Theme – the major idea or message of a work; typically about aspects of life, human nature, or society In fiction, theme is almost always implicit. Use the relationships between literary elements to infer.
When identifying a theme, one must consider how the following basic elements of literature contribute to the work's message:
Basic Elements
Character
Conflict
Setting
Character
Teacher Sample by Kaz
This theme is supported by the characterization of the people of Omelas. Their external happiness comes from an internal understanding of pain: “They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion.” In this quote, we learn that the citizens value compassion because they understand the awful situation of the child. Here, the individual’s responsibility is to maintaining happiness for themselves and others. There is no responsibility to improving happiness for the child. The citizens are described as happy in opposition to the child’s “abominable misery” and the choice of all citizens is to not bring further unhappiness to anyone. This ponders the question of the value of a human’s life: is it to improve life or to maintain the status quo?
Conflict
Teacher Sample by Kaz
The value and responsibility of the individual is an evident theme in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The conflict that those who leave Omelas experience supports the message of individual responsibility and value. In the text, the citizens of Omelas are faced with a terrible dilemma: “to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one.” All the citizens know that a child suffers terrible pain and torture for them to be happy, yet most choose to stay and do nothing. On the other hand, some choose to leave the town to escape the dilemma all together. Those who stay do not value the rights of individuals, and understand their responsibility is to the entire city. Those who leave are protesting the society that they are living in. The one's who leave seem to believe that the child’s life is too valuable to simply sacrifice for the sake of all. Therefore, they do not want to be a part of this town. In the end, this story asks the universal question of who an individual is responsible to and how much value a single life has.
Setting
Teacher Sample by Kaz
The setting of the short story supports this theme; especially the inclusion of “the unknown.” By including “the unknown” setting that the citizens leave Omelas for, we see the unknown consequences of leaving a group: “At times one of the adolescent boys or girls who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage…they keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas…” When an individual leaves a group, there is always the possibility of the unknown. A group provides safety and regularity, however, sometimes, as in the case of this short story, it is important to consider the values that the group imposes on the individual. The unknown setting – “a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness” – signals the reader to consider what they value in life: safety and happiness or their individual belief in what is morally right.
Period 1 Marqees Forrest
The characters in the story of the ones who walk away from Omelas supports the value and the responsibility of an individual. The people live off of happiness in the city with a person’s life at stake. There are people who would stay to keep the child at misery and have nothing to worry about. Then there are people who would leave because they have a responsibility of an individual to take care of what’s right to them and can’t handle the guilt about the child living in pain. “In a basement under one of the beautiful buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of one of its spacious private homes, there is a room”. The child that’s in the city or at a home is being blocked off by the rest of the world, living with nothing to do. Gilaysha Kirkland
Ally Johnson
The value and resposiblty of the indivdual is the apparent theme in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". The citizens' morals and values are thrown into question as they live decadent, carefree lves, while a young child suffers to bear the burden of sadness for others happiness. Everyone knows all about this oppressed child, but theres rarely any thoughts about him. The citzens have to make one of these three decisions:
1. To continue their normal happy life and value ther society as a whole
2. help the child and completley abandon all hopes for happiness in the city ever again
3. or leave the Omelas civilization into the unknown
The author not only questions the citizens of Omleas, but our society also. So if you were placed into a predicament such as ths, which decision would you make? Miashanti Smith
The theme is shown in the conflict and the responsible and value of the people by having the child kept in the basement and not handling that problem. This show sometimes people will ignore their problems and put it on someone else. The story shows that the people are worry more about their own happiness then the Childs so that shows that the value they have is for the majority happiness and not for one persons happiness. Kayla Lacotta
The value and responsibility of the individual is the main theme of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The conflict of having to choose to stay in the city and allow the child to continue to suffer, leave, or possibly free the child is what supports the theme the best. “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…” This states the conflict, but also shows the choice every citizen has. Each individual has to choose what path they would take, and each are important to the city in different ways. The conflict was solved by some of the citizens by walking away, not taking their joy from the “abominable misery” the child faced for the city. What would you do in the face of that conflict of leaving or staying in the city? Would you attempt to save the child or just walk away and take no part in the pain he or she faces? Dylan Menard
The rights and values of the individual is the primary theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. Such is affected by several aspects of the story, a large influence being characterization. “It is so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives on a half-bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually.” The author’s description and development of this character –the child– paints the tone of the story and from there further issues the seriousness of the theme. Through characterization, the theme comes critical, instead of –rather– comical, or simply informal. Vaguely detailed, happy characters, no matter how solemn the theme, will draw the tone away from a serious stance, and lower the impact of the theme, as I believe. The people of Omelas, at first, seem care free; perfect within their environment. As the child is introduced, their silent confliction becomes evident. Their decision –whether they should or should not help the child– is what sets the theme almost entirely. Charles Hickerson To answer the question you must first know what the theme is of the story. What does the word theme mean, it means the subject of discussion, and for this story our class chose to go with the theme of. The value and responsibility of the individual.
For my essay I’m going to show how the theme is supported with all three aspects of the story; character, setting, and conflict.
