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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Toward what location do the processions move during the festival celebrations?

2. Crumbs of what food are said to be lingering in the gray beard of one festival attendee?

3. What action does the musician child take when he is finished playing his instrument?

4. Of what material is the child's instrument made?

5. What smell at the festival is described as "marvelous" (4)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is food used to indicate the satisfaction of Omelas's citizens?

2. What elements of Omelas are dependent upon the scapegoat child's miserable position?

3. What is LeGuin's purpose for portraying the child who plays a musical instrument within the community of Omelas?

4. In what way does LeGuin magnify the role of the child musician within Omelas?

5. Describe the child who plays a musical instrument within Omelas.

6. Describe the woman who hands out flowers during the festival.

7. For what purpose does LeGuin include the motif of pain within Paragraph 8?

8. LeGuin provides what sort of time marker within the beginning of Paragraph 4?

9. For what reason does LeGuin focus on the citizens' awareness of the scapegoat child's presence?

10. What is the "one more thing" (7) LeGuin shares about Omelas in Paragraph 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why LeGuin instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas."

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of the young flute-player's character within the story? Discuss the characterization methods used by LeGuin in depicting the flute-player and why she uses these particular techniques.

Essay Topic 3

Argue that the story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" either is or is not a work of science fiction.

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This section contains 834 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample