The Ones Who Stay and Fight

by N.K. Jemisin

Short story, 3829 words.

An afro-futurist utopian response to Ursula K. Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Philosophy, Fantasy, Fiction

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

N. K. Jemisin lives and works in New York City.

Reviews

[Maartenpieter · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a response to Le Guin's 'The ones who walk away from Omelas' I think it's quite bad (superficial esp.) but it's still very interesting to think about if/why it's bad

[Cait]

in the words of ursie k. herself, from another text (always coming home, in this case) that Came After "omelas" (but 35 years before jemisin's number here): "I never did like smart-ass utopians."

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

I know I definitely enjoyed this more because I just read the story it was inspired by but even without the added context, I think I would have liked this.
This story is more a call to action than Le Guin's one was, at least it expressly invited readers to "get to work" whereas Le Guin's story only implied something akin to the notion. I liked the added component of having the utopian Um-Helat and our world be connected in some way and I loved how it discusses ideas and their spread in the world with some powerful metaphors.

[X]

Weird move! Don’t think I enjoyed this one.

[Ernesto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo siento mucho, NK, es una idea muy chula pero LeGuin te da mil vueltas en esto.

[Paul Bard · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is only one treatment for this toxin once it gets into the blood: fighting it. Tooth and nail, spear and claw, up close and brutal; no quarter can be given, no parole, no debate. The child must grow, and learn, and become another social worker fighting an endless war against an idea ...but she will live, and help others, and find meaning in that. If she takes the woman’s hand. Does this work for you, at last, friend?”

If only we could agree on what the poisonous and sick thinking is then we would be able to implement the authors visionary utopia immediately.

Author fails to grasp the full measure of justice which, while embracing reasonable suppression of evil, also embraces the fullness of human flourishing, which includes the wrong thoughts.

Instead, she treats the fullness of human flourishing as a pathology. Where would the power of social workers to murder people who have the wrong thinking end? Surely in genocide.

So it’s a good attempt at resolving the human condition by force that fall short both of justice and of the fullness of human flourishing.

I heartily recommend Political Ponerology by Dr Andrew Lobaczewski for an earnest grappling with evil in both the left wing communist and the right wing fascist versions by someone who actually lived through it.

[Ryan McCarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Beside the man’s body crouches a little girl. She’s curly-haired, plump, blind, brown, tall for her age...She saw the social workers show the only mercy possible."

I believe the reason The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas works is because it invites you to think, and the reason this story doesn't work is because it tells you what to think. Also because blind characters can, apparently, see. Maybe that's part of the utopian vision.

[Darnell]

I've heard so many people speak poorly of this story that I was expecting worse. Really very similar to the original, just pandering to a different sentiment.

[Carol Mola · Rating 1 out of 5]

terrible y paternalista

[Lautaro Lobo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Political piece, made as an answer to Ursula K. Le Guin's Omelas story. It's a good (maybe naive?) message, tell through a story that tries to distress the reader in order to challenge their political views / ethical lines. Not as good as Le Guin's piece.

[Karim Alaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope is possible if only you believe.

[wasteland baby]

i did not understand this tbh!!!

[Jessica Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know something about this short story didn't ring true for me. I LOVE The Ones That Walk Away From Omelas. I guess I feel there is a clear difference between torturing an innocent child (which is a clear metaphor for what we are doing in the world) and killing ppl bc they are corrupted and dangerous to the utopia. Of course I don't think we should kill people, I'm pro banishment or mind erasure or rehabilitation but idk this story felt like it was trying to say something that just didn't rly feel IDK. Of course we should stay and fight but something about walking away from a utopia that has everything you would ever want and all of your loved ones to be alone because it is morally wrong rings more true for me. I believe that symbolic actions are powerful and that they matter even when they don't change anything (if all you can do is symbolic). I think that is what makes us human. The original story also cause into question Utilitarian ethics in a really good way. Of course they can't save the child because that would kill so many other people. By saving the one child they take so many other lives - but they don't have to live there so they can walk away. If they saved the child in a way they would be killing just like the leaders kill in Those That Stay and Fight. I do like the morals in Those That Stay and Fight I guess I wish the author chose a stronger metaphor perhaps? It just fell flat for me

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reprinted in full and with audio, for free, by permission of the author at
https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fi...

Definitely has me thinking. The author stated in an interview that it is meant to be a genuine utopia, a response to the ideology that one can have a utopia without protective violence. Basically it is an endorsement of the Paradox of Tolerance.

I find it can be read as a condemnation as well. That the ones who stay also stay only in their own world. The knowledge of suffering elsewhere must be eradicated/propagandized away instead of resolved.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this response to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.

That short story stripped away all pretense for me about what it means to be a good person and a member of a community. I've thought about it so often over the decades since I first read it, but never more than I have in the past ten years.

What do we sacrifice to be part of a society? Who do we sacrifice? Why? How do our conscious, informed choices affect others? Can we be happy or content knowing the cost? And we know what that cost is inside our bones or souls (or whatever you want to call it), even when we choose to close our eyes and hearts.

[Hannah Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part of reading for Critical Approaches to Law Sem 1 Year 3. All ideas I understand and interesting tos we complete acknowledgment of some people’s fear of a good world. Some aspects were hard to grasp as they had been totally flipped on their head from what we know but I enjoyed it. Great audio reading too

[Bekki Fahrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading in conjunction with the Ursula K. Le Guin original story, and Isobel Kim's rebuttal is a great flight of short stories taking on the same premise.

So fascinating, especially as someone studying social work.

[Sara C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - Kinda whatever? Writing style is pretty but the message was uninspiring, it feels like something that has been written a bajillion times. I think the choice to make it addressed to the reader was odd, but the choice to make the narrator an observer was interesting.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story that follows the ideas of The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. Great to read as an accompaniment. I like that it brings in the idea that our only choices are not fleeing or acceptance, but instead we should fight to bring about change.

[Minerva · Rating 1 out of 5]

What might be the most embarrassing piece of fiction put to paper.

[Nia Bolland · Rating 2 out of 5]

high 2

[Karina · Rating 3 out of 5]

not as good as the other two, but still pretty good. don't really know what the authors view and a little bit more subtle of a study of human nature

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty, biting reply to The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

[Akiva ꙮ]

The Ones Who Stay and Fight, N.K. Jemisin --- futureproofing my to-read list :P