Quote #4 Tally

"I'm Tally Youngblood, make me pretty"  -Tally Page 425

This quote is one of the more memorable quotes in the book. Being the last thing written in the book, and also being a major cliff-hanger this quote is very successful at captivating an audience. It definitely captivated me! If one had simply read this quote without reading the entire book, you would be greatly mis-lead. If you had only read that quote you would think that Tally betrayed everyone, and just became pretty, however it is the opposite. Tally wanted to test the cure for the lesions and the only way to that was to become pretty. So she was not being selfish but was actually putting her life on the line to help The Smoke. This is obviously a very important point that people might miss, as some people might flip to the back of the book just for a spoiler and they will end up thinking that the ending is completely different.

This quote can relate to me in a minor way. As it actually took me by surprise when I first read this book. I admit, I did flip to the back of the page and I did think that Tally was going to betray The Smoke. However when I finished the book I was caught off guard by what really happened and this was an interesting experience for me as I have rarely come across a book like that.  This connects to the world by showing what some people will do to be beautiful. Of course as I said before Tally did not betray The Smoke, but even if she did I would not be surprised. Considering what some people in today's society will do to look beautiful. People pay wild amounts of money of make a minor changes to their appearances and this just shows how superficial today's society is. You might even call it a dystopia!  This quote does not directly relate to any books, (well it does relate somewhat to The Hunger Games, but I promised not to use that) however it does relate to a newspaper article I read about a women who paid about $5,000 in weight loss programs and diets and such, and never actually lost much weight. This again shows how desperate people can be to lose weight and look beautiful. To be honest I don't there is any real miracle cure, the only thing you can do is eat healthy and exercise so all those ads about losing 100 pounds in a month are all bogus because the human body can't adapt to such drastic changes so quickly. But those are just my thought s on this highly debated matter.

Quote #2 (Narrator)

"When she awoke, the world was on fire." -Narrator Page 171

This is a very interesting quote. Even though it wasn't actually said by a character, it was told through Tally's eyes. What I mean by that is though Tally doesn't actually say the quote, the narrator is quoting what Tally is thinking in her mind. This quote is from the time when Tally had just woken up after taking a nap in the wild, only to find the world around her was ablaze. That is why in the quote the narrator says that "The world was on fire."

         This quote reminds me of many events in the world that are happening. Well not the quote its self but its context. During this part of the book Tally meets "the Rangers". They are a group of Pretties that try to stop a weed like orchid plant that threatens to weed out all other flora in that ecosystem. To stop the orchids, the Rangers use a big helicopter with a special flame-thrower to burn the orchids to delay them from taking over. However it is said that these orchids would be impossible to stop, and the Rangers were only delaying the inevitable. The reason these orchids are so prosperous is because a Rusty (or a modern day human) genetically modified one to reproduce more often because the flower was so beautiful. This obviously backfired and this shows how humans have a tendency to meddle with things too much. This never leads to good things as exemplified here. There are still many people today that are trying to do things like this "for science" but eventually something is going to go horribly wrong. This quote also relates to me by the way it ends a chapter. I often end things or paragraphs with a sort of cliff hanger so that the reader will want to read on and find out what happens. I think that this is a very effective way of ending a chapter or paragraph because of this. This quote reminds me of a quote in the book "The Hunger Games" (what a big surprise) this quote was in a time during the games (which is basically a fight to the death among children 12-17) and the Gamemakers (the people who organize  and create the arena, the traps and the games in general) made a trap where a large wall of fire moved towards the contestants, and fireballs were shot down at them. At this moment there was a "When she finally awoke, the ground around burst into flames". This is very similar to what had happened to Tally, however in different circumstances of course. Once again these are two very similar books, but I promise the next text to text will not be about The Hunger Games.

