September 11, 2015 - 15:47
Elena Luedy
Professor Cohen
E-Sem: Changing Our Story
9/11/15
2nd Essay
“Isn’t it fascinating, that the simple act of holding someone’s hand can mean so many things to so many different people? We learn the art of holding one’s hand at a very small age. Parents tell their children to hold their hand when they cross the street, which is their way of saying “I’m here to protect you, I want no harm to come to you because my love for you is infinite.” So much is said in an action that we hardly think of. It is not just parents and children that hold hands. Friends, lovers, and siblings hold hands. It can be a tight squeeze, to let the other know that they are there for them in a difficult time, or to just tell them they are not alone.
Recently, I participated in a tradition called parade night. I will not get into much detail (as I have been sworn to secrecy) yet I will say that many of the participants, myself included, were holding hands. I am sure that not all of the people holding hands were in a relationship with each other, and I am sure there were people who were in a relationship that did not hold hands. For me, the act of holding hands that night was less of a romantic gesture, but more a symbol of unity. We were both experiencing this tradition together. One of the reasons I fell in love with Bryn Mawr was because of the love students had for each other and the school. In that moment, I felt as though I was holding hands with the entire school. We were united in a common bond, the love for our school, and nobody can ever take that feeling away from me.” (Luedy)
The short story written by Ursula Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” was the one that spoke to me the most. I felt this story, as opposed to “Bloodchild”, was more realistic. Although I do not believe there is a physical town named Omelas that is eternally happy and that their happiness is solely based on the suffering of one child, I believe that there are aspects of the town inside us all.
Earlier this week I wrote about my contact with the Bryn Mawr community. Parade Night, in all its mystery, was not unlike the first paragraph of “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”. Everyone was happy, excited to celebrate the new year of classes. I am sure that most other traditions at Bryn Mawr are similar. There is gaiety, frivolity, and merriment. These moments are fleeting, unfortunately unlike the merry town of Omelas. They last for a day and are talked about for far longer, but eventually we all must get back to our schoolwork. As reality sets in, we become far more like the child in the cellar. “…Perhaps it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect…the child, who has not always lived in the tool room, and can remember sunlight and its mother's voice”. (Le Guin 3) Far too often we neglect ourselves during the difficult journey that is college. We tumble like Alice down a black hole. If we are not careful, this blackness can swallow us up, like a snake hastily gobbling up its prey. Is it not these moments, where we forget to eat dinner, shower, or spend time with our friends that make the celebrations like Parade Night so splendid? If we perpetually partied, wouldn’t those tasks seem mundane to us? It is the suffering that balances out our happiness, for we cannot have one without the other. The child remembers sunlight and its mother’s voice, as we remember the splendor that were traditions during our difficult times. It keeps us going, the sustenance to fuel the grueling everyday tasks that we must complete. “At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go to see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all.” (Le Guin 4) Not everyone can ride this rollercoaster of feelings. Some become so far entangled with the darkness that they cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. For them, Bryn Mawr is not the place. Just as some leave Omelas, some leave Bryn Mawr. “The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.” (Le Guin 4) Many who stay at Bryn Mawr cannot understand why one would choose to leave. For those who do leave, it makes perfect sense, just like those who choose to leave Omelas.
Le Guin published her story in 1975. Bryn Mawr College I am sure was not the muse of “The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas”. It is interesting, however, how many similarities can be drawn between the two places. Perhaps these are similarities that can be found in many small communities throughout the world. Regardless of where we come from, we can all agree that in the place we call home, where we truly belong, we could never imagine why anyone would want to leave.