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CommentsonTheOnesWhoWalkAwayfromOmelasThispieceofwriting,whichwaswrittenbyUrsulaLeGuin,reallyprovokedmydeepfeelingaboutthecityOmelas,thepeoplethere,thelittlekidwhowassufferinginlieuofalltheothercitizensinthecity.Further,Ithinkabouttherealsituationofoursociety.Bycomparingandcontrasting,therearesimilaritiesanddifferencesamongtherealworldandthecityimaginedbythewriterofthestory.Acoupleofquestionsarestilllingeringonmymind:whoandwhychoosethelittlekidtobetheonesuffering?HowcanallthecitizensofOmelasinthestoryenjoytheirlifebywaysofcelebratingtheFestivalofSummer,forgettingandavoidingallthepainsandsufferings?Whyistherenobodytostandupandtoguardagainstalltheotherstoescapethelittlekidfromthoseextremepains?Andwhydopeopletherechoosetowalkawayfromthatcityinsteadofdoingsomethingtosolvethedifficultproblem?Itissuchkindofquestionsthathelpmethinkmoreandchangemyselfinaway.Firstofall,whoistherightpersontomakethedecisiononchoosingthelittlekidtobetheonesuffering,andwhythismustbesoinsuchacity?Ononehand,wecannotreadfromorevenbeyondthelinestoknowthatthereissuchaperson.Instead,weknowfromthedescriptionofthewriterthatthereisnokinginthecityatall.Commonsenseinformsmethatitisalwaystheking,orsayingthemonarch,todecidewhoisgoingtobepunished,praisedorawarded.Butsincethereisnokinginthecity,thecitizensthemselvesarethedecision-makers.Itispossiblethatwhensuchalittlekidwasborn,hehadalreadybeenchosentobethemostunluckybaby.Basedontheirbelief,religion,ortradition,whenababywasborninaspecialplaceataspecialtime,orifthereisanysignofbadluckmarkedonitsbody,itmustbeputinthatdirtydarkroomthereafterfornootherreasons.Ontheotherhand,IwaswonderingwhysuchaterriblecasemustexistinthecityofOmelasafterIhavereadthisstoryforthefirsttime.Thecitizens,whoarehappyandnaiveandpure,tendtoignoretheexistenceofthelittlekidthoughsomeofthemhavealreadyknownthat.Theyarenaiveenoughtothinkthatiftheyignoretheexistenceofthelittlekidstayinginthedarkroomsuffering,theywilldefinitelyhaveaharmoniousandhappylifewithnoproblemsanylonger,butthisisabsolutelywrong.Similarly,howcanthecitizensofthecitycelebratehappilytheirsummerfestival,forgettingthepainsbehindthehappiness?Whattheyaredoingisgoingagainsttheirconscienceinthesensethatnoonecangrasporenjoyhis/herhappinessbasedonthesufferingsandpainsoftheotherpeople.Strictlyspeaking,nooneinthewholeworldcanenjoyhappinessallthetime,leavingnoplaceorhavingnochanceofbeingsad.Lifeisalwaysgoingupanddownovertime.Inotherwords,oncewewerehappyaboutacertainevenhappeningaroundortous,theremustbeothertimeforustoliveunderstrongstress,sadnessandevenanguish.Imagineaperson,whoisalwayspresentinghis/herhappinesstothepeoplearound,tobeoneofmyacquaintance.WillIbelieveinhis/hereverlastinghappiness?Ofcoursenot.Foratimeorso,suchapersonwillnottalkabouthispainsandsorrowsifhe/shedoesnotreallywanttosharewithsomeonewhoisnothis/herbestfriend.ButasIhaveobservedinlife,suchakindofpersoniseverywhere,sometimesincludingme.Inaddition,whyistherenobodywhocanstandupandguardagainsttheotherstoescapethelittlekidfromsufferingfutherpains?Suchacasecanbeexplainedpartlybyourhumannature.Bynature,peopleareshy,andnobodyreallywanttobeamarverick.Wearemoderate,andweliketobethesamewiththepeoplearound.Tosaysomethingagainstthepublicorcatholicviewisnotawisechoiceforanyone.ThisisthesamewiththepeopleinOmelas.Sincethereisnotasinglepersonwhocaninitiatetheprotestagainstlockingthelittlekid,nooneelsecanstandupandcomplainaboutthebadsituation.Ifsomeonecanreallystandupandsaysomethingtosuchanissue,theproblemwiththelittlekidcanbesolvedforalongtime.What’smore,thecharacteristictobeshyinthepubliccanbewellinterpretedinschoolsoruniversities.Whenateacheroraprofessorisaskingaquestiontoallthestudentsintheclassroom,itisrareforanyonetoansweritthoughtheanswertothequestionisalwaysquiteeasyandobvious.Byconstrast,ifthereissomeoneintheclasswhocananswerthequestionsoftheteacherortheprofessor,otherswillbebraveenoughthentorespondtothefollowingquestions.Itcanalsobeexplainedbyourhumannature—shyandmoderate.Finally,whytherearepeoplewhochoosenottosolvetheproblembysavingthelittlekid,buttowalkawayfromthere.Itisbetterforthemtobetogetherandsolvetheproblemofthecity.Buttheysimplychoosetowalkaway,avoidingfuthercontactwiththebadsituation.Innosenseissuchawaysensibleandcorrectbasedonmoralsorconscience.Inreallife,whenwearefacingsomedifficultiesorproblems,theworstwayofallistoavoidthedifficultiesorproblems.Wecantrytofindsolutionsbyaskingourparentswhohavemoreexperiencesoflifethanus;wecanalsotalktoourfriendanddiscussthesolutionstotheprolemstogether.ItiswiserofthepeopleofOmelastocalmdownfirst,tothinkmoreaboutthecurrentsituation,andtofindsolutionsbydiscussingorcooperating.Buttheyjustwalkaway,withoutresponsibility,withoutanycareforthelittlekid.Tosumup,thisstoryisreallythought-provoking.BythinkingmoreaboutwhatisgoingoninthecityofOmelasandbycomparingandconstrastingthesituationthereandhereinourrealworld,wecanlearnmorethanwhatwehavereadorheardaboutbefore.