Journal Entry #4 (Reflection)

           This journal entry is written by Dr. Cable. She is writing right before The Specials invaded the Smoke. She talks about the reasons behind all of the lies that the government had told. She explains her feelings toward humanity, showing her hate for the way humans function and the destruction they cause. Because Dr. Cable is such a cold person, I tried to write like that as well. I find that trying to "be" the person you write as is a good way of shaping the character and mood of the writing. I did this with all of my journals and I got reasonably good results.

            I feel that Dr. Cable is vital to the story because without her... well there wouldn't be much of a story. She's the reason Tally had to go to The Smoke and also the reason The Smoke was destroyed. She was the main antagonist in this book and is even more important in the sequels (I'm not going to spoil anything however). I think Dr. Cable is one of the more interesting antagonists, as she does not directly intend to hurt Tally, but she doesn't have good intentions either. Maybe she has some secret that she hasn't revealed yet, or maybe not! \You have to read on to find out!



     

Quote #3 (David)

"What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful" -David Page 279

           This quote is by David during the latter part of the book (the end of part 2). I feel like this is a very powerful quote as it really shows what this book is all about. David tells Tally what true beauty is all about, it isn't about how someone looks or how skinny they are, it is about who you are inside. David couldn't have said it better though, he worded it perfectly and said it at the right time. Or should I say, Scott Westerfeld did that. He portrayed this character wonderfully, and David happens to be my favourite character and this is why. He comes in like a hero and truly leads the way to what is right.

           David's quote reminds me of my feelings toward "beauty" and they are very similar to his. I believe that there is no set way of determining beauty. Beauty is something judged by the brain and everyone's brains all think differently. You can say the "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" but it is much deeper than that. Beauty is what you are as a person, not how you look. 90% of the time looks don't matter, who you are and your personality will be much more important than anything and David also says something similar. This quote also relates to the world, there are many organizations that help raise awareness to what real beauty is. Even though the media tries to force the image of "beauty" on people, there are still many people who know what real beauty is and they will stop the media from completely taking over. This quote also relates to "The Hunger Games" but in a different way. Character-wise David is almost the exact same as the character Peeta from The Hunger Games. They both are great with words, they are both great leaders and they both know what is right and what is wrong. Peeta and the other main character in The Hunger Games, Katniss lead the rebellion against their government and in this book, David leads the charge alongside Tally. In all I feel like this quote may be the most important one in the entire book.

Quote #1 Tally

"I can't imagine of anything worse than being required to have fun" -Tally Page 49

            This quote was said by Shay near the beginning of the book, around the time when her and Tally first go to the Rusty Ruins. She reveals a big part of her character when she says this. She shows that unlike almost everyone else, she doesn't agree with the operation and prefers to look the way she was meant to look. This is the first time in the book that any real sort of conflict occurred. This conflict was with Tally and Shay, and their completely opposite opinions of the operation. Tally believes that there could not be anything better than to be Pretty, but obviously, Tally thinks otherwise. I think that this quote is important to the story because this is when you learn that there are no perfect worlds and it is also the point when the plot begins to unfold.

           This quote relates to me because, like Shay I do not agree with everything that the general public may agree on, like my taste in music or my view of things like politics. Though I may not know a whole lot about things like politics, I still have strong views that rarely ever change, and when they do they are changed by me not someone else persuading me, much like Shay. This quote can be related to the world because of how people are always challenging the government because they believe things should be done differently. I think that this is a good thing however because, without people challenging the government, we would have a dystopian society like the one in Uglies. This also relates to a book I read (and many others have as well) called  "The Hunger Games", this is a series in which the government, and mainly the president rule with an iron fist and force children to fight to their deaths in an arena. However the main character decides to oppose this force and in the end succeeds in over throwing the government. This is very similar to Uglies and in fact Scott Westerfeld has a very similar writing style to that of the author of The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins.

Journal #4 (Dr. Cable)

The End of This Madness

Finally! I have been waiting for the day that the horrid place known as The Smoke would be found and destroyed. Anyone not willing to follow orders should not be allowed to breathe our air! It sickens me that these people will be taking the operation and will mix with the rest of the pretties. I told  them that it would be a bad idea, those so called "Smokies" corrupt the minds of the rest of the pretties and all hell will break loose! If only they would listen to us Specials, this world would be free of scum.  