Hoe do the people/ characters of Omelas support the theme. the people of Omelas have the responsibility of keeping the city joyous and all of its festive activities. Underneath the happiness of the city lies a horrible moral. The only way way to keep the towns people happy, there was to be a child locked in a basement locked away from the happiness out side never to see the light of day or to interact with any one of the city. The people of Omelas had the guilt knowing that the child was down there but was responsible for keeping the its neighbor happy, just like every other person of Omelas had to. Cynthia Frazier
The value and responsibility of the individual is manifest theme. In the story The Ones Who Walk away From Omelas the conflict brings out the value and responsibility of the individuals in the town. The conflict of omelas is either to stay or leave, Omelas was like paradise, was full of happy people neither stress nor pain. Their choices were to stay and be happy, but some was happy for a little period of time. There was a child boy or girl that sat in a basement in a beautiful building who had to suffer. The child was only about 6 or 7 with little water and food to eat. The child represented the people in Omelas Stress and pain. That one child represents all that stress, they figured if they let the child out the world will be like ours as the author says in the passage. Which leave the people with their choices if they should stay or go? Man vs. the world is like one child vs. everyone’s happiness. Which leaves everyone with the question, would you leave are do something about that one child suffering for everyone else? Ausha Meggett
The value and responsibility of the individual was the theme for the short story " The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas". In this short story there was a child locked away in a basement and treated poorly. He was kept in a small room, with dirt floors,no windows, and absolutely no one was permitted to talk to the child. The child was kept in inhumane conditions they treated him without care and he was in a cruel enviorment. Citizens felt bad after visiting the child they would go home and cry or they would leave the city because they felt the child deserved better. Since he was kept in inhumane conditions this demonstrated the value of the childs life not being as worthy as the others.
Lynica McClellan
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is the value and responsibility of an individual, supported by the conflicts. In this story everyone’s happiness depends on this one child’s misery. The entire town of Omelas is faced with whether or not they should help the child and change the whole community or leave everything as it is. The author gives a lot of details on this child. In the story it says “they all understand that their happiness… depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery…They would like to do something for the child but there is nothing they can do.” If the people of Omelas helped this miserable child, then that would destroy the happiness of thousands. So their faced with whether or not this single life is worth it. Period 3 Desiree Anderson The theme expressed that is best expressed in “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is the value and responsibility of the individual. In the story, the conflict, characters, and setting help to express the theme. The conflict that occurs is within the people of Omelas. When most people go and visit the child, they come out unchanged. But there are that few that come out feeling upset with the treatment of the child. They begin to feel guilty and responsible for the child’s sorrow and misery. The reason they leave Omelas is because they take it as their own responsibility to do what they think will change the fate of the imprisoned child. Cheyenne Brown The theme of ths story is supported by the use of the characters. The theme of the story is "thevalue and responsibility of the individual." The theme is mainly supported by the character. Without the little boy in the story it would be a perfect world. With the little boy in the story his misery is responsible for the perfect world. He is very valuable to the city. All of the cities happiness is depending on one boy.
Tamara Butler Omelas, the story where all is happy and well, except one, shows the value and responsibility of the individual. The happiness of the citizens of Omelas is dependent on the misery of one person. This one person has great value to the city. The people of Omelas understand the importance of the one who is miserable and majority of them go on with their lives. However, there are a few who are against this way of life and they choose to save themselves from the idea of being happy based on someone else’s misery. The citizens of Omelas have the responsibility to decide whether or not they want to be happy of go to a world outside of their home that they don’t know. Kaylanickole Childs The value and responsibility of the individual is a theme in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. This is supported by conflict. The conflict of those who decide to stay verses the conflict of those who choose to leave Omelas. “If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of that vile place…that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither…” This quote creates a major conflict within them self. Whether they are to leave and not have anything to with the cruelty to this child or stay and just block it out and pretend as if you know nothing about it. This shows the relation between conflict and theme. Aymil Clark The value and responsibility of the individual the boys responsibility is to stay locked up in this tiny space to suffer for all the towns people so that they can have a good life. The towns people responsibility it to keep him locked up also to check up on him to see how he is doing but they can’t let him be free. Christian Duncan
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is based on the value and responsibility of each individual. I personally believe that between character, setting and conflict, that the use of conflict best supported the theme. In the story the main conflict is each individual citizen deciding whether or not to stay in the city when they know that one must suffer for the others’ happiness. “They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing that they can do.” The citizens who have concern for the child are at conflict with themselves. They don’t know whether or not to ignore the cruelty and continue with their lives since they can’t do anything about it, or just leave the city altogether. This all depends on the value and responsibility of each citizen. Will they value the child’s life enough to leave the city behind, in turn causing then to be responsible since they no longer reside in a perfect community or will they ignore the problem and only worry about themselves? This man vs. self conflict gives clarity as to how the theme is supported. Deondre Gordon-Hale
The theme of the story is the value and responsibility of the individual. It is summed up by guilt. The people that live in the Omelas have a choice on whether they want to stay there or move to the unknown. The people that choose to leave are leaving because they would feel guilty if they stayed because they would be happy because of the boy’s misery. They don’t want that guilt on their mind so they try to get away. Kendan Jones
The conflict of the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is this child is living a life of complete misery for the rest of the city to live in peace, and live life the way they dream to. “They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas. Some of them have come to see it, others are content merely to know it is there. They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, 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 misery.” This whole quoted paragraph explains that this town thrives off of this child their whole society would fall apart, and that is the conflict. The value and responsibility of this individual is the theme because without him they cant have their peace and tranquility.
