Flashcards for The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The Child

The Child is the central moral focus of Ursula K. Le Guin's allegorical story, yet it never speaks, acts, or changes — existing solely as a representation of unbearable suffering.

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The Citizens of Omelas

The citizens of Omelas serve as the story's moral compass—a society shaped not by ignorance but by chosen complicity.

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The Narrator

The Narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" acts more like a self-aware, philosophically curious guide than a typical protagonist, as they construct the city of Omelas in real time for the reader.

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The Young People (Festival Participants)

The Young People stand out as the most vividly depicted group among the citizens of Omelas, introduced right at the beginning of the story as the joyous participants in the Festival of Summer.

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Those Who Walk Away

Those Who Walk Away are a small, unnamed group within Omelas, and their defining action—leaving the city for good—gives Ursula K. Le Guin's story its title and moral climax.

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“The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness.”

This closing line comes from the unnamed, second-person narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Unnamed narrator · N/A (single-chapter short story)

“The terms are strict and absolute; there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child.”

This line comes from the unnamed, all-knowing narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Omniscient Narrator

“They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas.”

This line is spoken by the unnamed narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Unnamed narrator · N/A (short story, single section)

“Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing.”

This line comes from the unnamed, self-aware narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

The Narrator

“Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your own fancy bids, assuming it will rise to the occasion, for certainly I cannot suit you all.”

This line is spoken by the unnamed narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas (1973), and it's directed at the reader right at the beginning.

The Narrator

“In a basement under one of the beautiful public buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of one of its spacious private homes, there is a room.”

This unsettling passage is taken from Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.

Unnamed Narrator

“Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, when they have seen the child and faced this terrible paradox.”

This line comes from the unnamed, shifting narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Unnamed Narrator

“Omelas sounds in my words like a city in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time.”

This opening line is delivered by the unnamed, self-aware narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

The Narrator

“They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back.”

This closing line is delivered by the unnamed narrator in Ursula K. Le Guin's 1973 philosophical short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Unnamed narrator

Omelas (The City)

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the city of Omelas symbolizes the tempting moral compromise found in utilitarian societies.

The Child in the Basement

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the child locked in the basement embodies the moral price of a collective happiness that relies on intentional injustice.

The Festival and Celebration

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the Festival and its celebrations highlight the tempting charm of a happiness that comes from questionable morals.

The Road Away from Omelas

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the road leading out of the glittering city symbolizes the choice of moral refusal and the price of ethical integrity.

Symbolism

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," symbolism drives the story, turning what could be a simple philosophical thought experiment into a deeply felt moral experience.

Irony

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," irony serves as the backbone of the story.

Unreliable Narrator

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," the narrator's unreliability is more than just a flaw; it's a deliberate choice woven into the fabric of the story.

Imagery

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," imagery drives the story's moral argument.

Rhetorical Question

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," rhetorical questions drive the story's structure, continuously drawing the reader into the city's moral dilemma.

Apostrophe

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," apostrophe serves as a structural thread woven throughout the narrative.

Allegory

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," allegory serves as the core structure of the story, not just an embellishment.

Paradox

In Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas," paradox is not just an ornament; it’s the core of the story.

joyous

Feeling or expressing great happiness and delight; used here to describe the festive, celebratory mood of the city during its summer festival.

adjective · Chapter 1

procession

A group of people moving forward in an orderly, ceremonial line, as part of a public celebration or ritual event.

noun · Chapter 1

sumptuous

Splendidly rich, luxurious, and impressive in appearance or quality; used to describe the lavish abundance of the festival.

adjective · Chapter 1

drooz

A fictional drug or intoxicant in the story that produces pleasure without harmful side effects or addiction, unlike real-world substances.

noun · Chapter 1

orgy

Here used in its older, broader sense: an occasion of excessive, unrestrained indulgence in pleasure or festivity, not necessarily sexual.

noun · Chapter 1

solstice

The point in the year when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky; here the summer solstice marks the date of Omelas's great annual festival.

noun · Chapter 1

clamor

A loud, continuous, and confused noise made by a crowd or many voices and sounds all at once.

noun · Chapter 1

lithe

Moving in a way that is gracefully flexible and supple; used to describe the fluid, easy movements of the festival dancers.

adjective · Chapter 1

archaic

Belonging to or typical of an earlier, ancient period; used to describe old-fashioned customs or institutions that have survived from the past.

adjective · Chapter 1

benign

Gentle, kindly, and causing no harm; used to describe a quality of the city's happiness that is not threatening or cruel in its outward form.

adjective · Chapter 1

supple

Bending and moving easily and gracefully without stiffness; describes the physical ease and fluidity of people or things in motion.

adjective · Chapter 1

feeble-minded

An old-fashioned term meaning having a very low level of intelligence or mental capacity; used in the story to describe the condition of the imprisoned child.

adjective · Chapter 2

imbecile

An outdated clinical term for a person with a severe intellectual disability; used here to describe the degraded mental state of the child kept in the basement.

noun · Chapter 2

mop

A tool with a bundle of thick strings or a sponge on a stick used for cleaning floors; significant here because the child is kept in a room with a mop and bucket.

noun · Chapter 2

festered

Became infected and filled with pus, or worsened over time without being treated; describes the infected, untreated sores on the child's body.

verb · Chapter 2

abominable

Causing moral disgust and revulsion; deeply and shockingly wrong or evil in a way that offends any decent person's sense of right.

adjective · Chapter 2

utilitarian

Based on the ethical principle that the right action is whatever produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, even at a cost to a few.

adjective · Chapter 2

tacit

Understood or agreed upon without being openly stated or spoken aloud; an unspoken but accepted arrangement or condition.

adjective · Chapter 2

prosperous

Enjoying financial success, wealth, and good fortune; used to describe the thriving, well-off condition of Omelas and its citizens.

adjective · Chapter 2

indoctrinated

Taught to accept a set of beliefs uncritically and completely, so that one does not question them; describes how citizens are made to accept the terms of the city's bargain.

verb · Chapter 2

equivocate

To use vague or ambiguous language in order to avoid committing to a clear position or to conceal the truth; to speak in a deliberately unclear way.

verb · Chapter 2

redemption

The act of saving someone from suffering, sin, or a bad situation; here it refers to the impossible act of freeing or rescuing the child from its condition.

noun · Chapter 2

ineffable

Too great, extreme, or overwhelming to be expressed or described in words; beyond what language can capture.

adjective · Chapter 1

specter

A ghost or haunting presence; used figuratively to describe something that looms over a situation as a disturbing, inescapable shadow.

noun · Chapter 2

diverge

To separate and go in different directions from a common point; used to describe the moment when some citizens choose a path away from Omelas rather than back into it.

verb · Chapter 3