same format, a beginning, a middle and an end. This format represents evolution. Fictional stories either display evolution in the story through character development or a series of events in the story. In Ursula LeGuin’s,“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”,evolution is shown when forming a comparison between the characters of the story at the beginning and the characters at the end of the story. In the beginning, everything is flawless, “Omelas, bright-towered by the sea” (LeGuin 53). Even the boats on the harbor are described as “sparkly”, and the houses had “red” roofs. However, at the end of the story we see the characters evolve from living a happy life to, “walking into the darkness”, “They leave Omelas, they walk into the darkness…” (LeGuin 57). Thanks to these kinds of examples, the reader can develop ideas and understand truths about evolution within all aspects of life. Also, fictional writing is teaching readers that everything evolves, individuals evolve and therefore all the elements of society and civilization evolve.

Furthermore, fiction allows us to see the evolution from a broad perspective. In the previous example mentioned regarding the characters of Omelas, the characters evolve through an expedited timeline. This is valuable because it helps the reader realize the evolution of a character in a way that they would not be able to in their normal life. The reader can see the characters developing from an outsider’s perspective, which makes it easier to understand the changes taking place in the story. Therefore, the reader can connect this to changes and evolution that happen throughout their lifetime. Finally, fiction allows people to understand the world around us. Good Old Neonshows us the development of a character in a state of self-search. Neal in the story considers himself a fraud and is on a journey to try and find a way to solve his frustration. Throughout the story, Neal evolves and goes through various events, but with all these developments that Neal goes through, the reader can easily connect with them.

This form of evolution is very important because as we watch characters evolve, we understand human evolution on an individual scale, and therefore one can apply it to themselvesand the people around them. Everyone sees the world in pieces; however, fiction helps piece the world together. Fiction, in general, allows us to form ideas and reveal realities about the world. Firstly, fiction reveals truths about society. Fiction connects with many people that are “broken” and emotional, this means that readers easily connect with fictional stories. When one reads books that have a horrific or dark storyline, one will realize how broken the world is. In Good Old Neon, the entire story is about a person who is broken inside and ends up killing himself; “Iwoke up having decided I was going to kill myself and end the whole farce” (Wallace 169). The reader might think about the dark storyline and broken world in Good Old Neon and realize that the same broken world can be seen in real life. Therefore, these kinds of dark fictional stories reveal truths to the reader about society. Secondly, fiction contains elements such as conflict, horror, and jealousy. These same elements are what define humans. Many works of fiction will use these elements that allow readers to associate them with their character traits in real life. For example, The Ones Who Walk from Omelas has a plot that shows the sensitivity of people. Some people in Omelas are so scarred after seeing the suffering child that they decide to leave the eutopia; “At times one of the adolescent boys or girls…” (LeGuin 57). The humane traits that are shown by the characters in this story relate to readers who might also reflect on how society would react if this was real. Good Old Neon is also a great example of how a person can be very narcissistic, but at the same time questioning their ego. Neal is unaware of his own character and he is trying to search for meaning in his life;” Pretty much all I’ve ever done all the time is try to…” (Wallace 141).

A reader might associate this quote with mental health awareness in society and because Neal was suicidal, a reader might think about how suicidal people are treated in the world. Besides, readers easily connect with Good Old Neon because humans constantly search for meaning in their own life. Therefore, readers associate themselves with what they read. This further allows them to develop ideas about themselves and connect them with ideas in the world. Thirdly, fiction gives readers ideas that change them. Barry Targan mentions in his article that, “Writers are changed by what they write, and so readers changed by what they read.” (Targan 262). This reinforces the idea that whatever readers read, they will be affected. Anyone can reveal several themes and ideas about the storyline in Good Old Neon or The Ones Who Walk from Omelas.

These themes can then be linked with real-world connections and comparisons. Next, the ideas that a person formulates from the comparisons and connections can help in understanding the main message that the author is sending through their stories. Good Old Neon has the main theme of self-discovery, and The Ones Who Walk from Omelas has the theme of the idea that there is always a cost to happiness. Both themes can be applied in real life with real-world comparisons. A reader might consider how they are going through a journey of self-search and purpose to life, just like Neal, or maybethe reader is evaluating the troubles they are going through in their own life to find happiness All of these ideas that a reader might consider while reading fiction will aid in their understanding of themselves, of society and therefore of the world. Therefore, fiction teaches people all about the world and society through several ideas given through fictional stories. In conclusion, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”by Ursula LeGuin, and,“Good Old Neon”by David Foster Wallace, display the endless limits of fictional stories. Barry Targan’s article, “Where does Fiction go?”also shows the importance of fictional stories. All these works prove that fiction helps us understand the perspectives of other people, understand truths about our world through evolution, and helps us understand everything in the world and society.