Crystal Short
A conflict for all is a conflict for one at the end.”The terms are strict and absolute”: there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child. The people omelas are always happy because of this little boy. The value of life that he once had he no longer does because no one wants to help him. Everyone wanted to be happy and live struggle free. The responsibility to care for the child was not a thing that they saw would help him.
Quinton Stewart The theme of the value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the conflict in the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” The boy being locked away for the joy and happiness of others is the main conflict. The townspeople could have decided to have a meeting and deal with their guilt in a different way, but they did not. Without the boy they wouldn’t have happiness so he represents the value of the individual. Individually they could have voted to decide to do something other than lock him away. Darah Thornton
The setting really connects to the theme when the place of “Unknown” is introduced in the story. At times people would gaze upon the miserable child in the closet and later leave Omelas. They see the terrible conditions of the child and leave the city without a look back. They go out of the city and into the unimaginable place of Unknown. They leave the city for they do not wish to be part of a group that depends on the suffering of an innocent child just so that they can be happy and prosper. The place of Unknown represents how the people of the city feel when they leave. They don’t know what’s beyond their city walls because they never had to. And when they leave was that the right decision? When they leave what happens to them? Are they better off or worse?
Natasha Todd
As humans, our first instinct is to protect ourselves. The characters in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas help support the theme by defining the major points that make up people and society as a whole. There are many ways people see themselves. They may see themselves as a the one who likes to stay ahead, or the one who puts other first, maybe even a person who does a little of both and the list goes on and on. The major points can differ from person to person, but it all comes down to a person either being a collective thinker or an individualist thinker. The characters involved in this story (the citizens - stay, the citizens - leave, the Wretched one, narrator, and us as a people) have very little description to their backgrounds and not much is known about them. However, with the way the story is told, the sense of their outlooks on people, life, and society can be noticed.
Having the perfect setting helps to get a point across better. Omelas is considered to be the perfect society in most ways. However, the citizens still have their own ideas of what perfection is. Theirs, ours, and the ideal society fall under the stereotype that real happiness is rare.
“ Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither
necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive.”
In our society, happiness is considered hard to find. We suffer so much on a daily basis that whenever we are happy, we never realize it. In a way, the setting adds to the conflict because Omelas is considered to be “perfect” and it’s not. With a child being tortured and the citizens all knowing about it takes away from the perfection of the city. Quinton Williamson There are multiple themes in"the one who walk away" some appearent some hiddden away for interpritation. The story way reminded me of the story of Jeses as in the story 1 person sufferes just to make everyone else joyful. However the occupants of the city are aware of this, which may make someone ponder
Period 6 Aliyah Brooks
Have you ever been treated unequally? An individual shouldn’t have to hold so much responsiblities for others joy. Well in the story the Ones who walk away from Omelas is considered unfair. It is unfair because in the story one child suffers just to make everyone happy. Why does it even have to be a child who suffers? Is it because children don’t really know what choices they want to make in life? Well the theme of the story is “the value and responsibility of the individual” and it is supported by the setting .
The setting supports the theme because the basement of omelas describes the childs lifestyle. “It has one locked door, and no window. A little light seeps in dustily between cracks in the boards, secondhand from a cobwebbed window somewhere across the celluar. In one corner of the little room a couple mops with stif, clotted, foul smelling heads….” In this quote it shows that the child is surrounded by ugliness whereas the citizens of omelas live in a beautiful happy town.
“To throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happines of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed.” If the child wasn’t the holder of Omelas citizens sins, Omelas would not be a world of happiness. The walls of the city hold out all the guilt and the basement of an Omelas building is the guilts core. What if there was no individual that was held accountable for everyones happiness? Then reality would kick in and the people will began to realize that happiness isnt brought to you by others, its brought to you by having faith.
The authors intentions of versing our world to Omelas is to show that if our world had a problem it would be dealt with and maybe be sentenced to punishment, but if Omelas had a problem they could just walk away from it. “They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back.” The darkness symbolized the joy they really had. It was not controlable nor could it be seeked without the childs miserable standards. So if you had a choice would you want to leave in a world filled with happiness because of one person sacrificing their life for yours?
