Walking Away From Greasy Situations
True happiness is relative. Often people decide that certain achievements will bring them to be happy (such as money, family, and friends). However, sometimes the means by which people strive to achieve these goals are evil or immoral. This contradiction is depicted vividly in the story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula LeGuin, in which one town's entire success is based on one boy's suffering. Another prime example of the misguided motive is the story "Greasy Lake" by Tom Boyle, in which three bad boys come to terms with their unhealthy and destructive behavior. The two stories present very similar points, with slightly different lessons. While the people of both Omelas and Greasy Lake have misconceptions about their supposedly happy lives, they differ in that the bad boys of Greasy Lake learn why they need to change their behavior, while the people of Omelas are already aware and continue to accept the evil root of their happiness. The life that the people of Omelas live is one of mindless happiness. Everything in their world is given to them, and no one suffers. No one has any problems. However, at the stem of the happiness is a tormented boy locked in a broom closet. Without his suffering, the town's contentment
cannot continue. All of the people of Omelas are made aware that he is there, and they have to choose to live with that knowledge. Similarly, the boys of "Greasy Lake" are living a life that they think is happy. They think they are "bad", because they drink, do drugs, and get in fights. In both cases, they are merely ignoring the possible consequences of their actions because they are so intent on fulfilling their goals. They fail to realize that happiness can never be rooted with something degenerate. The difference between the two situations is that the people of Omelas aren't doing bad things to themselves. They are letting someone else suffer for them, which makes it easier to blind themselves from what they are doing. They convince themselves that one person's misery is perfectly acceptable if it brings happiness to thousands. However, many people in the town still feel the underlying guilt. The boys of Greasy Lake, in contrast, are ruining their own lives. They engage in negative behavior, making bad decisions and doing stupid childish things to seem cool. However, not only are they getting hurt by their bad actions, but other people are affected as well. They fight a biker and almost beat him to death because of a minor argument, and then attempt to rape his girlfriend. They eventually realize that they have to come to terms with their own stupidit
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Approximate Word count = 919
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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