Symbolism in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and Sur by...

Guin’s Symbolic Meanings Symbolism is commonly used by authors that make short stories. Guin is a prime example of how much symbolism is used in short stories such as â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas† and â€Å"Sur.† In both of these stories Guin uses symbolism to show hidden meanings and ideas. In â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas† there is a perfect Utopian city, yet in this perfect city there is a child locked in a broom closet and it is never let out. A few people leave the city when they find out about the child, but most people stay. Furthermore, in â€Å"Sur† there is a group of girls that travel to the South Pole and reach it before anyone else, yet they leave no sign or marker at the South Pole. Guin’s stories are very farfetched†¦show more content†¦With this in mind both the child in the broom closet and drooz are the two most important symbols in â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas† because they both help reveal the main theme of the story to the readers. The third most important symbol in â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas† is the colors Guin uses to describe the city of Omelas. Guin uses green and gold the most to describe the city Omelas and its citizens. She also uses red, silver, white, and dark blue to help describe the city of Omelas. In â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas† gold is used as a symbol for power and wealth, while green is used as a symbol for energy. Correspondingly â€Å"The horses wore no gear at all but a halter without a bit. Their manes were braided with streamers of silver, gold, and green† (Guin 1). As one can see by this quote green and gold are obvious, yet important symbols. Green and gold as symbols relate back to the citizens and the city of Omelas. Hence green and gold can lead the reader to find many themes they would not think of without these two very important symbols. In â€Å"Sur† Guin uses the w eather as one of the main symbols. Throughout the whole story of â€Å"Sur† Guin is very descriptive about the weather. For instance â€Å"It was over-cast, white weather, without shadows and without visible horizon or any feature to break the level; there was nothing else at all† (Guin 167). This quote shows how Guin is