Those who turn away from Omelas is an allegory in the form of a short story based on a utopian society where philosophical ideologies and theories about society and its relationship with the scapegoat are shown . One of the main focuses of the text is the concept of happiness within the city and its people. The story begins with the protagonist explaining the setting of the city of Omela; The Festival Of Summer is underway and the protagonist explains the mental and physical state of those who live in Omelas. They are happy. The author's philosophy on happiness is described thus in the text; “Happiness is based on a correct discrimination between what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive and what is destructive. In the middle category, however, that of the neither necessary nor destructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc. “The happiness of the city is provided by the suffrage of a child. This child remains in a disturbing state and is confined to a tiny basement beneath one of the city's charming buildings. The child who appears around the age of six is really ten; this is due to the lack of food and water this child receives. However sometimes the door opens, and in the doorway stands one or many citizens of Omelas who have consequently come to despise the child. What I admire about the text is that the author gave the reader the ability to interpret this child's allegory for themselves. My interpretation of this child and his contrast with the city is in vigorous comparison with third and first world countries. In particular, child labor and how one child's suffrage leads to pleasure and luxury for many... in this case the entire city of Omelas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWe as a society and as individuals tend to close the door on topics such as poverty, slavery, how privileged we are, and the reality of how many people live in pain and complete exhaustion to provide us with prosperity. This text, this child, opened my eyes to see how selfish and greedy we are as a society and made me think for hours about whether I truly practice my morals and forced me to question whether or not I am the right person. I aspire to to be; whereas I would have a hard time giving up my luxuries so that a child could be exposed to freedom, food, warmth and so much more. My guess is that many of us would have a hard time giving up what gives us happiness to make someone else feel the happiness we have felt since the day we took our first breath and will potentially feel until our last. As a society we pride ourselves on unity and our love for all, but have we forgotten about the poverty and child labor that exists out there? What are we doing to help? We turn a blind eye to a problem that in a certain sense can only be solved by sacrificing objects that bring us pleasure such as money and technology. I would like to use the excuse “we are too ignorant to interpret third world countries and what we can do to help them”. But the harsh reality is this; we as a society simply don't care. We are too selfish. This story was published in 1974, but we can still visualize the resemblance to our world today, 44 years later. I personally believe that "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" should be studied in English Level 2, as it provides readers with a deep understanding of the allegory behind Omelas. It also sanctions readers to interpret the text based on their own philosophy and forces you to reconsider your morals, it is a clear example of how dark the society we live in truly is.,)
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