When it comes to the story “The ones who walk away from Omelas”, the simple question of if I would walk away from Omelas is really not that simple. Looking at this story from an outside perspective as a rational human being, raised to make rational decisions, my decision would be to walk away from Omelas. However, if I was a citizen of Omelas, where I was raised without common morals and ethics, self-determination, or the ability to make rational decisions, I would stay in Omelas.
Yes, Omelas is a Utopian city that seems to have been taken out of a fairy tale. If I were to enter Omelas and experience its stunning scenery, avid processions, and overall vibrant atmosphere, walking away from this utopia would be unimaginable. But after discovering a dark, inhumane flaw in this - thought to be perfect - society, walking away would seem to be the only choice. I would come to this conclusion only because I have been raised in a society that’s fundamental morals and ethics are against the foundations of the utopia in Omalas.
On the contrary, it is completely understandable why a citizen of Omelas would accept the suffering of one, for the prosperity of many. It is true that in the eyes of a guest of Omelas, the foundations and beliefs that exist in the city would seem to be radical and un-rational, but to a citizen of Omelas, that was raised to believe that the sacrifice of one individual is necessary, would lead that person to believe and justify the suffering of this one being. This belief, as radical as it may seem to many, is rational to the citizens of Omelas because it is part of the foundations of the city’s own prosperity. The people of Omelas have been raised not to accept this imprisonment of the child, but to believe that it is necessary, and to “know that it has to be there”(Le Guin, Pg. 3).
If I was a citizen, born and raised in Omelas, I would stay because I would conform to the beliefs of society. The reason I would stay, is the same reason why a guest of the city would be turned away. The majority of people’s beliefs are not chosen, but it is enforced and conformed by society to the extent where it becomes a belief for that individual.
Works Cited: Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”