            I guess it couldn't be though, because the only way for that to happen is to get rid of humans all together. Humanity is a cancer that spreads and spreads and will never stop spreading and all humans know how to do is destroy. That's why we must keep them as in the dark as possible, or this world will be destroyed in a blink of an eye. Specials are the only ones who understand this, and I am determined to stop this cancer from spreading any more.

            Without a doubt however, we will need more help. As it stands our Special Circumstances force is barely enough to keep the city in line. If we want to work on a bigger scale we will need younger but elite recruits. I have my eye on that Tally girl. Hah, she reminds me of me when I was young, always trying to pull off some sort of trick or get into more trouble. She would be a great fit for us, especially since she can think like a criminal. I might have to have a little talk with her after she gets back. She might be reluctant though, damaging the pendant was a sure sign of betrayal. But no matter, everyone can be dealt with some way or another.

            I hope those fools at The Smoke don't cause too much trouble, because we've already dispatched half the team and we can't afford to lose any more, but if worst comes to worst,  we will have to dispatch a team as this is one of the most important missions that we have ever had to face. I would have gone myself, however there are matters that had to be dealt with here. I have to attend to them as a matter of fact, I will end this report here.

Journal Entry #3 (Reflection)

            This entry is from David, a few days after Tally arrived at The Smoke. It depicts him having doubts about whether or not he could trust Tally or not. He also has to fight off the fact that he has taken a liking to Tally, and has to stop himself from getting too attached, as it could jeopardise the future of The Smoke. David realizes this and he tries to think in a different way, however still comes to the conclusion to trust Tally. He then devises a plan to make sure that she is who she appears to be.

           In this journal entry, I try to show what David is thinking during the days when Tally first arrives. I want to show how he was sceptical about Tally, but also had other emotions mixed in as well. I also wanted him to be a little over protective of The Smoke and most of all wanted to fully convey his personality and character. I believe that I did that quite well as David doesn't seem bias towards anything, and it seems like he is truly having a debate in his mind on whether or not to trust Tally.

Journal Entry #3 (David)

Can I Trust Her?

            I don't know what to do! That new girl Tally just seems too... innocent! But at the same time she seems to have a legitimate story. She has to be here for the right reasons, unless she's a Special who got some sort of operation or something. I doubt it though, Shay claims to know her so she's probably not a special. But still, there's something about her that makes her seem a little... suspicious. Sometimes she spends a little too much with herself, and sometimes she seems like she's having some kind of moral dilemma, like she's guilty for something. Or maybe I'm just looking into this too much, I tend to do that a lot, but who could blame me? When you live illegally for your whole life you tend to get a little paranoid, but maybe it's a little more than that. I kind of... well... she's pretty, in my eyes at least. She's not actually a Pretty but there's something about her eyes... and her smile... she doesn't smile much but when she does it's amazing! Ha, I started out questioning her loyalty, and now I'm day dreaming about her! Well that's what love can do, I better not get too close to her because you never know what could happen.

          
            This entry has been longer than my usual, and I have to get back to work soon, but I think I will write a bit more. Lately Croy has been sucking up to Tally a lot, I wonder why? In fact it seems that everyone has taken a liking to Tally, even "The Boss"! This is a good thing... I guess, it could turn bad if somehow I find out that Tally has been betraying us this whole time. There would be no way to prove it! Maybe I can befriend her somehow and get her to tell me... Oh that's right! I have a lumber shift with her today, I can ask her if she wants to take a walk with me or something! That's just for the sake of security of course, it's not like I want to impress her or anything... Ok maybe a little! But it's mainly for The Smoke, everything else is just a... by product, yeah that's it. Well I have to go now but I'll write what happens, soon perhaps.

