Discussion Questions for “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”
1. Another odd thing about this piece is the narrative voice (Point of View). At some points the voice seems omniscient (as when it tells us how the horses feel about the festival), but at other points it admits uncertainty, hazards opinions, and speculates about the attitude of the reader.
a. How do you feel about this voice? Judged, challenged, understood?
b. Do the assumptions the narrator makes about its audience’s likely attitudes--toward the festival, toward the townspeople, toward the notion of human happiness--seem apt for our times?
2. Consider the setting: The narrator suggests that the reader might assume the story is set in an older, perhaps medieval time, but then she insists that it is not.
a. What about Omelas might give the impression of pre-industrial society?
b. What was your first impression?
c. When and where do you think the story is actually supposed to be set?
3. To get a grasp of the theme in this story, you need to examine the conflict. What is it? (Hint: It’s a moral conflict, an apparent dilemma, a paradox.)
a. How do you think you would handle the conflict—would you walk away, or stay and be happy?
b. What do you think the narrator wants us to see as the right decision? Why?
c. Do you think this simply an intellectual exercise, or is there another purpose?
4. If you were to choose the best lens through which to examine this story, which would you choose? Which one seems the most relevant, given the information you have so far? The options are Gender Criticism, Biographical Criticism, Historical Criticism, Psychological Criticism, Marxist/Social Power Criticism, Reader Response Criticism, Formalist Criticism, Postcolonial Criticism, and Deconstructionist Criticism. Explain your answer: why is the lens you chose the most fitting?