Looking for specific dystopian short story

[PrimordialBeast]

Many years ago, I believe around sophomore year my class read dystopian literature heavily.

I remember one very short story having a profound impact but I can't remember the name of it.

The gist of it is a perfect society, but in order for this society to remain perfect and peaceful, at least one soul has to suffer, being a young child, kept in a basement without light, fed scraps of food, having live in it's own filth, only knowing fear and pain.

Anyone out there know the title?

[OrphanPip]

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Le Guinn.

[PrimordialBeast]

thank you so much

[Kyriakos]

Sounds interesting :) I will have a look.

[nandakishore]

This is one of the most disturbing and beautiful stories ever written. It haunts you long after you finish it.

[Kyriakos]

I just read the story :)
It reminded me a bit of Lord Dunsany, although it had a couple of things which i did not like.
First the mention of modern technology, made it move away from the dreamy quality that idealised medieval times have for me.
Then i felt that the story did not focus that much on the sole person in the town who was miserable.

I also thought that a deeper meaning (perhaps not conscious to the author either) could be that in order for one to have a balance that enables happiness, there have to be some repressed characteristics as well, due to the soul's difficulty to reach perfection.
Otherwise i see just the meaning that the people were made to identify all that is bad with one person, and that person's state, and therefore they did not live it as something deeply of their own.

Either way though it was not a waste of time reading this. Does she have any other stories of similar quality? :)

[OrphanPip]

Le Guin is one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time.

I recommend her two best novels, The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed.

Of her short stories, my favourites are "The Word for World is Forest" and "Vaster than Empires and More Slow."

If you read a lot of her you'll notice a pronounced strain of feminism, anarchism, and environmentalism.

Word for World could be classed as a novella and is on the long side. Cameron also plagiarized parts of it for Avatar.

[nandakishore]

It is said that the inspiration for the story came to Ms. LeGuin from the following William James quote:



Or if the hypothesis were offered us of a world in which Messrs. Fourier's and Bellamy's and Morris's utopias should all be outdone, and millions kept permanently happy on the one simple condition that a certain lost soul on the far-off edge of things should lead a life of lonely torture, what except a specifical and independent sort of emotion can it be which would make us immediately feel, even though an impulse arose within us to clutch at the happiness so offered, how hideous a thing would be its enjoyment when deliberately accepted as the fruit of such a bargain?

The story metaphorically states the fact that the happiness of the society is built upon the sufferings of a few.

A famous novelist once said that it is the story on the unwritten pages that count. This story has a lot of it.

[brave new tony]

Harrison Bergeron ? ... just kidding ... that's MY favorite dystopian short story

[Armel P]

I'm definitely reading this one.


Harrison Bergeron ? ... just kidding ... that's MY favorite dystopian short story

It is a great story. Have you read "The Pedestrian" by Bradbury? I like that one equally.

[Pecksie]

Since you're talking about dystopian short stories --- there are several interesting ones by J. G. Ballard.

Bradbury is also a good choice.

[FROADS]

^Bradbury's dope..Farenheit 451 is a pretty short novel...U could probably finish it an evening, scope it.