Journal Entry #2 (Reflection)

This journal entry is by Shay. This takes place right before she runs away to The Smoke, and depicts her dilemma in choosing whether to stay or go, and whether or not she can bring Tally along with her. She wonders whether she is truly ugly, or if it is just the effect society has on beauty. Even though it was the latter, she really never found out until much later into the book, which caused quite a lot of stress for Shay. This is quite similar to what some teenage girls might face in their lives, as today's media has a similar effect on what people should look like. The media has changed the world so much that, if it keeps up I wouldn't be surprised if everyone had to get an operation to turn them pretty! 

Furthermore this journal entry is a way of reflecting Shay's character. Unfortunately Shay didn't reveal much about her character after you first meet her, but she does reveal enough to inference what she would be like. Behind her confidence that you see at the beginning of the book, you see a very emotional person like when she was angry at Tally for betraying her and The Smoke. This goes to show that it is impossible to know what a person is like until you see them in different situations, because people have layers and this just brings the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" to a whole new level. In my opinion this novel its self takes things to a new level, the modern level.

Journal Entry #2 (Shay)

Am I Really That Ugly?

            This is a real dilemma isn't it. Tally keeps talking about how "Oh, I'm sooo ugly I can't wait until I'm pretty" and "Wow Shay you're so skinny, but don't worry the operation will fix that right up!" It's so weird! I don't see anything wrong with me or her. Maybe I'm missing something and I really am ugly! But then getting an operation worth fixing that? What if I'm not the same person I was going into it or what if they mess up the operation and I'll be the laughingstock of all of Pretty Town! No, I can't think like that, on the bright side me and Tally will be pretty together and we'll have so much fun! Right? Or she'll just go back to her friend Peris and I'll lose her just like I lost all my other friends.     

           

           *Sigh* Maybe David was right, maybe being Pretty isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Maybe I should move to The Smoke, where no one will leave me. Oh! I have a great idea, I can convince Tally to come with me, that way I won't be alone and I'll have a true friend with me. Speaking of true friend, I hope she views me as one, I know we've only been friends for less than two months but I think that we've really connected and I feel like I can tell her anything. Anyways I'll find out if she is truly a friend when I ask her to come with me. Only a true friend will leave home because her friend told her to.         

                Or is that too harsh? Maybe I can't just expect someone to do something as dramatic as that, true friend or not,  I know that if I was asked to leave home just out of thin air, I would be pretty reluctant. Well reluctant or not, it won't hurt to try.

     

            Well I just went outside to talk to Tally and... well I failed, bad. I wasn't even able to directly ask the question, just some failed attempts at having her share my point of view. But to no avail, she is completely mesmerized by the idea of being beautiful, it seems like I'll be going to The Smoke alone... unless I can figure out a way to convince her. So far that won't be happening however, so all I can do is hope.

Journal Entry #1 (Reflection)

This journal entry was from Tally at the very beginning of the story, after Peris had turned pretty. The entry conveys her frustration and self conflict as she has no real friend other than Peris and she struggles to comprehend what the future holds. She dreams of being pretty but realizes that Peris may have moved on after all the time that he had been Pretty. This self conflict isn't uncommon and can happen in a teenagers life quite frequently. When facing a difficult situation, teens tend to overlook the bright side of things and focus on the bad side, this leads to more bad things thought, than good and that is never a good thing.

            This journal entry was based off of what Tally was feeling at the beginning of the book. I took those emotions and put them on paper, (in Tally's case an electronic Tablet because she did not know how to read, as mentioned on pg. 420 of the novel) and just kept writing. It wasn't very well planned, but I did that on purpose to keep the authenticity of the journal entry as well... no journal entries are well thought out because the writer is simply letting their emotions flow out onto the page and I tried to emulate that. Tally was the main character in the book so obviously she is vital to the story, but she also has a very interesting personality and I think that that is important to portray.

Journal Entry #1 (Tally)

Am I All Alone?

