The story confused me, and then amazed me, and left me with a distaste and a compassion for the people. The story was a perplexing read that led me through feelings that I wanted to change the scene, but that I could not because culture is too similar. I think that the "Utopian" ideal and the scapegoat mentality both carry equal weight in this story.
The Utopia that is painted in the first part of the story is so artificial it is scary. The narrator doesn't even know about what he's describing. They hold a "festival" but for what? The people may live free and in a world, but it is not a perfect one. A dark shadow lurks over the hole town. Can you have a utopia without perfection? Possibly, if you have an ignorance or, better yet, an innocence. Do the people of Omelas know that they are naked, do they have cares in world, and do they know right from wrong? We are left to speculate, but perhaps once people come to an understanding, they leave. That would explain those who leave and never return after gazing upon the child.
The child is a fascinating part of the story and added a great deal of depth to the story for me. It can be either a boy or a girl, though the child is a boy in this story. Regardless he is oppressed. Now, for some reason the people believe that he is oppressed for their good. For if he was not, then all would fall away from the innocence and freedom of their lives. Is this true, and who tells people this? Well, apparently folks reach the conclusion themselves, they believe that some are made to suffer. I don't think this is true, so what if he was released? Let me backtrack.
The society wasn't exactly a "utopia" as described. How did they provide for their needs? Did they have technology, contact with "non-utopian" individuals, or were they independent? Well, I think that they have to import/export, as no place is self-sufficient. Influence has to be a part of their society and eventually people do leave the utopia. The evidence that people leave is evidence enough to suggest this is an odd place, not a perfect place. So, Will they fall away from their innocence if they release the boy? No, for they have already lost it, they simply don't realize it yet. Suddenly, we swap ignorance for innocence. Should anyone be made to suffer from another person's ignorance? Certainly not. The child is sparing them nothing in being so caged.
In fact, the child is the very embodiment of their way of life. That's why they are so afraid to lose him, to set the child free. Really, they've made the child a suppressed god. In that, it controls them, and if you treat it wrong, the child destroys life as you know it. Ignorance rears again, because they fear life outside of their "utopia" because they not understand about how others view themselves.
In essence, that is how a lot of people are. When people are young they go out, and want to learn about new and different things. But, as they grow older they learn to focus on their career an family. People become attached to "the way things are" and don't want to change. In fact, they will fight to "maintain their way of life." Such was a cause of the civil war. The statement that slaves were necessary to the "Southern way of life" and that to abolish slavery was to abolish their way of life. Countless wars have been fought over this very issue, even WWII was an attempt to get back to the pre-WWI German ideals. Granted, Hitler pushed that venue well beyond that, but it was certainly a platform point.
Therefore, I can not answer the question this article asked, would I walk or stay, because I'm already there. I already live in a world where some people are oppressed as people look ideally by, to scared to become involved because that might mean war, and that might mean it affects us. I already live in a country that thinks it is the best in the world, and all other people live in some different way, and that we're right and you're wrong. I already live in a country that turns a blind eye towards "sin" and if you want to do it, that's fine with you mentality. Do I walk or stay? I stay, because someway I have to make a difference, however small.
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I love doing literary analysis even though I'm not great at it. So, maybe I missed the point of the article, maybe not, but I typed all that up and I'm gonna post it!
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