Mariah Geletko The theme; The value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the setting in the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”. By including “the basement” setting which the individual being the child occupies. “It has one locked door, and no window…the room is about three spaces long and two wide; a mere broom closet or disused tool room.” This quote tells the reader about the conditions the child has to live in, even though the town values the child very much. It is the child’s responsibility to sit in that basement and live in misery so that the town may live in happiness. “They all know that it has to be there…their happiness, the beauty of their city…depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery.”-signals to the reader that even though this child is valued and has a great responsibility it has nothing to do with what the child believes/wants. Javon Jones The setting of “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” Is very important to the theme, the value and responsibility of the individual. There is one setting in particular which is known as “the known” and this is a place where once the people of Omelas realize that they don’t like what is happening to the child they walk turn away from the town and go into “ the unknown”. Notice… “At time one of the adolescent boys or girl who goes to see the child does not go home to weep or rage… they keep walking straight out of the city of Omelas..” Now the this place “the unknown” give people “the citizen” a responsibility. Zack McQueen
The thought of the value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the people of Omelas. Everyone still had things to take care of, no matter how small it was. In the story even though everyone was happy ladies still had responsibilities. It says “some were decorous: old people in long stiff robes of mauve and grey, grave master workmen, quiet, merry women carrying their babies and chatting as they walked.” This shows people have things to take of still even though they were happy. The thing you can best get from this is if you make babies take care of it, there are families that still need tending to.
This theme can be supported by the setting of Omelas. The seeing is a happy town with many things to think about and do. It’s due to the child that they must really think about not associating with the kid or they could destroy all their happiness. It’s the fact they don’t do anything for him that they take responsibility for their Individuality. It says in the story that “they feel anger, outrage, Impotence, despite all the explanation. They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do.” This shows they’re responsible for caring about the kid but not doing anything.
It’s the unknown that the theme: the value and responsibility of the individual can be supported. The unknown isn’t a place that can be described, but everyone once in awhile individuals would walk out in a daze of misery for the child in the room. They are showing responsibility for walking away from the town and not ruining everyone’s happiness. Similar to the setting where happiness is from the misery of a child so people will leave, the unknown shows a conflict where either they go away or don’t. Starr Mitchell I think that the value and responsibility of the individual is a theme in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas that is based on the conflict in the story. In the story there is a miserable boy whose life is being sacrificed for his town to invest in happiness. Those who stay are selfish. Darion Morton The theme of the story is the value and responsibility of the individual. It’s supported by characterization , this child’s responsibilities are to keep this community happy. By putting the blame on the child for all their wrongful sins. If the isn’t in the basement there basically id no happiness in Omela. Dewill Perkins
This paragraph is talking about the responsibility of the ten year old child. The responsibility of the child is, to stay licked in a basement absorbing everybody sins, and living in their misery. “Some of them understand why, and some do not, 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 the child’s abominable misery.” By this the narrator means; the happiness of the citizens of Omelas, and the tenderness of their friendship “depend wholly on the child’s abominable misery.” Is it fare for the citizens of Omelas to treat the child like that? If it is fare; why do you think you have the right to treat a human being like that? What makes you feel like you have the power to treat another person like trash? Chelsea Richie
The setting supports the theme of the value and responsibility of the individual the part about the basement that’s placed under the town of omelas. In this quote “The door is always locked and nobody ever comes, except that sometimes the child has no understanding of time….basically the town blames the child for all their sins and unhappiness. All the citizens rely on the child for them not being happy such as if they all help each other out then would be willing to not let the child suffer anymore. Like it seems as though the citizens have more control or power than the boy. Who is considered powerless and wanting to take a chance to build on from each other instead of putting the blame on one innocent boy. Lindsay Smedley
The value and responsibility of the individual means one person holds all the responsibility of all and is important for the benefit of others around.
In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, a little boy held that responsibility And carried all the burden as if he was a storage place “They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendship, health of their children…..etc, depend on this one Childs abominable misery.
In this quote the little boy had the entire burden to keep the town happy. It was his responsibility to stay in solitary confinement. He had a strong value in the town that only benefits others. Would he be proud if he knew?
Ian Snyder
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is: The value and responsibility of the individual. This theme is obviously supported by the character element as it would for any story. The child has the value equal to the happiness of Omelas and the strong emotions of the ones who walk away. This is proven because the child’s pain and agony is what makes all the happiness in Omelas without him that would be gone. In the text it says, “They all understand that the happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, etc., depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery.” His pain and suffering is also what gives those who walk away they’re strong emotion, since when they see the boy they feel so much emotion for him that they walk away from the city or town or whatever Omelas is.
Nicholas Stewart
The setting of The ones Who Walk away for omleas was part of the underlying theme of the story. The theme of the story was that the people had to make a choice and ether keep oppressing the child or walk away form the town and move on The one quote that explains this idea is ‘’Clamor of the bells that set slowing soaring festival or summer came to the city of omleas.
This quote describes the setting of the underlying theme of the story is that omelas has a Brightside but also has a dark side.
Jhordan Stoutmire The theme of “the value and responsibility of the individual” is based on the character which is us. (The reader) The author is showing us that the real world (our world) is rotten in its own way. She is saying that the real world is so messed up that in the world of Omelas; the people sacrifice the freedom of a young boy just for worldly happiness. Us as the world cannot have peace and happiness without someone else suffering so who you think is worst? Our world that is doing this all over earth, or the world of omelas that only does this on one boy to achieve peace and happiness Duvon Wiley-Brown
The theme to the Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is a paradise from real life problems. It’s a place you can go to get away from guilt or any other negative situation’s that happen in real life. Everyone is so happy that they don’t even speak on being happy it’s just the way of life there.
In fiction, theme is almost always implicit. Use the relationships between literary elements to infer.
