Trapped by Society
Olivia G. d’Aliberti
Mr. Dunn
Law and Literature
27 February 2013
Trapped by Society
In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Antigone by Sophocles people suffer for the benefit of the community. In Omelas, “the wretched one” (Le Guin 5) – a feeble-minded child – is locked in a basement to guarantee the happiness of the city. In the story Harrison Bergeron, Harrison is handicapped to look like “Halloween and hardware” (Vonnegut 55) so that he will be equal to everyone else. Finally in the tragedy Antigone, Antigone is forbidden to bury her brother so that Polyneices can be displayed as an example of the consequence of civil disobedience. In each of these writings, as a result of the rationalization or the obedience of the majority to the rules, positive law traps people, infringing upon the natural rights of individuals for the supposed interest of the populace. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, the imprisonment and suffering of a child is accepted because it is advantageous for the society. The city of Omelas is perfect with one fundamental flaw, “their happiness… depend[s] wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (Le Guin 5) – the anguish of an imbecile condemned to a dark basement. There is nothing that can be done for this child because “all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed” (Le Guin 5) if even a kind word is spoken to it. Consequently, the child “sits in its own excrement continually,” (Le Guin 4) denied its natural rights to life and liberty. Natural law is an unwritten, universal moral code derived from nature, and it is inherent to all humanity – even those in Omelas. Therefore, when the citizens see the conditions of the child for the first time “they feel anger, outrage, impotence, despite all the explanations” (Le Guin 5). Each individual recognizes that the conditions of the child are intrinsically unjust, yet even with
Mr. Dunn
Law and Literature
27 February 2013
Trapped by Society
In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and Antigone by Sophocles people suffer for the benefit of the community. In Omelas, “the wretched one” (Le Guin 5) – a feeble-minded child – is locked in a basement to guarantee the happiness of the city. In the story Harrison Bergeron, Harrison is handicapped to look like “Halloween and hardware” (Vonnegut 55) so that he will be equal to everyone else. Finally in the tragedy Antigone, Antigone is forbidden to bury her brother so that Polyneices can be displayed as an example of the consequence of civil disobedience. In each of these writings, as a result of the rationalization or the obedience of the majority to the rules, positive law traps people, infringing upon the natural rights of individuals for the supposed interest of the populace. In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, the imprisonment and suffering of a child is accepted because it is advantageous for the society. The city of Omelas is perfect with one fundamental flaw, “their happiness… depend[s] wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (Le Guin 5) – the anguish of an imbecile condemned to a dark basement. There is nothing that can be done for this child because “all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed” (Le Guin 5) if even a kind word is spoken to it. Consequently, the child “sits in its own excrement continually,” (Le Guin 4) denied its natural rights to life and liberty. Natural law is an unwritten, universal moral code derived from nature, and it is inherent to all humanity – even those in Omelas. Therefore, when the citizens see the conditions of the child for the first time “they feel anger, outrage, impotence, despite all the explanations” (Le Guin 5). Each individual recognizes that the conditions of the child are intrinsically unjust, yet even with
Cited: Le Guin, Ursula. "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." Class handout. Sophocles. Antigone. Law in Literature: Legal Themes in Short Stories. Ed. Elizabeth V. Gemmette. Troy: The Whitston Publishing Company, 1995. 11-14. Print. Vonnegut Jr., Kurt. "Harrison Bergeron." Law in Literature: Legal Themes in Short Stories. Ed. Elizabeth V. Gemmette. Troy: The Whitston Publishing Company, 1995. 53-57. Print.