Category: Uglies

In the novel Uglies by Scott Westerfield, the author skillfully utilizes characterization to make his characters believable. Characterization is when the writer reveals the personality of a character. Direct characterization is when the author directly states the character trait. The protagonist or main character in Uglies is Tally Youngblood. The author states,”…Worse, she was ugly, but she hoped Peris wouldn’t see her that way…” In this quote, Tally is described as ‘ugly’ because she has not undergone the surgery that every teenager goes through when they turn 16, to become a ́pretty ́, and she’s hoping her best friend, Peris won’t view her as ‘ugly’. This is an example of direct characterization because the author directly states the character trait for the reader. The antagonist or the character who creates a conflict with the protagonist is Dr. Cables. According to the text, “…The woman became nothing but a monster, vengeful and inhuman. ́Then i’ll make you a promise too, Tally Youngblood. Until you do help us to the best of your ability, you will never be pretty…”The previous quote can be explained as the antagonist is vengeful because Tally will not tell Dr. Cable where shay is. This is a direct characterization, because the author directly states the character trait for the reader. Obviously, Scott Westerfield is a master of direct characterization.

Likewise, in the novel Uglies, Westerfield applies indirect characterization. Indirect characterization is found using what the character says, thinks, his actions, looks, effect on others. In this novel, Westerfield applies indirect characterization to the antagonist in this quote, “̈…Dr.Cable pointed at the wallscreen, and an image appeared. Like a mirror, but in close up, it showed Tally as she looked right now: puffy eyed and disheveled, exhaustion and red scratches marking her face, her hair sticking out in all directions, and her expression turning horrified as she beheld her own appearance.¨That’s you, Tally. Forever…” In this quote, Dr.Cable is showing Tally how ‘ugly’ she appears compared to the rest of the population. Westerfield does not directly say that she is doing something evil, but the readers know that what Dr.Cable is doing is very unfavorable. As for the protagonist’s indirect characterization, Westerfield did a spectacular job with writing indirect characterization for the main character, Tally. In this quote he says “̈She put her fingers up to her face, felt the wide nose and thin lips, the too high forehead and tangled mass of frizzy hair.” In this quote, it doesn’t directly say Tally is unpleasant to look at, but it says things that could signify that she is.

In my last bit of this paper, im going to explain the motivation for this novel. In this novel, our protagonist, Tally Youngblood faces many challenges. She has to choose between becoming a pretty and showing Dr.Cables where the rumored town ́Smoke ́ ‘is. Her other option is being an ́ugly´ forever. Tallyś motivation in my novel is her fear of being ugly. She wants to be pretty, and has looked forward to being a pretty her entire life. She must choose between her fear of being insecure and ugly her entire life, or to give up the rebellion against New Pretty Town. In the novel, it quotes ̈Dr.Cable ignored the sob that had cut through Tally ́s words ̈…If you don’t agree right now, I ́ll find someone else. And you’ll be ugly forever.̈Tally looked up, trying to see through the tears that were flowing freely now, to peer past Dr.Cable ́s cruel mask, and find the truth. It was there in her dull, metal grey eyes, a cold, terrible surety unlike anything a normal pretty could ever convey. Tally realized the woman meant what she said. Either Tally infiltrated Smoke and betrayed Shay, or she´d be an ugly forever… ̈This quote is further proof about Tally ́s motivation. Tally is also motivated to become a pretty because she doesn’t want her best friend, Peris, to think down upon her because she is an ugly. My final quote to support this is ̈…The thought of what she must look like was too much. Tally collapsed on the bed, covering her face with her hands and sobbing. Peris sat next to her and held her for a while as she cried, then wiped her nose and sat her up. ́́Look at you, Tally Youngblood ́She shook her head. ́ ́Please don’t.´…̈And because of these quotes, that’s why I believe the motivation for Tally is fear of being ugly forever.

“Is it not good to make a society full of beautiful people”. In the public eye most imperfections are often seen as ugly by societal standards. Many people feel the need to alter their bodies because they think it will automatically make them happier and fix all their problems. What people don’t understand is that, they don’t have to be physically flawless to be beautiful. A person’s mind and heart can make them a beautiful person. Society focuses so much on the physical standard of beauty and not the mental standard of beauty. Uglies by Scott Westerfield shines light on the controversy in the world because society wants everyone to be physically beautiful and anyone who has imperfections needs to change.