When identifying a theme, one must consider how the following basic elements of literature contribute to the work's message:
Basic Elements
Character
Conflict
Setting
Character
Teacher Sample by Kaz
This theme is supported by the characterization of the people of Omelas. Their external happiness comes from an internal understanding of pain: “They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion.” In this quote, we learn that the citizens value compassion because they understand the awful situation of the child. Here, the individual’s responsibility is to maintaining happiness for themselves and others. There is no responsibility to improving happiness for the child. The citizens are described as happy in opposition to the child’s “abominable misery” and the choice of all citizens is to not bring further unhappiness to anyone. This ponders the question of the value of a human’s life: is it to improve life or to maintain the status quo?
Conflict
Teacher Sample by Kaz
The value and responsibility of the individual is an evident theme in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The conflict that those who leave Omelas experience supports the message of individual responsibility and value. In the text, the citizens of Omelas are faced with a terrible dilemma: “to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happiness of one.” All the citizens know that a child suffers terrible pain and torture for them to be happy, yet most choose to stay and do nothing. On the other hand, some choose to leave the town to escape the dilemma all together. Those who stay do not value the rights of individuals, and understand their responsibility is to the entire city. Those who leave are protesting the society that they are living in. The one's who leave seem to believe that the child’s life is too valuable to simply sacrifice for the sake of all. Therefore, they do not want to be a part of this town. In the end, this story asks the universal question of who an individual is responsible to and how much value a single life has.
Setting
Teacher Sample by Kaz
The setting of the short story supports this theme; especially the inclusion of “the unknown.” By including “the unknown” setting that the citizens leave Omelas for, we see the unknown consequences of leaving a group: “At times one of the adolescent boys or girls who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage…they keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas…” When an individual leaves a group, there is always the possibility of the unknown. A group provides safety and regularity, however, sometimes, as in the case of this short story, it is important to consider the values that the group imposes on the individual. The unknown setting – “a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness” – signals the reader to consider what they value in life: safety and happiness or their individual belief in what is morally right.
Period 1
Marqees Forrest
The characters in the story of the ones who walk away from Omelas supports the value and the responsibility of an individual. The people live off of happiness in the city with a person’s life at stake. There are people who would stay to keep the child at misery and have nothing to worry about. Then there are people who would leave because they have a responsibility of an individual to take care of what’s right to them and can’t handle the guilt about the child living in pain. “In a basement under one of the beautiful buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of one of its spacious private homes, there is a room”. The child that’s in the city or at a home is being blocked off by the rest of the world, living with nothing to do.
Gilaysha Kirkland
Ally Johnson
The value and resposiblty of the indivdual is the apparent theme in "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas". The citizens' morals and values are thrown into question as they live decadent, carefree lves, while a young child suffers to bear the burden of sadness for others happiness. Everyone knows all about this oppressed child, but theres rarely any thoughts about him. The citzens have to make one of these three decisions:
1. To continue their normal happy life and value ther society as a whole
2. help the child and completley abandon all hopes for happiness in the city ever again
3. or leave the Omelas civilization into the unknown
The author not only questions the citizens of Omleas, but our society also. So if you were placed into a predicament such as ths, which decision would you make?
Miashanti Smith
The theme is shown in the conflict and the responsible and value of the people by having the child kept in the basement and not handling that problem. This show sometimes people will ignore their problems and put it on someone else. The story shows that the people are worry more about their own happiness then the Childs so that shows that the value they have is for the majority happiness and not for one persons happiness.
Kayla Lacotta
The value and responsibility of the individual is the main theme of The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. The conflict of having to choose to stay in the city and allow the child to continue to suffer, leave, or possibly free the child is what supports the theme the best. “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…” This states the conflict, but also shows the choice every citizen has. Each individual has to choose what path they would take, and each are important to the city in different ways. The conflict was solved by some of the citizens by walking away, not taking their joy from the “abominable misery” the child faced for the city. What would you do in the face of that conflict of leaving or staying in the city? Would you attempt to save the child or just walk away and take no part in the pain he or she faces?
Dylan Menard
The rights and values of the individual is the primary theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. Such is affected by several aspects of the story, a large influence being characterization. “It is so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives on a half-bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually.” The author’s description and development of this character –the child– paints the tone of the story and from there further issues the seriousness of the theme. Through characterization, the theme comes critical, instead of –rather– comical, or simply informal. Vaguely detailed, happy characters, no matter how solemn the theme, will draw the tone away from a serious stance, and lower the impact of the theme, as I believe. The people of Omelas, at first, seem care free; perfect within their environment. As the child is introduced, their silent confliction becomes evident. Their decision –whether they should or should not help the child– is what sets the theme almost entirely.
Charles Hickerson
To answer the question you must first know what the theme is of the story. What does the word theme mean, it means the subject of discussion, and for this story our class chose to go with the theme of. The value and responsibility of the individual.
For my essay I’m going to show how the theme is supported with all three aspects of the story; character, setting, and conflict.
