“The utilitarian government or society that Le Guin has created is not unlike many of those of the world today. There are those who suffer at the expense of those who prosper the situation presently in Afghanistan is a dramatic example of this. There is also the choice of what will be done for the child who is suffering. Will he be ignored or will people walk away. That seems to be the saddest part of the story. It seems the only choice the city thinks that it can make is whether to ignore it or move farther away. During Nazi Germany this seemed to be the overall behavior of those living in the country. They also were aware of problem and tried to ignore it or move away. Recognizing a problem is a first step but one must also have a mind to do a thing and foresee a future possibility and a plan for its accomplishment in order to solve a problem. Ignoring a problem will only let it fester and become infectious.”