Omelas

Here's a little help for you guys as you read this story.

Omelas is an imaginary city. The story is an allegory; it is a giant metaphor and stands for something else. In the first part of the story, we get a general description of the city, and the author is trying to convince us that the city is real. When the author says you, she means you, the reader. Each of you.

Questions:

1. In paragraph 1, what is the dominant theme? What's going on?

2. In paragraph 3 and the top of 143, what does the author say about happiness? Do you agree (why)?

3. In paragraph 8, what kind of place is the child in? What is the child like? Why is it there?

4. Paragraph 10, What do you think the ending means?

Words to help you:

avenue = small road, lane
mauve = purple
grave = somber
merry = happy
shimmer = sparkle (bright lights, twinkling)
dodge = to avoid (move out of the way
lithe = flexible, agile (moves well)
halter and bit = equipment for riding horses
flare = to open
prance = dance/skip
archaic = prehistoric
litter = bed
pendant = friend/equal
sophisticate = intellectual
treason = betrayal
naive = ignorant
puritanical = strict without any vices (bad habits)
languor = laziness
arcana = ancient mysteries
trivial = unimportant
seep = trickle
clotted = clustered
fumble = touch, hold
hunch = slump, crouch
festered = irritated (a festered wound is a really bad wound)
excrement = poop
impotence = weakness
vile = wicked, evil
paradox = puzzle
imbecile = stupid person
vapid = empty
snivel = to cry