총 40페이지

Classics
TheModernScapegoats
ByJangHo-jun
EditorialConsultant
“T
heoneswhowalkawayfromOmelas”isashortstorypublished
in 1973 by Ursula K. Le Guin and depicts a city named
Omelas that is filled with happiness and comfort in the feverish
excitement of their Festival of Summer. The intelligent and cultured people
enjoythefestiveatmosphereoftheprocessionwithoutcomplaint.Thiscityof
virtueshasjustoneatrocity;thereisachildkeptinabasementwhohastolive
with little food and continuous tortures. People know that their happy lives
“dependwhollyonthischild’sabominablemisery.”
Mostofthemcometotermswiththefactthatitisimpossibletogiveup“all
thegoodnessandgraceofeverylife”forasinglemiserablechild.Itisawill
tokeeptheheavenlysocietybasedonautilitarianprinciplewhichmaximizes
the happiness of everyone involved in an action. Guilt is encouraged if anyone even considers throwing away the
happiness of thousands to improve one person’s circumstance as this action would hinder maximizing the overall
pleasure.Anincrediblephenomenon,nevertheless,occursamongthepeoplewhensomeleavethevillageandnever
return.
ReadersofthetalesoonrealizethattheOmelasinthisstorymaynotbedifferentfromthecontemporarysociety
inwhichwelive.Theworldofthe21stcenturyisfilledwithmaterialabundanceandintelligentpeoplewithcollege
educationswhopossessastrongbeliefintechnicaladvancement.Peoplealsoknowthatthereareothersexistingin
miserablecircumstancesandrealizethat“thereisnothingtheycando.”Thereareinnumerablekindsof“scapegoats”,
suchasstudentswhocommitsuicide,janitorswhoprotestagainstlowwages,andsoon.Sympathyandpatronage
seem to follow temporarily, which soon fades out with the realization that their misery has no influence on other
people’slives.
The tale tells readers about the sustainment of a city based on a tradition of using scapegoats and also on the
momentum of the contemporary world. Members of a society take someone’s sacrifices for granted, like the Old
Testamentgoatsusedbypeopletoatonefortheirsins.Afterthesacrifice,othersenjoypeacefullives.Inschools,a
maladjustedstudentorsuicidemeanstheremovalofacompetitorinthelightofeachperson’sgradepointaverage.
The tortured child in Omelas has been multiplied in contemporary areas, and it does not take long to admit that
casesofmiserablepeopleoccurnecessarily.
The last sentence tells that those who walked away from Omelas “seem to know where they are going.” The
destinationisnotexactlyidentified,butthesepeoplerealizethatacitybasedonascapegoatcannolongerprovide
happiness. William James, an American philosopher, explained that “millions can be kept permanently happy on
theonesimpleconditionthatacertainlostsoulonthefar-offedgeofthingsshouldleadalifeoflonelytorture,”in
acontemporarysocietythatisbasedonautilitarianview.Manyofusstillfeelreliefthatmiserableeventsdonot
happeninourlivesorthinkthereisnothingwecandoto“fix”oursociety.Keepinmindthatwetoocouldsuffer
fromthepositionofbeingascapegoat.
ma6039@hufs.ac.kr
www.theargus.org
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