A review by minou_noir
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I have no words to describe what I'm feeling right now.
This short story is almost 30 pages but the impact it has will haunt you for more than the next 30 years of your life. It's a question posed as a story, where the writer Ursula asks us this: would we let a small innocent child live a lonely and tormented life, if the happiness and prosperity of thousands of people depended on the way he is treated? Does inflicting harm on an innocent life become justified if more than one person gains something from it?
I would highly recommend reading the book yourself because there's no way I can do justice to the way it makes you feel, using a simple review.
I am left thinking if we are living in Omelas, and are voluntarily ignorant of the child in the closet; or if we are the ones who walked away from Omelas, and are living a sad life but feel superior to the ones who stayed because we do not have that guilt on our shoulders.
It might be easy to say that we wouldn't do that to someone at all. We would side with justice and show compassion; but really, looking around us that feeling fades until it is merely left as a question.
This short story is almost 30 pages but the impact it has will haunt you for more than the next 30 years of your life. It's a question posed as a story, where the writer Ursula asks us this: would we let a small innocent child live a lonely and tormented life, if the happiness and prosperity of thousands of people depended on the way he is treated? Does inflicting harm on an innocent life become justified if more than one person gains something from it?
I would highly recommend reading the book yourself because there's no way I can do justice to the way it makes you feel, using a simple review.
I am left thinking if we are living in Omelas, and are voluntarily ignorant of the child in the closet; or if we are the ones who walked away from Omelas, and are living a sad life but feel superior to the ones who stayed because we do not have that guilt on our shoulders.
It might be easy to say that we wouldn't do that to someone at all. We would side with justice and show compassion; but really, looking around us that feeling fades until it is merely left as a question.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content