14.
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R e a d i n g C o m p r e h e n s i o n
Directions:Questions 1—6 are based on the following passage. Read the passage carefully and then choosethe best answer to each question. Answer the questions based upon what is stated or implied in the readingpassage.In Ursula LeGuin’s short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” everyone in the city of Ome-las is happy—everyone, that is, except the child who is kept locked in a basement closet. The child is leftentirely alone and neglected except for occasional visits from the citizens of Omelas. They come at a certainage as a rite of initiation, to learn the secret of the happiness they enjoy. They come to learn that their hap-piness has a price: the suffering of an innocent child. In the end, most people stay in Omelas; but a few, unableto bear the fact that they are responsible for the suffering of that child, reject this utopia built upon a utili-tarian morality.Utilitarianism is an ethical theory based upon the belief that happiness is the ultimate good and thatpeople should use happiness as the measure for determining right and wrong. For utilitarians, the right thingto do is that which will bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. Fur-thermore, utilitarianism argues that the intentionof people’s actions does not matter; only the consequencesof their actions are morally relevant, because only the consequences determine how much happiness isproduced.Although many useful social policies and much legislation are founded on this “greatest good” philoso-phy, utilitarianism can be problematic as a basis for morality. First, happiness is not so easy to quantify, and anymeasurement is bound to be subjective. Second, in a theory that treats everything except happiness as instru-
mentallyrather than intrinsicallyvaluable, anything—or, more importantly,
anyone—can (and should) betreated as a means to an end, if it means greater happiness. This rejects the notion that human beings have theirown intrinsic value. Further, utilitarianism puts the burden of the happiness of the masses on the suffering ofthe few. Is the happiness of many worth the suffering of a few? Why do those few deserve to suffer? Isn’t thisburden of suffering morally irresponsible? This is the dilemma so brilliantly illustrated in LeGuin’s story.