The Illusion of Utopia: Unveiling Dystopian Realities

A utopian society is considered to be “perfect” where everyone is happy and enjoying their lives. It is more of a dreamed-up society that usually won’t function well when it is actually created, although people think it will. In his work The Utility of Utopias, Wilbert E. Moore said, “The derogatory designation “utopian” signifies unrealistic assumptions and unrealizable aspirations” (765). Utopias are unrealistic thoughts and hope to achieve something that isn’t possible.

Dystopian societies often start as the illusion of a utopia, but as the story progresses it is clear that it is not a utopia. They are places of pain and suffering. Not everyone is happy and wants to be a part of society. The Circle by Dave Eggers shows how creating a utopia can cause unhappiness and not be as perfect as planned. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin also shows that there is misery behind creating a utopia and not everyone is happy living in it. For this reason, both The Circle and The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas are dystopian societies.

The Circle: Surveillance and the Loss of Privacy

In The Circle by Dave Eggers, the novel begins as a utopian society but as the story progresses, it is clear that is it dystopian. One of the main elements of the story is the political system, called The Circle. The Circle leads the country and is in charge of creating a utopian society and broadcasting it to the people. The Circles Principles are “All that happens must be known,” “Sharing is caring,” “Secrets are lies,” and “Privacy is theft.” Their main goal is eliminating privacy in the world so nothing goes by unknown. The workers of The Circle are under constant surveillance for the public to see. Eamon Bailey, a member of the company creates cameras called “SeeChange” that are the size of a lollipop and can be placed anywhere without being noticed. The feed from the camera is broadcast live and recorded. When presenting the cameras to the workers at The Circle he shows some cameras set up in other countries and says, “They don’t know we see them, but we do” (Eggers 88). This takes away from the people’s privacy without them even knowing.

The politicians and some of the workers choose to wear these cameras around their necks so everything they do and say can be seen by everyone. Everything is recorded and there is no privacy. They are completely transparent and have no privacy. All of the people in the society think The Circle is the best and their ideas are great. No one sees any problem with the direction The Circle is heading. Mae gets hired to work at The Circle and when she starts working there, she can’t believe how perfect and amazing it is. After some time she realizes it isn’t as great as she realized, but still loves it. She has to participate in many activities on campus, join clubs or groups, post about what she does and include pictures and she gets a number rating based on how much she participates in the community of The Circle. Her ex-boyfriend Mercer can see that The Circle is taking away the privacy of the people and wants nothing to do with it. He is the only character in the story, besides Mae’s parents, who don’t agree with what The Circle is doing. In a letter he wrote to Mae he says, “You people are creating a world of ever-present daylight, and I think it will burn us alive” (Eggers 548).

Mercer’s Rebellion and Tragic Demise

Mercer chooses to no longer be in contact with Mae and move to the woods to enjoy what little privacy he has. All of the people see the exchanges between Mar and Mercer and know he is against The Circle. They send Mae comments about how bad he is and that it is good that she left him. Mae presents a new technology called “SoulSearch” to the workers of The Circle which can find anyone in a matter of minutes through cameras and the help of the people in the society. To demonstrate she decides to find Mercer. People start using their phones to tell her where they last saw him and posting pictures and videos.

Eventually, they find the house Mercer is staying at and a crowd of people rush up to him and bombard him. He drives away in his truck with people broadcasting for Mae to see and hear. The people are chanting Mercer’s name and chasing him and Mae releases drone’s to follow him, which leads him to drive off a bridge and kill himself. His death was broadcast to everyone in the world and not one person saw a problem with it. People just viewed Mercer as stubborn and outdated for not wanting to be a part of The Circle. The people only saw him through the lens of The Circle and thought is beliefs and actions were ridiculous. This made his death seem like nothing and didn’t alarm anyone that other people could do what Mercer did if they didn’t want to be a part of The Circle. The Circle just brushes off his death and makes excuses for why he did so they don’t look bad.

Another main element of the story is the loss of privacy and freedom. The Circle keeps creating new technologies that are advanced and limit the amount of privacy that people have. Eventually, when The Circle is complete, people will have no privacy or freedom. Everything that is done will be monitored and recorded and saved. No one will get away with anything and will be living under constant surveillance. The Circle starts out as a perfect place that seems too good to be true, but as the story progresses it is clear that there is unhappiness. The Circle is trying to make the world transparent and have absolutely no privacy. Everyone seems to think what The Circle is doing is a great idea, except Mercer. Mercer represents the people that don’t agree with The Circle and what may happen to them if they are forced to be a part of it.

Omelas: The Price of Perfection

The story results in unhappiness for Mercer who commits suicide and for Mae who loses her friend and was the cause of his death. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin begins as a utopian society but one factor changes it to be dystopian. The story opens up in the city of Omelas where the people are celebrating the Festival of Summer and it describes the perfect society where everyone is happy. The people of Omelas are described as “bland utopians” (Le Guin 2). What people don’t know is that there is a child suffering at the cost of their happiness. A child is kept in a basement behind a locked door and no windows. The floor is dirt and the room is dirty. The child is neglected and given very little food and water. It is terrified of everything and has no understanding of time. “It is so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives on a half‐bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually” (Le Guin 4). The child is neglected and forced to live in horrid conditions. Everyone in the city knows of the child’s existence and some even go to see it, but no one is allowed to say anything nice to the child. The narrator says, “…they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (Le Guin 4). The only reason the utopia is possible is because of the suffering of one innocent child. “To choose between torturing a child and destroying one’s society (which includes other children) is a diabolical choice, not a human one” (Sobeloff). The people who choose to stay in Omelas choose to torture a child and be happy than to ruin their society. “Utopian accomplishment is suggested in the city’s glorious public buildings, even as the dark basement houses the secret sufferer” (Khanna 48).

The Moral Dilemma: Suffering for Happiness

The utopia continues to function perfectly and keep everyone happy at the expense of a child living miserably. When young children and adults see the child suffering, they feel terrible and want to help it but they can’t. If the child were brought into the daylight and fed and cleaned then the city of Omelas would be destroyed. Those who see the child and feel bad for it go home and think that there is no point in the child regaining its freedom because it is “too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy” (Le Guin 5). While that is true, it is still very unfair that the child has to live in those conditions in the first place. Those who are very unhappy about the situation choose to leave Omelas and not return. “Unlike Omelites, these future children need not choose silent acquiescence in deliberate oppression for the sake of “utopian” happiness, nor a lonely exile into the unknown” (Khanna 55).

The children are the future of the Omelas and need to speak up and fight for the freedom of the child even if the happiness of the utopia is diminished. Judy Sobeloff said, “We cynical modern westerners can hardly conceive of a place unburdened by guilt, and it is still harder for us to conceive of a place where people freely renounce happiness which is based on a moral wrong.” The Omelas utopia is only happy because of the suffering of a child, which is very wrong. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas fits into the tradition that has been discussed in class because it shows the unhappiness in a utopia that is supposed to be a perfect society. It is similar to The Circle because it shows a perfect utopian society, but behind it there is someone or many people who are suffering and unhappy, like Mercer and the child in the basement. This makes both stories dystopian because not everyone the society agrees with choices being made and are not content. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas was published in 1973. During this time America was involved in the Vietnam War which caused a large amount of domestic disorder. As a result of the war, there was a movement called counterculture took place. During this time young adults believed to build a society similar to a utopia with happiness and peace.

Reflections on Utopia and Its Implications for Society

This piece reflects the events taking place during this time period. Like Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, Thomas More’s Utopia seems like the perfect society, but there is unhappiness in both. The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas seems like a different version of Thomas More’s Utopia that focuses on different aspects. Thomas More’s Utopia focuses on politics and social organization, while The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas focuses on the children of the Omelas and that one child suffering is the only reason for everyone’s happiness. More’s Utopia focused on many specific points, but Ursula K. Le Guin doesn’t mention anything about politics or government, just hints that there was no king. Both stories have qualities that make a perfect society, but there are certain factors in each that cause unhappiness to some. To teach the main elements of a utopia or a utopia similar to The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, I would have my students read Thomas More’s Utopia because it is the first piece that was written about what a utopia is and how it affects society. I think it was very helpful in understanding what a utopia is, especially having no prior knowledge about them. I would also use The Circle by Dave Eggers because it shows how the author incorporates a message into the novel. Dave Eggers’s main focus throughout the story was about the loss of privacy for the people of the utopia. Through this, he was hinting to our society today that if we keep moving the way we are, we will also lose all of our privacy and live in a transparent world. These texts add could add different insights to a course on utopia and dystopia because they all focus on different parts of society and send different messages based on what the author believes. From studying these texts, it can be learned that there is no way to achieve a perfect society where every single person is happy. There is no possible way to please every single person that lives in society at the same time. Utopias are impossible to achieve without there being some form of unhappiness.