The Most Moving Story
That I Have Ever Read
Among the many stories and novels that I have read, one short story easily stands out for its depth, as well its emotional impact — The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, by Ursula K. Le Guin. If you haven’t read this story, then I strongly recommend that you do; but in this case, stop right now, and come back later. In other words, this article contains spoilers.
The City of Omelas
In case you are wondering, the author did clarify, in a separate note, that the name of this mythical city is a lateral inversion of Salem, Oregon, which in turn is different from the Salem famous for its witch trials, which was in Massachusetts.
Anyway, in the story, Omelas is as perfect a place as it can be, a place with abundance for everyone, with no poverty or needy people, and with perfect social harmony. There is no violence of any kind, and there are no competing groups or class divisions. The people are all cultured and civilized, sophisticated and intelligent, calm and filled with gratitude at their situation.
But of course, every Utopia has a dark side.
As soon as the citizens reach a certain age, they learn why their life, and their city, is so perfect. It is founded, by a process that is not explained, on the sufferings and indignities that are continuously being imposed on one child, who is kept in a state of abject squalor, is constantly ill-treated, and has never known the love of a parent.
The Brothers Karamazov
The ultimate basis of this story is a passage from The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In this novel, two characters, Ivan and Alyosha, ask themselves a simple question: Can a good society be based on a foundation that is inherently immoral, and profoundly evil?
“Imagine,” says Ivan to Alyosha, “that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace, but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature.” Does Alyosha believe that any society would agree to this?
Ivan and Alyosha’s conclusion is that no human polity would ever tolerate this. They cannot believe that any society would remain happy, if it came to know that this bliss was founded on a child’s suffering.
The Ones Who Walk
This is where the author begs to differ. After the initial shock has worn off, most of the citizens of Omelas rationalize the situation away, because they cannot bear to sacrifice their happiness in return for that of the child. How could a child miss the love of a parent, if it has never known it in the first place? Don’t the needs of the many outweigh the rights of a few, or in this case, one? Doesn’t progress require sacrifice?
And so, the citizens of Omelas come of age, get over the initial shock, and then move on with their lives in their perfect city, forgetting about the child.
Obviously, one can read many metaphorical and subliminal messages into this story, but none of that is developed further. Instead, the story ends with some citizens, unfortunately just a few, who look at the child and then go home, quietly pack up their belongings, and leave. Like Ivan and Alyosha, they cannot imagine living a life founded on someone else’s suffering.
These are the ones who walk away from Omelas.
