Modern America resembles the fictional town of Omelas from Ursula LeGuin's Those Who Walk Away from Omelas because there are so many luxuries that Americans don't they are willing to give regardless of a “suffering child” or a dying earth. This makes America similar to Omelas because the people of Omelas were not willing to give up the constant happiness of their city to help a suffering and dying child. Metaphorically, the low-paid workers who make our clothes and electronic devices are one of the many suffering children Americans know about, but completely ignore. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In foreign countries and even here in modern America, there are people, including young children, who work in sweatshops for less than minimum wage to provide us with electronic clothes and more. This fact is no secret and most Americans know what goes into sweatshops so they can get what they want. What stops them from doing anything to help these workers, trying to give them higher wages and better working conditions, is that they know they won't be able to get the things they want for the price they get them at. Americans are unwilling to give up the things they need to provide for abused workers because it is so easy for people to put aside things that don't affect their lives to any great extent. The people of Omelas knew about the child's suffering but ignored it because they managed to push it to the back of their mind so that the child would not affect their happiness. There is almost no difference between the Americans and the people of Omelas. Those who left Omelas were the ones who could not move forward knowing that their happiness was based on the suffering of an innocent child. While not many, there are some Americans “moving away” from electronics and clothing made in foreign countries. These people don't pretend that there aren't suffering workers in the sweatshops that produce the things Americans want. The people who leave do many things, such as petitions and strikes to end the sale of items made by sweatshop workers and to get high wages for the workers. These people are not satisfied with happiness supported by suffering and decide to leave, just like those who left Omelas. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, Americans are not willing to give up their materialistic happiness for suffering people, which resembles the people of Omelas who are not willing to give up their happiness for a suffering person. There are some people who fight for abused workers and only buy products where they know the employees are treated fairly. These Americans resemble those who left Omelas because they did not allow a child to suffer so that they would always be happy. Bibliography Bennett, B. (2005). Through Ecofeminist Eyes: Le Guin's "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas." English newspaper, 63-68. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/30046506)Hill, L. (2001). An overview of “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas.” Short stories for students. (https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CH1420006137&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10927735&p=LitRC&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ed43cccdc) Gale, C. L. (2016). A study guide for "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin.)