Name: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
Rating: 4.288177339901478 (203 reviews)
ISBN: 9780886825010

Ursula K. Le Guin

Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Jacob

My brain hurts trying to think about this one. Even knowing the twist, I was haunted by Le Guin’s writing of the child. My heart aches. I really hope this story doesn’t invade my dreams tonight because I won’t be able to take it. <br /><br />Everyone should read this story. Truly. Le Guin is an artist. 

eris

This will haunt me in all the ways that The Giver does.

Kate B-L

lala

This short story with a simple premise has deep implications on the world it told. In a few pages, Le Guin asks us to imagine a utopia where people enjoy the happiness and joy without pain— save for a child who is locked away, forever in pain, malnourished and devoid of freedom. Should the suffering of the child be neglected as to keep the rest of the people happy? Le Guin asks us to ponder upon this question in this short story. A great and impactful story in just a handful of pages.

Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.

The story 'Omelas" was first published in 'New Dimensions 3' (1973), a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, in October 1973, and the following year it won the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story.

The work was subsequently printed in Le Guin's short story collection 'The Wind's Twelve Quarters' (1975).

zatul 

3.5/5
"The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates of considering happiness as something stupid."

A city in which the happiness is completely dependent on a child's misery. It had such a good concept, kinda wished that it was longer. This to me in a sense is a commentary on the working class, the beautification of countries/cities is fully dependent on the working class. The working class continues to live in misery while making others happy. 
“But they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery.”

Also, can i mention how good the ending line was???
"The place they go toward is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.”

Good story, but somehow expected a bit more development behind it all. That’s my bad tho 

Denisse Garcia Ramírez 

Misha

Despite the not only wrong but repugnant argument, I got a lot from this short story: (1) how a crucial consideration might feel; (2) an example of persuasive principled reasoning; (3) how people fall into flawed "for all good against all evil"/applause lights.

this was the first short story i’ve read in .. maybe ever. and i loved it. took me a few paragraphs to get into the writing style but then i was hooked. not much happens and there’s a beauty in that

faye

A short story ultimately describing the Trolley Problem. While Le Guin credits those who inspired her, ultimately she just poses the same question in a slightly different way. She gives some detail about the setting but not a lot and ultimately the details are pretty irrelevant since they don't change the core of the situation. Also, I found her writing style awkward and long-winded. Her comment about how only suffering is viewed as intellectual and happiness as trivial did stick with me though. 

Julia

“Omelas already exists: no need to build it or choose it. We already live here – in the narrow, foul, dark prison we let our ignorance, fear, and hatred build for us and keep us in, here in the splendid, beautiful city of life…”

Chaïmae

“Omelas already exists: no need to build it or choose it. We already live here – in the narrow, foul, dark prison we let our ignorance, fear, and hatred build for us and keep us in, here in the splendid, beautiful city of life…”

— UKL

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

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