WebLog2

Based on the reading of Le Guin’s short story I developed two contrasting theories of social justice. One theory is that everyone should come together and do what is morally and socially correct. A few aspects that are explicitly shown are that there are boys, girls, women, and men that do not even return home after visiting the child or wait a day or two and then leave Omelas. It is implied at the end of the article that the people who leave Omelas leave because they can no longer live happily in a city after seeing the miserable child. Another theory is that everyone should watch out for themselves, only worry about them being happy, and that their own decisions lead them to where they are in life. An aspect that makes this explicitly addressed is that there is a 10 year old child locked in a closet to make the whole city of Omelas happy. If someone lets the child out then the whole city will become unhappy, friendships will be lost, and the beauty of the city will be gone. The city depends on this child’s misery. When people go to see the child they often go home in tears. This shows that people are being selfish because they know the child’s miserable in there yet no one will do anything about it. An aspect that is implied is that no one is going to do anything about it because they just go home and cry and then continue on with their happy lives after they see the child.