Omelas: A Utopian Society

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Having a utopian society is not worth if its existence is based on the absolute suffering of another human because no one person can be truly happy living off the pain of others. In a utopian society, by definition, everything has to be perfect. An individual’s suffering annuls the utopian qualities of a society, and even though the people would not feel ‘guilt,’ it still lacks morals and ethics that utopian societies supposedly have.
In this story, the city of Omelas is described as being a utopia in which a child is being imprisoned and is suffering and the inhabitants believe that without the child suffering, none of them could've happy. However, a person deriving their happiness form the pain of another is not happiness but rather the relief …show more content…
It is not humane to let another human be miserable and want “to do something” but take no action because of the assumption that it would be useless (le Guin, 4). It is unreasonable that a person’s tears “at the bitter injustice dry up when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality” (Le Guin, 4) because instead of trying to make a difference, the people are going to try to cover up the problems and pretend like the problem, which is treated as an “it” even though its human, is perfectly fine. However, there are some people who decide that exchanging their happiness for someone’s misery is not a fair barter and “leave Omelas… and they do not come back” (Le Guin, 4).
In conclusion, it would not be worth having a utopian society based on such an extreme kind of suffering. Even though the world is flawed and suffering is inevitable, it should not just be one person bearing all the pain for the rest of the population because it is inhumane and selfish by part of the others. There are two people in modern societies: those who chose to ignore the problem in hopes that it will vanish by itself and those who stand up and walk away because the injustice is too overwhelming and

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