Hoe do the people/ characters of Omelas support the theme. the people of Omelas have the responsibility of keeping the city joyous and all of its festive activities. Underneath the happiness of the city lies a horrible moral. The only way way to keep the towns people happy, there was to be a child locked in a basement locked away from the happiness out side never to see the light of day or to interact with any one of the city. The people of Omelas had the guilt knowing that the child was down there but was responsible for keeping the its neighbor happy, just like every other person of Omelas had to.
Cynthia Frazier
The value and responsibility of the individual is manifest theme. In the story The Ones Who Walk away From Omelas the conflict brings out the value and responsibility of the individuals in the town. The conflict of omelas is either to stay or leave, Omelas was like paradise, was full of happy people neither stress nor pain. Their choices were to stay and be happy, but some was happy for a little period of time. There was a child boy or girl that sat in a basement in a beautiful building who had to suffer. The child was only about 6 or 7 with little water and food to eat. The child represented the people in Omelas Stress and pain. That one child represents all that stress, they figured if they let the child out the world will be like ours as the author says in the passage. Which leave the people with their choices if they should stay or go? Man vs. the world is like one child vs. everyone’s happiness. Which leaves everyone with the question, would you leave are do something about that one child suffering for everyone else?
Ausha Meggett
The value and responsibility of the individual was the theme for the short story " The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas". In this short story there was a child locked away in a basement and treated poorly. He was kept in a small room, with dirt floors,no windows, and absolutely no one was permitted to talk to the child. The child was kept in inhumane conditions they treated him without care and he was in a cruel enviorment. Citizens felt bad after visiting the child they would go home and cry or they would leave the city because they felt the child deserved better. Since he was kept in inhumane conditions this demonstrated the value of the childs life not being as worthy as the others.
Lynica McClellan
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is the value and responsibility of an individual, supported by the conflicts. In this story everyone’s happiness depends on this one child’s misery. The entire town of Omelas is faced with whether or not they should help the child and change the whole community or leave everything as it is. The author gives a lot of details on this child. In the story it says “they all understand that their happiness… depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery…They would like to do something for the child but there is nothing they can do.” If the people of Omelas helped this miserable child, then that would destroy the happiness of thousands. So their faced with whether or not this single life is worth it.
Period 3
Desiree Anderson
The theme expressed that is best expressed in “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is the value and responsibility of the individual. In the story, the conflict, characters, and setting help to express the theme. The conflict that occurs is within the people of Omelas. When most people go and visit the child, they come out unchanged. But there are that few that come out feeling upset with the treatment of the child. They begin to feel guilty and responsible for the child’s sorrow and misery. The reason they leave Omelas is because they take it as their own responsibility to do what they think will change the fate of the imprisoned child.
Cheyenne Brown
The theme of ths story is supported by the use of the characters. The theme of the story is "thevalue and responsibility of the individual." The theme is mainly supported by the character. Without the little boy in the story it would be a perfect world. With the little boy in the story his misery is responsible for the perfect world. He is very valuable to the city. All of the cities happiness is depending on one boy.
Tamara Butler
Omelas, the story where all is happy and well, except one, shows the value and responsibility of the individual. The happiness of the citizens of Omelas is dependent on the misery of one person. This one person has great value to the city. The people of Omelas understand the importance of the one who is miserable and majority of them go on with their lives. However, there are a few who are against this way of life and they choose to save themselves from the idea of being happy based on someone else’s misery. The citizens of Omelas have the responsibility to decide whether or not they want to be happy of go to a world outside of their home that they don’t know.
Kaylanickole Childs
The value and responsibility of the individual is a theme in “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”. This is supported by conflict. The conflict of those who decide to stay verses the conflict of those who choose to leave Omelas. “If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of that vile place…that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither…” This quote creates a major conflict within them self. Whether they are to leave and not have anything to with the cruelty to this child or stay and just block it out and pretend as if you know nothing about it. This shows the relation between conflict and theme.
Aymil Clark
The value and responsibility of the individual the boys responsibility is to stay locked up in this tiny space to suffer for all the towns people so that they can have a good life. The towns people responsibility it to keep him locked up also to check up on him to see how he is doing but they can’t let him be free.
Christian Duncan
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is based on the value and responsibility of each individual. I personally believe that between character, setting and conflict, that the use of conflict best supported the theme. In the story the main conflict is each individual citizen deciding whether or not to stay in the city when they know that one must suffer for the others’ happiness. “They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing that they can do.” The citizens who have concern for the child are at conflict with themselves. They don’t know whether or not to ignore the cruelty and continue with their lives since they can’t do anything about it, or just leave the city altogether. This all depends on the value and responsibility of each citizen. Will they value the child’s life enough to leave the city behind, in turn causing then to be responsible since they no longer reside in a perfect community or will they ignore the problem and only worry about themselves? This man vs. self conflict gives clarity as to how the theme is supported.
Deondre Gordon-Hale
The theme of the story is the value and responsibility of the individual. It is summed up by guilt. The people that live in the Omelas have a choice on whether they want to stay there or move to the unknown. The people that choose to leave are leaving because they would feel guilty if they stayed because they would be happy because of the boy’s misery. They don’t want that guilt on their mind so they try to get away.