           

             

            Ever Since Peris turned pretty, it hasn't been the same. I haven't had someone to make me laugh, and do tricks with. Even tricking the dorm-minders isn't quite as fulfilling as it used to be. Maybe I'm over reacting... it is only two months, but its two months of pure agony. Every night I can't help but stare out my window and wonder what fun Peris is up to as a pretty, not to mention if he still thinks of me... or even remembers me. Oh that would be horrible if in two months he acts like I'm a complete stranger. Speaking of being a complete stranger, I have never realised how close me and Peris were. Now that he's gone, I've realized that I've never gotten to know any of the other Uglies... I had a few friends when I was a Littlie but that was years ago! I think that I am all alone!             

                Maybe I should try to make new friends... but I'm positive that each and every one of them hold some kind of grudge on me and Peris for the kind of tricks that we did to them. They all hate me! Why did Peris have to be born before me... if only we had the same birthday then we could be pretty and have fun together! Maybe, just maybe... he could like me more because I would be pretty, and... no that's stupid, we're just friends. At least for now, maybe one day we when the time is right I will get my shot with him. 

               Ugh... I can't believe I'm thinking like that! I have school tomorrow, I should probably get some sleep... But what's the point? Sleep never comes anyways, I might as well keep spilling out my twisted feelings onto this stupid tablet so that it can record a file that no one is going to read! But then again what can I do? Well one thing I can't do is cry over what I don't have... but counting my blessings isn't the easiest thing to do right now, as I don't have many blessings to count... oh well, hopefully tomorrow brings a better day. It probably won't but I don't have much other choice than to hope for it, maybe I'll talk to that girl who seemed to be the only one who didn't hate me, what was her name again? Well I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Uglies Vs. Pretties

Uglies Map

              This map is an overview of the world that the Uglies takes place in. I created this map to give the reader a sense of direction so that they know where all the places are in relation to others. The map shows the journey that Tally took to get to The Smoke and it even shows where New Pretty Town is. Of course there is no official "Map" but I was able to gather enough information from the text to get a rough idea of where everything is in the world, and went from there.

            I wanted to use the colours to my advantage by using more natural colours for the forest and The Smoke, very dull colours for Uglyville and Rusty Ruins and I used vibrant almost artificial colouring for New Pretty Town. I did this to signify the different culture levels. A natural culture for the forest and The Smoke. A dead culture for the ruins, a suburban feel for Uglyville and of course for the vibrant party town known as New Pretty Town, I used vibrant colours.
 

Pictures and Reflections

The Smoke 

           I chose to draw this picture to show what Tally was thinking when she arrived at The Smoke. From afar she mentioned that it looked like there was a fire raging in the town, however she realizes that all the smoke is from the small fires lit around the smoke for warmth use. All the constant smoke is where the town got its name. I tried to recreate that by adding many little fires that together culminate in a lot of smoke. I also tried to find what   the area around The Smoke looked like, by reading the descriptions in the book. The book mentioned a mountainous area near The Smoke and a forest as well. I added both, and made the perspective of the picture on an elevated area overlooking the smoke. 

          This picture shows exactly what the author meant by, "The Smoke". When I first read the book I was confused by the whole concept of The Smoke as I didn't understand how a few fires could give birth to that name, as I didn't think that these fires would give off much smoke. However when I drew this picture I realized that enough of anything, no matter how small can culminate into something big. Hopefully this picture will help other people realize that as well.

Prettyville


             I chose to use this picture because I wanted to show the juxtaposition between The Smoke, and what I think Prettyville would look like. The Smoke is more primitive looking but when you look at Prettyville, it is a very vibrant metropolitan area, just like the book described. It also looks like it would be a good place for the New Pretties to have their parties.


             I also wanted to choose this picture because of what was going through Tally's mind when she had to make the decisions that she was forced to make. She could have chosen this vibrant area where it looks like it would be a lot of fun to live, but she chose The Smoke which at first glance looked like a dump. I found this very interesting and it made me wonder whether living in a non-superficial environment like The Smoke, even for a few months could change what Tally's true values were. 




