In Ursula K. Le Guin's story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the settings takes place in a fantasy land called Omelas. They are a society that does not exist in reality, but only in a fantasy. They are part of the utopian society. "Yet I repeat that these were not simple folk, not dulcet shepherds, noble savages, bland utopians." A utopian society can be describes as an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members (Wikipedia). The land is by the sea. Some of the people were described as decorous, which means, in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.
Even the horses were different from other societies. "Their manes were braided with streamers of silver, gold, and green." The horses were the only animal that were almost human-like with the way that they acted. The citizens of Omelas were happy. No one really smiled anymore because smiles became archaic, in other words, very old or old-fashion. The city of Omelas can only be found in a fairy tale. There were no type of technology within the city. The people in Omelas are religious people, but do not believe in having temples. Le Guin critique this society as an utopian society which allows reader to use their imagination.
_theatrical_poster.jpg)
I agree that Le Guin is critiquing utopian societies, specifically utilitarian utopias. An interesting aspect you don't hear about in the book is that this story is actually based on a quote by a man named William James, which critiques prior utilitarian utopian novels by describing how a world where most people are happy except a select few who are forced into constant suffering. This outside context clearly relates to the story, and makes the way in which the story is critiquing certain idealized utopian societies even more clear, in addition to its critiques of certain modern societies.
ReplyDeleteYes it is definitely a utopia, I'd even argue that "they were happy" is enough to say this.
ReplyDelete