Courtney Hill

Dr. Arnold

INTL 3111

July 14, 2020

Not Everyone’s Utopia is the Same

Ursula Le Guin paints the reader a scene of Omelas, a supposed utopia, in the short story

“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” The first half of the story gives the impression that

the city is, in fact, a utopia but it becomes glaringly obvious that this city is dystopian in nature.

There is no civilization, real or fictitious, that can be an actual utopia. All utopias are

simultaneously dystopias for some members of the society because of free will. There cannot be

a completely serene and utopian society with the existence of free will, the two ideas cancel each

other out.

A society cannot be utopian because there will always be at least one person that does not

fully agree, is a little less happy, or actively hates the community’s structures. While the story

depicts a utopian society, it is in reality, a dystopian society. Everyone who lives in Omelas

resides within a dystopia because the residents know about the abused and neglected child, yet

do absolutely nothing to help it, they simply choose to ignore it and continue on with their lives.

Le Guin describes the residents, “Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that

they, like the child, are not free.” This statement directly negates the idea of a utopia; the

residents are not “free”, their happiness comes at a price that they are willing to pay. Their

society has evil in it, yet they do nothing. Free will allows people to make their own decisions,

think for themselves, and act on their personal morals and values. It is not the same for a single
person so there is no possible civilization that has the ability to be a utopia for everyone. Even if

a person’s free will was taken away in an attempt to create a utopia, it would still be a dystopia

because the people have lost the ability to choose what makes them happy, they’ve lost one of

the core elements that makes a person human.

My personal utopia would include equality, peace, as well as lots of books and dogs.

While I do not have a clear picture of my personal utopia, I do know that it would be considered

a dystopia for some because my beliefs and values are different from someone else’s so they

would not find the same peace and happiness that I would derive from it.

The idea of creating a utopia is fascinating, though there is no formula that can be

plugged in so everyone would be happy. There will always be someone who is oppressed, treated

unequally, or not given the same respect. This is clearly evident in the short story with the

treatment of the child. Someone will always suffer in a “utopia” because everyone thinks

differently, everyone has different sets of values and morals, and everyone has free will to decide

what is right and wrong.