Kendan Jones
The conflict of the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is this child is living a life of complete misery for the rest of the city to live in peace, and live life the way they dream to. “They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas. Some of them have come to see it, others are content merely to know it is there. They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, 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 misery.” This whole quoted paragraph explains that this town thrives off of this child their whole society would fall apart, and that is the conflict. The value and responsibility of this individual is the theme because without him they cant have their peace and tranquility.
Crystal Short
A conflict for all is a conflict for one at the end.”The terms are strict and absolute”: there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child. The people omelas are always happy because of this little boy. The value of life that he once had he no longer does because no one wants to help him. Everyone wanted to be happy and live struggle free. The responsibility to care for the child was not a thing that they saw would help him.
Quinton Stewart
The theme of the value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the conflict in the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” The boy being locked away for the joy and happiness of others is the main conflict. The townspeople could have decided to have a meeting and deal with their guilt in a different way, but they did not. Without the boy they wouldn’t have happiness so he represents the value of the individual. Individually they could have voted to decide to do something other than lock him away.
Darah Thornton
The setting really connects to the theme when the place of “Unknown” is introduced in the story. At times people would gaze upon the miserable child in the closet and later leave Omelas. They see the terrible conditions of the child and leave the city without a look back. They go out of the city and into the unimaginable place of Unknown. They leave the city for they do not wish to be part of a group that depends on the suffering of an innocent child just so that they can be happy and prosper. The place of Unknown represents how the people of the city feel when they leave. They don’t know what’s beyond their city walls because they never had to. And when they leave was that the right decision? When they leave what happens to them? Are they better off or worse?
Natasha Todd
As humans, our first instinct is to protect ourselves. The characters in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas help support the theme by defining the major points that make up people and society as a whole. There are many ways people see themselves. They may see themselves as a the one who likes to stay ahead, or the one who puts other first, maybe even a person who does a little of both and the list goes on and on. The major points can differ from person to person, but it all comes down to a person either being a collective thinker or an individualist thinker. The characters involved in this story (the citizens - stay, the citizens - leave, the Wretched one, narrator, and us as a people) have very little description to their backgrounds and not much is known about them. However, with the way the story is told, the sense of their outlooks on people, life, and society can be noticed.
Having the perfect setting helps to get a point across better. Omelas is considered to be the perfect society in most ways. However, the citizens still have their own ideas of what perfection is. Theirs, ours, and the ideal society fall under the stereotype that real happiness is rare.
“ Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither
necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive.”
In our society, happiness is considered hard to find. We suffer so much on a daily basis that whenever we are happy, we never realize it. In a way, the setting adds to the conflict because Omelas is considered to be “perfect” and it’s not. With a child being tortured and the citizens all knowing about it takes away from the perfection of the city.
Quinton Williamson
There are multiple themes in"the one who walk away" some appearent some hiddden away for interpritation. The story way reminded me of the story of Jeses as in the story 1 person sufferes just to make everyone else joyful. However the occupants of the city are aware of this, which may make someone ponder
Period 6
Aliyah Brooks
Have you ever been treated unequally? An individual shouldn’t have to hold so much responsiblities for others joy. Well in the story the Ones who walk away from Omelas is considered unfair. It is unfair because in the story one child suffers just to make everyone happy. Why does it even have to be a child who suffers? Is it because children don’t really know what choices they want to make in life? Well the theme of the story is “the value and responsibility of the individual” and it is supported by the setting .
The setting supports the theme because the basement of omelas describes the childs lifestyle. “It has one locked door, and no window. A little light seeps in dustily between cracks in the boards, secondhand from a cobwebbed window somewhere across the celluar. In one corner of the little room a couple mops with stif, clotted, foul smelling heads….” In this quote it shows that the child is surrounded by ugliness whereas the citizens of omelas live in a beautiful happy town.
“To throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of the happines of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed.” If the child wasn’t the holder of Omelas citizens sins, Omelas would not be a world of happiness. The walls of the city hold out all the guilt and the basement of an Omelas building is the guilts core. What if there was no individual that was held accountable for everyones happiness? Then reality would kick in and the people will began to realize that happiness isnt brought to you by others, its brought to you by having faith.
The authors intentions of versing our world to Omelas is to show that if our world had a problem it would be dealt with and maybe be sentenced to punishment, but if Omelas had a problem they could just walk away from it. “They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back.” The darkness symbolized the joy they really had. It was not controlable nor could it be seeked without the childs miserable standards. So if you had a choice would you want to leave in a world filled with happiness because of one person sacrificing their life for yours?
Mariah Geletko
The theme; The value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the setting in the story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”. By including “the basement” setting which the individual being the child occupies. “It has one locked door, and no window…the room is about three spaces long and two wide; a mere broom closet or disused tool room.” This quote tells the reader about the conditions the child has to live in, even though the town values the child very much. It is the child’s responsibility to sit in that basement and live in misery so that the town may live in happiness. “They all know that it has to be there…their happiness, the beauty of their city…depends wholly on this child’s abominable misery.”-signals to the reader that even though this child is valued and has a great responsibility it has nothing to do with what the child believes/wants.