Rusty Ruins

             I chose this picture to show what a city like Prettyville could turn into. This is a picture of what the Rusty Ruins may look like. In fact I can't think of any other way for the ruins to look. As there are plenty of old rusty cars and such  littered throughout the picture, ruined buildings, this maybe in fact the ruins of a nuclear war that had ended and out of the ashes came a new society of Uglies and Pretties! 


             The main reason that this would be my vision of the ruins is because of how modern the things in the ruins look to us, even though they looked so primitive to the characters in the book. This truly makes the story seem like it takes place in the future. When reading the book, the characters describe the area like we (in the present day) would describe any sort of ruins that  we  ourselves had found. We would have described it as very old. However because the story takes place in the future and they are looking at buildings of the past, and we are in the present but also technically in the past as well. So it is only fitting that the past look like the present to us but very old to the characters in the book. This is how it is portrayed in the picture and it should be that way.

The Forest

               I chose this picture because it symbolised how big the world is to city person. Tally grew up in the city, and intended to stay there forever (just like everyone else) but when events forced her to stray away from home, she stumbled upon a place called Earth. Of course she was always on Earth, but what I meant by the previous statement was that she had always been in a bubble and she never would have experienced the real world if it weren't for the trouble that she had got into. not to mention the rest of the people in that society that stayed in that bubble for their entire lives! So that's why I think this picture is important to the story.

               The picture also is a symbol of breaking free. Tally got to experience things that no other human had experienced in her society. Even though she was under the orders of Special Circumstances, she did things her own way. When she was at The Smoke she decided that she would no longer work with the Specials and that she wanted to live there. This shows a lot about her character and personality. Her rebellious and care free nature are symbolized well by this picture.

Sources:
"Prettyville" http://www.tenkai-japan.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Metropolitan-Area-Expressway.jpg

"Rusty Ruins" http://www.officialpsds.com/images/stocks/City-Ruins-stock3228-large.png

"The Forest" http://www.poweranimalsunleashed.com/images/forest-light-900.jpg

Media and Advertising (Reflections)

I chose to post this article because it takes a very in depth look at what this novel is all about. It addresses how mass media changes the way people think and feel. It drills images into peoples' minds and forcefully creates social norms. This article also suggests that people become aware of the ways that the media are doing these things. They use programs such as Photoshop to make models more beautiful than they truly are and this forces people to believe that they must look like that as well.

          I believe that this whole issue relates to the novel quite nicely, especially because at the beginning of the book you realize how self-deprecating Tally was to herself. She constantly talked about her flaws and even the flaws of others, however it seemed like she didn't quite realize what she was doing. In her mind being Ugly was just a stage in life, like nature intended for "the operation" to be done on all humans. Her whole mindset was the opposite of what one would want to think, she thought, "I'm Ugly, you're ugly, we are all ugly but we won't be for long" but the ideal mindset for someone is, "We are all beautiful" but no one in the book had that mindset. Similarly in real life, many teens are feeling the same way about themselves, feeling hopeless as all that the media presents to them are models that look more beautiful than they really are. However in my opinion the biggest problem is that this issue isn't a new one. Everybody knows that it goes on and anyone who deals with problems like eating disorders or just bullying in general are too ashamed to speak up. Someone who hates how they look isn't going to tell the whole world, they are going to keep it a secret and if no one knows that they feel that way, no one can help. So overall this article not only brings awareness to the issue, but addresses that this is happening to people in your life! Not only those people you might see on Dr. Phil, but people you see every day. you just don't know it, so I think that this issue should be brought up more in schools but on a more personal level.

To Be Or Not to Be... Pretty That Is! (Reflection)

            I chose to write this article in a reporter in the book's world. This reporter had already been turned pretty and had the same shallow state of mind. I tried to make the reporter sound as shallow as the media sounds now! The reporter twists the actual story to make it seem that Tally ran away at her own free will, then turned herself and the others in by her own free will as well. however it was quite the opposite. The Specials had forced her to find the Smoke and she accidentally brought the Specials to the Smoke. The reporter glorified being pretty and made it seem like being Ugly was the worst thing in the world, much like our media today!

