Literature
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- Category: English: Creative Writing
- Date Submitted: 02/12/2015 09:53 AM
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Analysis of "the ones who walk away from omelas"
Symbolism
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a piece that is rather allegorical and utilises many symbols to help contribute to the entire meaning of the text. Ursula K. Le Guin leads off by taking us through a utopian society that is beautifully constructed called Omelas. She periodically asks whether we agree with her story construction. At first, Omelians are painted in a way that makes the reader feel that the society is a fairy tale city of naked children playing and street performers and knights (Le, 1). The citizens are portrayed as happy and joyous, making merry in Omelas’ pristine eloquence. They lack enemies, crime, guilt and military. Halfway through the story a child appears who has prominent a role in the omelas society. The child in the cellar is a martyr who is necessary for the existence, business and economy of Omelas. In place of this child, we can definitely identify a type of religious figure like Jesus Christ. The suffering of this child is for the benefit of this society. This can be associated with the suffering of Christ on the cross for humanity’s sake.
“Light images” the symbolism that constitutes the first part of the story with words like “joy”, “summer”, “brilliance” and “happiness” all a representation of some kind of awakening or birth just like the birth of a baby or the first minuets the sun produces on the horizon (Le, 1). The second part of the story is made up of the “dark images” symbolism that is illustrated by words like “sorrow”, “weep”, “night”, and “fear” are a representation of some sombreness like the feeling of hearing news about death of a relative or seeing the setting of the sun. The book has a contrast of symbolism that is placed perfectly halfway through the book which can be symbolically understood as death and resurrection or day and night.
When thinking of the representation of the child, Christianity comes to mind. The...
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Course
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Analysis of "the ones who walk away from omelas"
Symbolism
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a piece that is rather allegorical and utilises many symbols to help contribute to the entire meaning of the text. Ursula K. Le Guin leads off by taking us through a utopian society that is beautifully constructed called Omelas. She periodically asks whether we agree with her story construction. At first, Omelians are painted in a way that makes the reader feel that the society is a fairy tale city of naked children playing and street performers and knights (Le, 1). The citizens are portrayed as happy and joyous, making merry in Omelas’ pristine eloquence. They lack enemies, crime, guilt and military. Halfway through the story a child appears who has prominent a role in the omelas society. The child in the cellar is a martyr who is necessary for the existence, business and economy of Omelas. In place of this child, we can definitely identify a type of religious figure like Jesus Christ. The suffering of this child is for the benefit of this society. This can be associated with the suffering of Christ on the cross for humanity’s sake.
“Light images” the symbolism that constitutes the first part of the story with words like “joy”, “summer”, “brilliance” and “happiness” all a representation of some kind of awakening or birth just like the birth of a baby or the first minuets the sun produces on the horizon (Le, 1). The second part of the story is made up of the “dark images” symbolism that is illustrated by words like “sorrow”, “weep”, “night”, and “fear” are a representation of some sombreness like the feeling of hearing news about death of a relative or seeing the setting of the sun. The book has a contrast of symbolism that is placed perfectly halfway through the book which can be symbolically understood as death and resurrection or day and night.
When thinking of the representation of the child, Christianity comes to mind. The...