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Scapegoat In The Kite Runner

1302 Words6 Pages

Liudmila Dzmitranitsa
Silvia Bey
Engl. 1102
10 April 2017
Scapegoat
Scapegoat themes have been used in literature for a very long time. A scapegoat is typically a person or an animal who takes the blame for others and pays the ultimate price. The word takes its root from the bible. In order to get rid of the sins of the Israelites, all the sins of the community were transferred into a goat who was released to wander the desert. This way, the people could remain pure. Literature has many examples of scapegoat themes, such as Snowball in Animal Farm by George Orwell, Hassan in The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Elizabeth Proctor in The Cubicle, and the most famous one of all is Jesus Christ in The Bible. This essay compares the theme of scapegoat in works by Le Guin and Shirley Jackson. Theme of the “scapegoat” in “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin and in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are similar, as they both have a person who pays the price for everyone's happiness and a great way of life. …show more content…

Le Guin describes the Festival of Summer which takes place by the sea, with people dancing and singing, “with a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring, the Festival of Summer came to the city Omelas” ,and, “in other streets the music beat faster, a shimmering of gong and tambourine, and the people went dancing” (1). The city of Omelas as described by Palmer is “true fairy-tale – a utopia” (2). It describes a colorful spectacle of boats with shiny flags, houses with red roofs, beautiful gardens and trees. The streets are crowded with people walking towards the fields filled with children getting ready for the horse race. The general mood of the people seems to be happy and

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