           This article gives a view from the other side of the spectrum, the "Pretty Side". The whole report is told by a pretty who doesn't really know what's going on, however the actual story "Uglies" is told by Uglies who have mostly been Ugly their entire life and they all want to know where they truly fit in. I found it very interesting to write as the opposite or maybe even the antagonist as it opened a whole new dimension to the novel.        

Media and Advertising

This is an extremely lengthy article, and is too large to post in its entirety. Here are some excerpts from the article that I found to be important.

"Ever since mass media became mass media, companies have naturally used this means of communications to let a large number of people know about their products. There is nothing wrong with that, as it allows innovative ideas and concepts to be shared with others. However, as the years have progressed, the sophistication of advertising methods and techniques has advanced, enticing and shaping and even creating consumerism and needs where there has been none before, or turning luxuries into necessities. This section introduces some of the issues and concerns this raises."

For example, young people — girls in particular — are often bombarded with imagery of the “perfect” bodies. Younger minds are more malleable and impressionable, so even when it may be known that these images are manipulated, the constant message everywhere a young person turns says the same thing: this is how you should look and behave and something must be wrong if you are not achieving these (unrealistic) expectations of perfection.

As such it can contribute to anxieties and stress when growing up and even last into adulthood.

 In December 2011, Extreme Tech reported that the American advertising industry’s self-regulating watchdog, the National Advertising Division (NAD), has moved to ban the misleading use of photoshopping and enhanced post-production in cosmetics adverts. (Extreme Tech also added that this brings it closer in line with regulations in the UK and European Union.)

These are only a few excerpts from a lengthy and very interesting article. Here is the link to the full article, ---->  http://www.globalissues.org/article/160/media-and-advertising

To Be Or Not to Be...Pretty That Is

Written By Yukthi Wickramarachchi

A young girl by the name of Tally Youngblood has been caught in one of the most controversial stories of the decade, maybe even the century. For years there have always been a few people who have refused to undergo "the operation", these people have run away to a place that we know as "the Smoke". On her sixteenth birthday  this confused teenager thought that The Smoke was the right place for her. After a while this crazy teen realized that being a Smokie wasn't all it was cracked up to be (well obviously who would want to be Ugly for their entire life), so she decided to turn herself in, along with the rest of the Smokies and they were brought back. However once Tally had gotten back, she must have had another change of heart and she actually tried to run away! However it seems that being crazy doesn't make you any better on a hoverboard as she was caught. Even after all these events, this crazy teen and the rest of the Smokies were allowed to undergo the operation and the story had a happy ending. I guess the moral of the story is that no matter how much you try to convince yourself that staying Ugly is good, you will finally come to your sense and want to become Pretty, because who doesn't want to be gorgeous? 

          Tally Youngblood                     

Uglies New Cover Design

The Author's Message

I think that even though that issue of political injustice is there, the authors main message was the message of beauty. The author wanted to stress that no matter what other people say you are beautiful, because as Plato once said, "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder".

A Bubbly Injustice Pt. 2

As I said in my previous  post the author brought to light the important issue of what real beauty is. This book also shows that you never know what will happen if you give someone too much power. In this case, the government was given too much in being able to control how every single person were to look and even think! They then decided that they would not give someone the choice to be Pretty, but it would be mandatory. All defectors would be imprisoned or even killed! This gave the government power to rule everyone without problem, as the lesions injected into all the Pretties' brains would stop them doing any real thinking! This system would ultimately be a communism, however there would be no way of knowing that as all the citizens were mindless! However maybe it isn't all that bad. As in real life we  might actually being going through something similar, because you never know what politicians are up to. The media catches most of their faults but not all of  them. Even if this is happening, just like in "Uglies" no one realizes because it is barely affecting their lives and life is just average. So in all political injustices will keep on ravaging society, but the rest of the world will be too busy ignoring them to do anything about it.