One of the primary subjects in Scott Westerfield’s Uglies is the contention that young people have to undergo plastic surgery to transform into beautiful people. The world that Westerfield superbly depicts how we, as the general public, see magnificence. We consider excellence to be flawlessness, not a line strange, and this judgment happened because of our craving for flawlessness. People should be focused on “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful”. Instead, people have pressure and judgement from society in their faces all day everyday, everywhere. A prime example is magazines, when getting any magazine the first page will undoubtedly be modified to show us how we should look. Photoshopped models are seen as enticing because individuals in society see models and motion picture stars and then they starve themselves until they feel accepted by the world.

Westerfield depicts the antagonizing beauty standards through the use of internal and external conflict real life people face, represented through fictional characters. In the dystopian novel, all teenagers must have plastic surgery when they are 16 to transform their external aesthetics. That is where the main character comes into play, Tally Youngblood cannot wait to become pretty, but her life changes when she meets Shay, a girl who wants to remain ugly. Toward the start of the novel the characters are told that pretty people have delightful and hopeful lives. Which leads to “the logical conclusion of everyone looking the same is everyone thinking the same”, teens including Tally believe this but in reality flaws give people individuality but society puts pressure on people to cover, change, or feel ashamed about them. As time goes on Tally comes to realize that everything, even the simplest, beings are perfect the way they were created. For example, “Nature didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was”. When Tally realized true beauty in the world around she was able to recognize the strong beauty she possesses. Tally influenced other teenagers as they began to question their fate and whether changing their bodies was truly going to make them happier. A big question that came up was, “What happens when perfection isn’t good enough?”. The teens had to consider if they would be going through drastic changes for nothing.

Scott Westerfield’s Uglies is nothing short of a teaching novel because it talks about how people with flaws need to change their body to become flawless and fit in with society. Many people view themselves as ugly or not enough due to the world’s unrealistic beauty standards. This causes poor mental and physical health all because society does not see the true beauty within, it only judges what’s on the outside. When people realize their own beauty then they will be able to discover all the beautiful things the world has to offer. Impractical beauty standards are ruining the youth of the world and it needs to be put to an end. What good will the world be if it’s filled with depressed “beautiful” people?

Beauty is a word that can’t be defined. Everyone is beautiful in their own unique way. Whether you are tall, short, skinny or over-weight, the beauty of a person will always come from within. Just like everyone has their talents, everyone has their own beauty. Never let anyone define who you are because intelligence is always beautiful. In the book the Uglies, Westerfield portrays a message that Inner beauty is the most beautifullest thing of all, but Tally Youngblood lives in a body-image based society which makes her think she is complety hideous.

What is the defenition of beauty? What is the benefits to being beautiful? Would anyone be considered beautiful if everyone was beautiful? In the book , the Uglies, if you dont look a certain way then you are considered to be ugly. If you dont go through a surgery that makes you look like everyone else then you are considered ugly. What is ugly? Who determines if someone is ugly?

In the Uglies , Shay, reconigzes that everyone is beautiful no matter what society says. In the book, Shay tells her friend Tally, ‘Tally your nose isn’t ugly. I like your eyes too. Tally then said ‘My eyes? Now you’re totally crazy. They’re way too close together.’ ‘Who says?’Shay said. ‘Biology says,’ Tally said. ‘You dont believe all that crap, do you-that there’s only one way to look, and everyone’s programmed to agree on it?’ Throughout the book Shay has always spoke her mind on the subject of turning ‘pretty’ She doesnt believe in societies defenition of beauty, but believes that she is beautiful, inside and out. Shay’s disbelief in what their societes defention of pretty changes Tally’s perspective of turning pretty. Towards the end of the story, Tally begins to realize that she doesnt have to go through an operation to turn her pretty.

In regards to Tally, her belief on being pretty changes during the course of the book. At the begging of the story, all Tally could think about was turning into a pretty. She thought their beauty as almost a magical perfect art piece. ‘There was something magic in their large and perfect eyes, something that made you want to pay attention to whatever they said, to protect them from any danger, to make them happy. They were so…pretty.’ This thought process reminds me of what the North Americans constitutes as beauty today in society. Every woman wants to look a certain. They all want to be as skinny as possible or have a pound of make-up on everyday to make theirselevs look ‘beautiful.’

Beauty can only been seen on the inside. Trying to be ‘pretty’ won’t get you a nice job or pay your rent. Trying to be ‘pretty’ wont get you a nice house or the things you want in life. Intelligence is the key to success. Those who listen and learn are the ones who are successful in life and money is never an issue. Although the Uglies has many themes, the overall purpose of the ‘Uglies’ is that beauty comes from within.