Hi everyone, my name is Kaicy Gaynor, and I am a freshman at Baruch College. I was originally born in Jamaica, and throughout my life I’ve lived in over three countries, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and America. I moved to New York a little less than two years ago after living in Florida for almost 10 years, and I’m excited to see how student life will be like in New York. My major is Marketing Management, and I chose this major because I hope to market and manage my own business one day. Apart from business and marketing, though, I really enjoy cooking and reading literature, especially dense intellectual and theological literature like the Bible. I’m a passionate Christian, and my faith in Jesus Christ means a lot to me. One text that has left a lasting impact on me is the short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin, because it’s a short story that very impressively captures the essence of the power and capability of conformity, and shows that even the simplest ethics of morality can be tested in the presence of peer pressure. The short story is about how a community of people are given the choice whether to live a life of abundance, riches, and prosperity, without lack of anything, or to walk away from this perfect community to a place in which they probably won’t live as lavishly, and where they may even be in need. The only catch is that if they choose the lavish life, a young, innocent, undeserving child has to suffer. This child is cold, alone, hungry, and has a completely opposite life than the rich people have. Every person in this community makes a conscious decision either to stay in Omelas, at the expense of the well-being of the innocent child, or to walk away from the community, to a place that they have no idea is going to be like. This profound short story examines the choices people make under conditions of conformity and carelessness to a minority’s suffering. What this story means to me is that I should love my neighbor as myself, even if I’d be losing a huge benefit, and even if that means I’d be performing an uncomfortable act of nonconformity.
Kaicy, Thanks for reminding me about “The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas.” I haven’t read it in years, but it is an amazing story and as you describe, raises profound questions about what it means to be part of a community!