                                                                           

A Bubbly Injustice

There are many injustices that the author brings to light, but one main one is the issue beauty. In this book all Uglies are practically trained to think of themselves as Uglie. They all know their own flaws and even have a nickname for their flaws. Then they look up to the Pretties who are flawless and they all can't wait to be a Pretty because they feel so self-conscious about themselves. The main character, Tally was no exception. However then she met her new friend Shay. She was one of the few Uglies who the media could not reach and she still saw the beauty in a natural face. She realized that Uglies were not actually ugly, it was just a plot by the government to convince people to take the operation. This issue even carries over to our own society, where everyone has a set image in their brains of what beautiful looks like, and this image will almost always stay the same throughout their lives. This image is put in place by the media. Everyone is expected to look like this,

but really, this woman looks like this,

Realistically that isn't even that bad! However everyone in society is trained to believe that there no such thing as an average person being beautiful. This issue is brought to light by the author very well.

A Perfect Dystopia

This story takes place in a society in which almost all of the population is artificial, and superficial. In this society  being unique is out of the question, everyone looks the same and even act the same! At the age of sixteen every single person is forced to undergo an operation that makes them stunningly beautiful. This operation was put in place so that there would no longer be disputes and violence over what we do and don't have. The author used today's society as a benchmark of how bad  society can get. The government in this story vowed to never go back to our ways of violence and hatred. However you soon learn that nothing is perfect, even though it may seem so. At about the midway point of the book, you  learn of the dark secrets being kept by the government. The reason that there are almost no disputes is not because the government had created the greatest system of all time, but because the government had made countless lies to make everything seem that way. For example, during the operation the brain of the patient is injected with a chemical that creates small lesions in the brain. These lesions alter the way that these people think and act. It basically turns all "New Pretties" into brainless party animals with no goal in life at all. These pretties are constantly partying and because there is no one to stop them, there would be no reason to dislike the government. However when they age and turn into middle pretties, they can't act like that, right? So they undergo a second operation in which these lesions are altered to make them a little less crazy, and for the citizens who have very important jobs, the lesions are removed altogether. This deceit is how the government managed to convince all of the citizens that their world was perfect. However behind all that smoke and mirrors, this "Perfect World" is a dystopia.

An Ugly In A Pretty World

 Uglies

Scott Westerfeld

Review

            Uglies is a very interesting and intriguing novel that can spark ones imagination, into thinking of what is truly right for humanity. This story takes place in the future where humanity had reached a point that they had truly believed that the world was perfect. It was a very simple system that was put in place by the government at that time, when one was born, they were considered "Littlies" or just children, they lived with their parents as one would expect. Then when they turned twelve, they were considered "Uglies" and were brought to something that was similar to a boarding school. There they would learn everything that one would need to know at the time, and lived there for four years. On their sixteenth birthday, their lives would change forever. An operation was performed on them and they were turned into "Pretties" this operation was a major cosmetic overhaul on the person and would make the person stunningly beautiful. This was relatively undisputed throughout the society, but there were always a handful of people that were against this so called "Perfect World". The author Scott Westerfeld brings to light issues about society and power that are very important. This is a very difficult review to write without spoiling too much of the story, however it is safe to say that almost anyone will enjoy this book because it has plenty of suspense, plot twists, action and it brings to light important issues that should be discussed.        

          However like every book, it has some weak points. The book does little to explain much of this new society that you are thrown into, some parts may get confusing at times but overall you do know what is going on in the story. There is also some ill-placed romance in this book. There is nothing wrong with romance as romance has been part of human tradition for centuries, it just seems that the romance in this book has been placed in there just for the sake of romance, and it does not progress the plot in any way. However in retrospect, doing that is a difficult thing to do as you would have to stray from your original plot a lot to successfully incorporate romance, but I'm sure that Scott Westerfeld could have pulled it off.

          Overall this is a great book and I strongly recommend it and the rest of the series. I give it a 4.5//5!