Bianca Butler Marie Whitney

Reading Analysis 2Communication 460

I. Summary of the contents of the article

For this assignment we will be analyzing two readings. The first reading, “The Ones

Who Walk Away From Omelas” was written by Ursula Le Guin. The basis of this

article is that somewhere there is a group of individuals who are happy all the time

and nothing in their lives goes wrong. This is because these people have chosen one

child in their community to be locked away in a small room in the basement of one of

their government buildings. This child shoulders all the fear and pain in their

community so the others can enjoy happy, blessed life. The existence of the child is

explained to the other children when they are between the ages of eight and twelve.

All of the people in Omelas understand that the child must be miserable to guarantee

their happiness. No matter how the well the reason for the child’s condition is

explained to the rest of the children in Omelas, they are shocked and sickened by

what they see. Some of them feel that they should do something for the child, but

there is nothing that they can do because if the child were to be brought out of the

basement all of the prosperity that occurs in Omelas will be gone. Many of the people

in Omelas eventually understand this and can go on with their lives. The people, who

cannot understand that the child’s suffering is for the benefit of everyone, are the ones

who walk away from Omelas. The second reading, “Harrison Bergeron” was written

by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. This reading is about a community in the future where everyone

is equal to each other in every single way. If a person has above average intelligence,

then they are fitted with a mental handicap radio in their ear. Every twenty seconds or

so, the radio transmits a sharp noise to keep people from unfairly using their brains.

The two main characters, George and Hazel Bergeron have a son named Harrison.

Harrison was arrested and imprisoned when he was fourteen because he did not want

to be equal. In this society if anyone wants to stop being equal then there are serious

consequences that he or she may face. George and Hazel are at home watching a

ballet. All of a sudden it is revealed that Harrison has broken out of prison and

interrupted the ballet. Harrison takes off his handicaps in front of the camera on the

stage and proclaims that he is the Emperor. As the Emperor, he must choose his

Empress. A ballerina stands up and they dance together- free of their individual

handicaps. Eventually, the Handicapper General came to the theater and killed both of

them for removing their handicaps. The story closes with George telling Hazel to

“forget sad things”.

II. Identifying the authors main theme(s) or thesis

There are three overreaching, common themes of the two readings. The first one

common theme is the idea that happiness is in the eye of the beholder. In Harrison

Bergeron, the people are mostly happy being exactly equal. Only a few people are

unhappy with the status quo. In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”,

happiness is a central theme. The people are happy despite knowing what is

happening to the child in the basement. Those who are not, leave to see their

happiness somewhere else. The second theme is the idea that the majority has greater

importance than the minority. During both stories, a sacrifice must be made for the

good of the majority. In “Harrison Bergeron”, the title character is sacrificed for the

“good” of the majority because everyone must remain equal. In “The Ones Who

Walk Away From Omelas”, the child in the basement is sacrificed for the good of the

community. The third theme is that nothing is perfect. Each of these stories offers a

glimpse into a seemingly perfect society. The idea of a society where everyone is

equal in every way is what people in the world aspire to have happen. The idea of a

society where sadness, anger, and disappointment do not exist is yet another that

many people would like to see.

III. Evaluating how effectively the author expresses goals or supports the thesis with

strong details and evidence

Both authors accomplished their goals by creating a story that takes a society that is

perfect on the outside and showing the dangers of the idea of a “perfect” society.

They do this by, showing the negative aspects within the society. This illustrates two

of the themes that nothing is perfect and that good does not exist without evil.

“Harrison Bergeron” shows that in order to be happy everyone must be equal to each

other. The authors have supported the validity of their theses by causing the readers to

ask themselves the moral question that comes with each story. The moral question

that readers have to ask themselves about “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”

is what to do about the child that is locked in the basement. Do you break the child

out, even though he or she may never be able to feel anything other than fear, and the

people of Omelas will suffer? Or do you leave the child there and go about your daily

life? The moral question of “Harrison Bergeron” is it better for everyone to be equal

in all ways or is it better to be different and happy.

IIII. Personal critical remarks

We believe that these two readings raised an important question. This question is one

that society must answer, is it realistic to think that people can live in a perfect world

where people can both be equal and happy. Or do we have to choose one? Both of

these stories show the dangers of what many people would think of as a seemingly

perfect society. It is an excellent idea to think that everyone should be equal in every

way, but the practical application of such an idea is not quite as excellent. The idea

that every person must be equal to their neighbor creates a world without creativity

and individuality. Some of the greatest inventions of our time, such as electricity or

the Internet, would not have been possible without creativity and individuality.

Imagine living everyday the exact same way as everyone else. It is also an excellent

idea to aspire to always be happy and never sad. However, in order to truly appreciate

happiness one must first experience sadness and disappointment.