Le Guin pulls us into Omelas with her first phrase "with a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring." From here she intricately weaves a pattern of plot and theme which she draws upon throughout the entire story. We are initially given to a blissful, almost jubilant, Omelas. We picture the "houses with red roofs and painted walls, between old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees." We aren't given names or descriptions of these people, so that we may relate to them as the "every person." Yet it comes to an end. Theme and plot collide into one

sentence. The crux of Omelas. Le Guin asks if one can truly believe in Omelas. The reader finds himself/herself asking if the first part of the text is truly conceivable. The theme then takes over asking if one could accept the conditions that Omelas "happily" lives under. The plot then allows enough room for the reader to imagine the living conditions under which the child lives in with "a little light seeping in dustily between cracks in the boards."

The characters, though not drawn out in much detail, have such personalities as to make them recognizable in our own lives. Le Guin utilizes broad terms such as "the youths and girls, the merry women, old people and master workmen." By using general identities for these characters, we fill in the gaps with our own imagination molding them to fit people known in our lives. Even the child in the basement was only a "child" and the "boys and girls" ran around naked with

Some common words found in the essay are:
Le Guin, Le Guin's, Walk Omelas, le guin, le guin's, Omelas Le, his/her own, believe omelas, omelas le, omelas reader,
Approximate Word count = 628
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)