The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas: An Analysis

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Throughout your life starting from when you were a child you have experienced different point of views from watching and listening to people. Whether you realize it or not what you have experience has shaped you into the person you are today. The two short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin and the essay “Hook Ups Starve the Soul” by Laura Vanderkam, are examples of how precedents can influence individuals decisions. These three texts reveal this concept by showing how individuals can be influenced by the actions that people are doing around them, by traditions that were set by past civilians, as well as following any previous examples set by family members. By showing the …show more content…

Le Guin showcase how traditions set by past civilians influence traditions. In the short story by Jackson, she said that “No one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson 1239). This was said after someone had suggested building a new box for use in the lottery. The box had been rebuilt in the past but it was rebuild with some of the parts of the old box showing how much it meant to the people that event stays the same. In the other short story by Le Guin, when explaining the way the citizens of Omelas think about the child she said “They all know it has to be there” (Le Guin 1318). Although they may not be okay with what was happening to the child, they have learned over the years that they should let it happen because it helps the community. In both texts individuals decide not to try and force any change to a tradition. When a old man standing in the crowd at the lottery overheard some people talking about other civilizations not having a lottery he said “There’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 1241). This man had been around for his fair share of lotteries and had gotten so use to them that he could fathom not having one. Similarly, when Le Guin was describing the characteristics of the people in Omelas she said “One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt” (Le Guin 1317). Even though all of the citizens know that …show more content…

In the essay by Vanderkam, she says that hook ups “have all but replaced dating at most colleges” (Vanderkam 345). Some support that she uses when proving this was that she said “only half of the women .. had been on six or more dates...a third had been on no more than two” (Vanderkam 345). This shows that this is not just some fad that some kids at colleges are trying to start but rather it is something that is already implemented and has affected most college students. In the short story, Jackson was explaining how all of the citizens were coming together for the lottery when she said “The other boys soon followed his example” after she had saw one boy who had picked up some stones on the way to the lottery. Later in the day after the selection process of the lottery had been completed a person from the crowd yelled “Come on, come on, everyone” (Jackson 1243). Both of these quotes show how quickly the citizens are to listen to and follow the actions of other people. These qualities have even been taught to the children. These two texts show how people are quick to follow the lead of another and that stems down to the younger generation which means that the trait of following will only continue to grow. Also in the essay, Vanderkam said that hook ups have “pervade[d] college culture” (345). This shows

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