Utopian Societies in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and The Lottery

The Utopian Societies in the Short Stories “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” by Ursula K. Le Guin, and “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson

The accounts of utopian societies in the short stories “The Ones Who Walk Away from

Omelas,” by Ursula K. Le Guin, and “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson have shocking twists as

the reader learns that there is a high price to pay for their apparent happiness. These societies

seem perfect on the surface; however, as we understand more about its citizens and their

traditions, we learn that utopia is exactly what its definition suggests: impossible. The sacrifice

made by these communities in order to keep their society perfectly happy turns out to be

fruitless. Their ideas of how society should function are doomed to fail, because people are

inherently prone to selfishness and often engage in evil. This, paradoxically, condemns them

tounhappiness.

In “The Lottery,” the town’s people held an annual lottery in which all of the citizens

participated. The twist is that its winner would ultimately be stoned to death. Old Man Warner

believed this tradition guaranteed good crops for the year and, therefore, food and longevity for

the rest of the town’s people. The majority of the people, however, did not know the purpose of

this tradition and simply conformed to it. There were no attempts to change the situation, and the

town’s people eagerly participated in it – even if in the process they were hurting their friends

and family. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” the happiness of the people in town is

never abundant even though they live in a society that thrives. The people act happy; however,

they are aware that this happiness is dependent on the abu...

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...strongest instinct is self-preservation. Ultimately, their families and friends cease to matter and

these relationshipsbecome meaningless to them. Human beings without meaningful relationships

cannot be happy. If the people are not happy, then they do not live in a utopian society. Their

utopia falls apart andgives way to a tragedy of humanity. The sacrifices in the lottery in the

village and of the child in Omelas are pointless. Everyone loses.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.”Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford.Making Literature Matter:

An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. 837-44. Print.

Le Guin, Ursula K. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” Ed. John Schilb and John

Clifford. Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers.Boston:

Bedford/St. Martins, 2009.1508-511. Print.