37 pages • 1 hour read
Ursula K. Le GuinThe Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1973A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Within the world Le Guin describes, the abandoned child is completely dehumanized, to the point of being referred to as "it" rather than "he" or "she." Looking at the story as a whole, however, the child is actually the only character who stands out as any kind of individual. Analyze the significance of this in terms of the novel's themes.
Le Guin writes at one point that "Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive." Discuss this statement in terms of the story's overall treatment of happiness. Do you think it ultimately holds true? Why or why not?
Le Guin refers to children and childhood several times before revealing the existence of the child in the tool room. Analyze how she uses these passages to heighten the emotional impact of this later revelation.
Discuss the imagery the narrator uses to depict Omelas, the room where the child lives, and the darkness outside of Omelas. How does it contribute to the story's overall meaning?
What techniques does Le Guin use to ensure her readers see a parallel between Omelas and their own world?
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is subtitled "(Variations on a theme by William James)." The reference is to a passage written bythe psychologist William James, who describes how "hideous" a utopia founded on the suffering of a single "lost soul" would be. Le Guin, however, calls her story a "variation" on this idea. What distinguishes Le Guin's narrative from a simple description of the same topic?
Related Titles
By Ursula K. Le Guin
