Post 1: Which Text Spoke to Me The Most?

"The Ones Who Walked Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le guin, was my favorite text from the summer reading. The text got my attention right away and it still holds my attention long after reading it. The book captured my attention by confusing me, rather than the excitement of the plot that usually gets me. I was struck by the decision that the citizens of Omelas needed to face, or decide not to face. It was horrifying to me to realize that if a utopian city has to sacrifice the happiness of one child, what we must sacrifice to simply function as a state, nation, and world.

In the story, the citizens know about an old musty room, and "[i]n the room a child is sitting" (Le Guin). The child is suffering, but the people of the city do nothing about it. For some reason, I love that they did nothing because it makes for a better story for me. The most outstanding and "rebellious" thing that these citizens do is to leave, and not live knowing it is at another's expense. My favorite part of the story when the speaker says, "Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing" (Le Guin). For me this passage provides all of the excitement that I could need from a story. Sitting on its own between two paragraphs, it jumped out at me and spoke to me directly, but left me dangling off a cliff. Sometimes I find myself in a situation of "should I stay or should I go" and usually I don't fully realize the consequences of either decision until after I make it.