Javon Jones
The setting of “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” Is very important to the theme, the value and responsibility of the individual. There is one setting in particular which is known as “the known” and this is a place where once the people of Omelas realize that they don’t like what is happening to the child they walk turn away from the town and go into “ the unknown”. Notice… “At time one of the adolescent boys or girl who goes to see the child does not go home to weep or rage… they keep walking straight out of the city of Omelas..” Now the this place “the unknown” give people “the citizen” a responsibility.
Zack McQueen
The thought of the value and responsibility of the individual is supported by the people of Omelas. Everyone still had things to take care of, no matter how small it was. In the story even though everyone was happy ladies still had responsibilities. It says “some were decorous: old people in long stiff robes of mauve and grey, grave master workmen, quiet, merry women carrying their babies and chatting as they walked.” This shows people have things to take of still even though they were happy. The thing you can best get from this is if you make babies take care of it, there are families that still need tending to.
This theme can be supported by the setting of Omelas. The seeing is a happy town with many things to think about and do. It’s due to the child that they must really think about not associating with the kid or they could destroy all their happiness. It’s the fact they don’t do anything for him that they take responsibility for their Individuality. It says in the story that “they feel anger, outrage, Impotence, despite all the explanation. They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do.” This shows they’re responsible for caring about the kid but not doing anything.
It’s the unknown that the theme: the value and responsibility of the individual can be supported. The unknown isn’t a place that can be described, but everyone once in awhile individuals would walk out in a daze of misery for the child in the room. They are showing responsibility for walking away from the town and not ruining everyone’s happiness. Similar to the setting where happiness is from the misery of a child so people will leave, the unknown shows a conflict where either they go away or don’t.
Starr Mitchell
I think that the value and responsibility of the individual is a theme in The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas that is based on the conflict in the story. In the story there is a miserable boy whose life is being sacrificed for his town to invest in happiness. Those who stay are selfish.
Darion Morton
The theme of the story is the value and responsibility of the individual. It’s supported by characterization , this child’s responsibilities are to keep this community happy. By putting the blame on the child for all their wrongful sins. If the isn’t in the basement there basically id no happiness in Omela.
Dewill Perkins
This paragraph is talking about the responsibility of the ten year old child. The responsibility of the child is, to stay licked in a basement absorbing everybody sins, and living in their misery. “Some of them understand why, and some do not, 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 the child’s abominable misery.” By this the narrator means; the happiness of the citizens of Omelas, and the tenderness of their friendship “depend wholly on the child’s abominable misery.” Is it fare for the citizens of Omelas to treat the child like that? If it is fare; why do you think you have the right to treat a human being like that? What makes you feel like you have the power to treat another person like trash?
Chelsea Richie
The setting supports the theme of the value and responsibility of the individual the part about the basement that’s placed under the town of omelas. In this quote “The door is always locked and nobody ever comes, except that sometimes the child has no understanding of time….basically the town blames the child for all their sins and unhappiness. All the citizens rely on the child for them not being happy such as if they all help each other out then would be willing to not let the child suffer anymore. Like it seems as though the citizens have more control or power than the boy. Who is considered powerless and wanting to take a chance to build on from each other instead of putting the blame on one innocent boy.
Lindsay Smedley
The value and responsibility of the individual means one person holds all the responsibility of all and is important for the benefit of others around.
In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, a little boy held that responsibility And carried all the burden as if he was a storage place “They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendship, health of their children…..etc, depend on this one Childs abominable misery.
In this quote the little boy had the entire burden to keep the town happy. It was his responsibility to stay in solitary confinement. He had a strong value in the town that only benefits others. Would he be proud if he knew?
Ian Snyder
The theme of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is: The value and responsibility of the individual. This theme is obviously supported by the character element as it would for any story. The child has the value equal to the happiness of Omelas and the strong emotions of the ones who walk away. This is proven because the child’s pain and agony is what makes all the happiness in Omelas without him that would be gone. In the text it says, “They all understand that the happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, etc., depend wholly on this child’s abominable misery.” His pain and suffering is also what gives those who walk away they’re strong emotion, since when they see the boy they feel so much emotion for him that they walk away from the city or town or whatever Omelas is.
Nicholas Stewart
The setting of The ones Who Walk away for omleas was part of the underlying theme of the story. The theme of the story was that the people had to make a choice and ether keep oppressing the child or walk away form the town and move on The one quote that explains this idea is ‘’Clamor of the bells that set slowing soaring festival or summer came to the city of omleas.
This quote describes the setting of the underlying theme of the story is that omelas has a Brightside but also has a dark side.
Jhordan Stoutmire
The theme of “the value and responsibility of the individual” is based on the character which is us. (The reader) The author is showing us that the real world (our world) is rotten in its own way. She is saying that the real world is so messed up that in the world of Omelas; the people sacrifice the freedom of a young boy just for worldly happiness. Us as the world cannot have peace and happiness without someone else suffering so who you think is worst? Our world that is doing this all over earth, or the world of omelas that only does this on one boy to achieve peace and happiness
Duvon Wiley-Brown
The theme to the Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas is a paradise from real life problems. It’s a place you can go to get away from guilt or any other negative situation’s that happen in real life. Everyone is so happy that they don’t even speak on being happy it’s just the way of life there.