The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
Seminar Reflection
Reflection Part 1
A creak echoes through the room, the little boy jumps at the sound. Light floods into the room blinding him for a minute. "Plea…" his voice catches, "Please." The same man that always comes walks in. With him, he has a pitcher and a tray of food. The man pours the water into the bowl and places the tray on the floor. The boy hastily scrambles over and snatches up the bread.
He looks up at the man with pleading eyes, "I promise I'll be good, please let me out." The man shakes his head and silently exits.
The boy looks around; in the corner there are mops, dirty, hard, acrid smelling things. He turns away; they frighten him although he does not know why. He pats his way back to the corner to relieve himself. The ground is hard and damp. Something skitters over his hand. He swiftly snatches it up and pops it into his mouth. "One day Olly," he says, "we'll get out of here. And when we do, we'll have a joyous time." He receives no reply.
A while later the door opens again. This time another person follows the man in. The man shines a light in the boys face. Accustomed to the darkness, the boy cowers. Once he adjusts, he turns towards the light. The man walks over and nudges him with his foot, "Get up!" he whispers strictly. The boy stumbles to his feet. The stranger walks over. She, at least he thinks it is a she, walks around the boy a few times. Then she stops in front of him. Her hands begin to shake and her eyes take on a glassy watery look. She looks him up and down, and then begins to take a step. The man harshly puts a restraining hand in front of the woman.
"Don't," he warns her. She looks again at the boy, at his pleading eyes and pitiable body. She can see every one of his bones. His legs are swollen and his eyes bulge from their sockets. His hair is long and matted. Sores are scattered along his body, puss oozing from most of them. He scratches constantly. The woman turns and walks out the door. The man turns to the boy, looks at him and walks out.
Reflection Part 2
I think the difference between people who walk away and those who stay is their bravery and strong beliefs. Those who walk, I believe, are brave and strongly believe in what they think is right. They do not want to live a life knowing that a young innocent human being is suffering in order for them to be happy. I think that they walk away to find a way to be their own cause of happiness. I believe this is why LeGuin says that the ones who walk away may never find what they are looking for. The ones who stay are depressed, but they soon get over it and continue with their lives. I think these people are cowardly because they are too afraid that they won't be able to find their own reasons to be happy.
A creak echoes through the room, the little boy jumps at the sound. Light floods into the room blinding him for a minute. "Plea…" his voice catches, "Please." The same man that always comes walks in. With him, he has a pitcher and a tray of food. The man pours the water into the bowl and places the tray on the floor. The boy hastily scrambles over and snatches up the bread.
He looks up at the man with pleading eyes, "I promise I'll be good, please let me out." The man shakes his head and silently exits.
The boy looks around; in the corner there are mops, dirty, hard, acrid smelling things. He turns away; they frighten him although he does not know why. He pats his way back to the corner to relieve himself. The ground is hard and damp. Something skitters over his hand. He swiftly snatches it up and pops it into his mouth. "One day Olly," he says, "we'll get out of here. And when we do, we'll have a joyous time." He receives no reply.
A while later the door opens again. This time another person follows the man in. The man shines a light in the boys face. Accustomed to the darkness, the boy cowers. Once he adjusts, he turns towards the light. The man walks over and nudges him with his foot, "Get up!" he whispers strictly. The boy stumbles to his feet. The stranger walks over. She, at least he thinks it is a she, walks around the boy a few times. Then she stops in front of him. Her hands begin to shake and her eyes take on a glassy watery look. She looks him up and down, and then begins to take a step. The man harshly puts a restraining hand in front of the woman.
"Don't," he warns her. She looks again at the boy, at his pleading eyes and pitiable body. She can see every one of his bones. His legs are swollen and his eyes bulge from their sockets. His hair is long and matted. Sores are scattered along his body, puss oozing from most of them. He scratches constantly. The woman turns and walks out the door. The man turns to the boy, looks at him and walks out.
Reflection Part 2
I think the difference between people who walk away and those who stay is their bravery and strong beliefs. Those who walk, I believe, are brave and strongly believe in what they think is right. They do not want to live a life knowing that a young innocent human being is suffering in order for them to be happy. I think that they walk away to find a way to be their own cause of happiness. I believe this is why LeGuin says that the ones who walk away may never find what they are looking for. The ones who stay are depressed, but they soon get over it and continue with their lives. I think these people are cowardly because they are too afraid that they won't be able to find their own reasons to be happy.
The Global Village
Seminar Reflection
1. The idea of religion being part of your national identity was really interesting to me. National identity, your identity based on where you live like American or British, was to me just that; where you are from. But then some people mentioned how religion could be part of your national identity and I realized that it was true. Many religions have a place of origin, and in those places most people identify as that religion. Most countries have a dominant religion, and kids grow up with those morals and that’s what they identify as. This made me change my perspective on globalization. Before I believed that it would be ok to suppress our national identities, but now I realize that it would be hard to. People have different morals because of their religions. If you took that away from people, it would be taking away their free will and their beliefs. I don't think that’s ok. I believe that religion is something that shouldn't be tampered with.
2. I think Pico Ayer's vision of the world is accurate and has become even more so. Especially with media, trends have become post national. In the United States we see European, Asian, African, Russian, and many other types of actors in the movies and TV shows we watch. Many of the singers we listen to come from other places such as Canada, Britain, and Korea. In Argentina you can go see Justin Bieber in concert. More and more you see people moving to countries where talent is in high demand.
Cultures have begun blending into each other. You see street names, buildings, and people named in different languages. For example my name is Spanish and I have no Hispanic background. People celebrate different holidays. Christmas, especially in the United States, has become pretty universal. In my family we celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa. In Durango we have Camino del Rio. We have TV stations in Spanish, and we teach foreign languages in schools.
3. When we talked about how there would be less hate in the world if we became globalized and what would happen if we lost our national identity, it reminded me of a story I heard about Russia not wanting America to adopt Russian children. I think that if we didn't have globalization, adoption wouldn't be a problem. It seems like Russia believes that America is all bad because of certain things that have happened in the past, but if were globalized we would all be alike.
4. The process of globalization is like a big mixing bowl. All of ingredients are the different cultures of the world, trends, and terms; such as clothing, media, and religion. The spoon is like the youth of the world, mixing together all of the ingredients. These ingredients are mixed together to come up with one big culture.
2. I think Pico Ayer's vision of the world is accurate and has become even more so. Especially with media, trends have become post national. In the United States we see European, Asian, African, Russian, and many other types of actors in the movies and TV shows we watch. Many of the singers we listen to come from other places such as Canada, Britain, and Korea. In Argentina you can go see Justin Bieber in concert. More and more you see people moving to countries where talent is in high demand.
Cultures have begun blending into each other. You see street names, buildings, and people named in different languages. For example my name is Spanish and I have no Hispanic background. People celebrate different holidays. Christmas, especially in the United States, has become pretty universal. In my family we celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa. In Durango we have Camino del Rio. We have TV stations in Spanish, and we teach foreign languages in schools.
3. When we talked about how there would be less hate in the world if we became globalized and what would happen if we lost our national identity, it reminded me of a story I heard about Russia not wanting America to adopt Russian children. I think that if we didn't have globalization, adoption wouldn't be a problem. It seems like Russia believes that America is all bad because of certain things that have happened in the past, but if were globalized we would all be alike.
4. The process of globalization is like a big mixing bowl. All of ingredients are the different cultures of the world, trends, and terms; such as clothing, media, and religion. The spoon is like the youth of the world, mixing together all of the ingredients. These ingredients are mixed together to come up with one big culture.