Leaving separately shows personal moral dilemma and highlights that the quest for the good life is ultimately an individual process. Had they left as a group, this could be interpreted as making a political statement. It is significant that those who choose to leave do so by themselves. I interpreted those who left to be going on a personal philosophical journey and that they would rather live in a faulty world that allows them to attempt to help others directly rather than a utopian world that restricts them standing up for what they believe is right for the benefit of the majority. For others, the cost of the child’s life is too much to bear and they leave the city. Thus another cost of the good life for those with privilege is the effort made to help others in need.įor some in the city of Omelas, their feelings of helplessness and compassion toward the child are what lead to them being gentle to the other children of the city and consistently raising a functional society that promotes the best interests of all but one citizen. Obstacles to the good life are numerous and often out of a person’s control because a lack of basic resources and inaccessibility to higher pleasures arise from economic discrimination the cycle of poverty cannot be easily broken without outside assistance. We live in a society where morality comes second to financial needs the literal cost of the good life makes it near impossible to alter the systematic oppression inflicted by corporations and other larger powers. Typical middle-class Americans are a perfect example of those who disagree with child labor, slavery, and exploitation of third-world populations but feel useless to actively speak against it because of how intertwined it is with the luxuries that we’ve grown accustomed to in our culture. This is comparable to the mass social injustices that occur in the world today. Thus the cost of the good life for the privileged is guilt. Despite reacting negatively to the child, those who stay in the city have come to peace with the existence of this social injustice towards the child for the benefit of thousands. The citizens of Omelas clearly represent a more privileged society. Finally, there are some who see the child and leave the city of Omelas to places unknown. The act of accepting the terrible justice of reality inspires the citizens of Omelas to be good, gentle, have compassion, and thrive. She writes, “To exchange all the goodness and grace of every life in Omelas for that single, small improvement: to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed” (Le Guin). All of the citizens of Omelas see the child when they come of age and feel disgust, anger, outrage, and impotence, but eventually come to accept their helplessness. This child is devoid of sensory stimuli, nourishment, and human contact to the point where it has become fearful, mentally deficient, and incapable of feeling real joy. The dilemma to this city is that their happiness depends on the suffering and misery of a single child locked in a dark cellar room the size of a broom closet. The citizens are not simpletons they are mature, intelligent, and passionate. In The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, Ursula Le Guin describes a hypothetical utopian society in the city of Omelas. When considering the cost of the good life, it is imperative to acknowledge that sacrifice is always involved, but also that there is not one general cost for all people, but rather that the cost vastly differs between the privileged and the underprivileged members of any society. There exists today an infrastructure of bigotry and classes that hinder many peoples’ ability to achieve a good life. In this way, the good life is inconsistent across cultures and relies on geographical chance. In practical applications, not all societies agree on what exactly constitutes human rights. It promotes safety, well-being, growth, and the pursuit of pleasure while encouraging community and discouraging malice between individuals and groups. This conception of the good life, though subjective by nature, requires permission from society for a person to explore his or her own peace. This ‘good life’ so to speak is the driving force of our daily routines, whether or not we are consciously aware it. People make choices based on what they believe will ultimately lead to their own personal happiness.
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