The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

When I first started to read, "The One Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula K. Leguin, I wanted to be in Omelas. This town seemed to be so wonderful and perfect. Daily stresses and worries, they don't even bother these people. They seem to have a pure form of happiness, untainted by mindless extravagent things. We ,as people, can't be happy with the simple anymore. We need bigger,better, we need the newest technology, the biggest house, and  the best car to give us happiness. 

But as I keep reading, I realized that this story has a lot of turns. "If an orgy would help, don't hesitate." Is the author trying to state that we as a human race can't have a "pure", if that is even the right word, society? Do we have to assume that they do something quote on quote wrong? Or do the people in Omelas really do this?

When it askes "Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy?", it makes me wonder who wouldn't?! This place sounded wonderful but, I suppose it seems unrealistic. Sure not everything in this world is awful but, the awful and ugly is what we look for. We figure that to find such a place like Omelas, we need to dream. This place seems like such a delight.

But, then you reach the part about the small child locked in the room and the story takes a turn for the worst. This part makes me very angry. To say that the happiness of one is not worth, perhaps, upsetting some, just ticks me off. Everyone is special, beautiful, and perfectly made. Their flaws and things that make them "weird" are the things that we as people should love and cherish the most.  However, that would be a perfect world and we will never be able to truly see only the beauty in people, which is saddening. 

I am not sure I completely understand this story, but I do understand that it is significant. The words jump off the pages at me and I want so badly to understand what Leguin wanted to me to get out of it. I want to run and help this child and hug him and let them know that they no longer have to be afraid, that they can find true happiness it just takes one person to take a stand.