The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Essay
The Meanings of Life as Conveyed Through the Use of Lack of Closure Reflecting upon two very famous and unique works, the story called “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, written by Ursula LeGuin and the play known as “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett, one can see various commonalities and variations among both of these narratives by analyzing the function of the prevalent lack of closure, unanswered questions and narrative gaps that exist in both. First of all, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, written by Ursula LeGuin, is a uniquely written story which impeccably illustrates a narrator’s articulation of the making of a story within a fictional story itself (Posella 1). This story is very distinct from others by how the narrator tends to switch and interchange story worlds, displaying indecision and conflict within the
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narrator to attempt to create the perfect utopian world (Posella 1).
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” contains several unanswered questions such as where the ones who walk away from Omelas are heading in the end of the story and why the town of Omelas is the way it is, can only be perfect as long as one suffers (Scoville 2016). The play “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett is an exceptional piece of its time and exemplifies the theatre of the absurd, portraying life as meaningless, having a repetitive sequent of events which contributes to the overall meaning of the play (Scoville 2017). This play also comprises of many narrative gaps, providing little closure through unsolved inquiries such as who is Godot, why are the main characters Vladimir and Estragon persistently waiting for him, where is the play taking place and
what is the purpose behind this repetitive circular play (Scoville 2017).
Overall, the numerous questions that remain unanswered resulting in the manifestation of reader’s feelings of dissatisfaction due to the lack of closure presented at the end of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “Waiting for Godot” serve as a device to convey the true meaning behind these pieces of literature; both are about views of life. Using narrative gaps “Waiting for Godot” emphasizes life as meaningless and full of waiting, displaying human’s endurance, while “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” conveys life as not knowing where one will end up and if there is such thing as a perfect world without suffering.
narrator to attempt to create the perfect utopian world (Posella 1).
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” contains several unanswered questions such as where the ones who walk away from Omelas are heading in the end of the story and why the town of Omelas is the way it is, can only be perfect as long as one suffers (Scoville 2016). The play “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett is an exceptional piece of its time and exemplifies the theatre of the absurd, portraying life as meaningless, having a repetitive sequent of events which contributes to the overall meaning of the play (Scoville 2017). This play also comprises of many narrative gaps, providing little closure through unsolved inquiries such as who is Godot, why are the main characters Vladimir and Estragon persistently waiting for him, where is the play taking place and
what is the purpose behind this repetitive circular play (Scoville 2017).
Overall, the numerous questions that remain unanswered resulting in the manifestation of reader’s feelings of dissatisfaction due to the lack of closure presented at the end of “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” and “Waiting for Godot” serve as a device to convey the true meaning behind these pieces of literature; both are about views of life. Using narrative gaps “Waiting for Godot” emphasizes life as meaningless and full of waiting, displaying human’s endurance, while “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” conveys life as not knowing where one will end up and if there is such thing as a perfect world without suffering.