The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

This story is about a town called Omelas. It is painted to be the perfect town, an utopia. The time of the story is when a summer festival is occurring. We find out litttle by little about the people. They are normal people and have nothing too extraordinary with them. However, in a basement room under a building is a boy kept in with no windows and in a locked door. The town brings people by to see him. They do not talk to him, but show him to the younger kids. They do this so that they know they should be good and be good to their children. The boy is fed very little and has sores all over him, because he lives in his own excrements. In the end, the children either go live a good life, or they leave Omelas.

This story is about finding the truth and making choices. Sometimes when you are little you think your parents have no faults. When you find out that they have faults, you have to decide what to do. This story shows the children the truth and they must "live good lives." However, some make a "choice" and leave this horrible place. Another relation to the story is that looks are deceiving.

Good Country People

This story is about a mother who divorced her husband and is living with her three daughters. The youngest is pregnant and sick. The middle is beautiful and adored by men. And the oldest is not as beautiful and she is missing a leg. She changes her name from Joy to Hulga and she also has a PhD. A Bible salesman comes to the house and the mother wants to send him away, but he says he has the same disease as the youngest sister so he comes in for supper. He likes Hulga so he asks her to meet him. They meet and kiss. He tells her that he loves her and asks her to remove her leg. She does and he leaves her legless in the barn.

This story deals with being careful who you trust. I think that Hulga wanted that attention so bad she would do anything. The name contains the word hope, which may signify how they are trying to find something that will help them, but they looked in the wrong spot.