The drug reference of drooz, can be symbolism because it can be a way of showing that not everyone in the city is really happy and they need some other means of escaping their every day life. The allusion to sex might be something that helps people relate to the people of Omelas since it is a natural urge that all humans feel. The child in the basement must be the most obvious symbol of them all. The girl or boy can be portrayed as the scapegoat. This is some sort of a necessity for this town and its people. They use the child as something to put all the blame onto so they can all live happily together. Everyone in the town needs to send their negative energy to this child, as it plays a pivotal role in Omelas, but it's not the greatest job to have.
Le Guin offers the nice metaphor about social realities and the American identity. She makes the case for a society can exist effectively and morally, only if the happiness of the people is dependent on the suffering of few. This can connect to the American identity in a few ways. The notion of individual happiness begs the question as to how much someone must keep in mind the maintenance of social order. Another aspect of the American identity that is present in the story would be around those who suffer which is the child. The boy or girl constantly endures pain and being humiliated so that others of the town can be live life happily. It seems that Le Guin is suggesting that how can people in a American society that is predicated on fairness and equality within the law progress, if there are some people that are made to suffer for the sake of other people's happiness. The story mentions certain events such as Americas involvement in the Vietnam war and the future of the Civil Rights Movement. These are examples in American history with what these realities have to do to get their happiness, at the sole cost of others. The story raises the question of how happiness for some can be morally, politically, and socially sustainable when it comes at the cost of a few peoples happiness.
