Tally Youngblood In Uglies By Scott Westerfeld

As of recently, the media has been flooded with positive interpretations of beauty standards all over the world. According to various sources, beauty ideals, in women especially, are socially constructed in order to judge a person’s value based on physical attractiveness; therefore, it is highly encouraged that people pay attention to their looks and take care of themselves, in order for others to create a positive first impression of one’s character. It is no secret that beauty standards vary from one culture to the next and it is difficult to establish a universal principle of what is considered beautiful. Many countries’ ideals contrast one another and, as a result, allow for stereotypes to emerge. This is the case between American

We learned this when the author showed how in the beginning of the story, Tally wanted to be just like everyone else; pretty. Westerfeld showed this on page 89, “I don’t want to be ugly all my life. I want those perfect eyes and lips, and for everyone to look at me gasp. And for everyone who sees me to think Who’s that.” This shows that she would give anything to blend in with society. However, Tally changed and became a better person by the end on page 267. “She clutched the pendant, squeezing in the unyielding metal until her muscles ached, as if forcing into her own mind the almost unthinkable fact that she might really remain an ugly for life. But somehow not ugly at all. She opened her hand and threw the necklace into the center of the fire.” This shows how much Tally changed because she didn’t want to be pretty anymore. She understood that it is okay to be different and she made the decision that staying ugly is the right thing to do. She wanted to be

Westerfield perfectly portrays how we, as a society, see beauty. We see beauty as perfection, not a line out of place, and this judgement came about due to our desire for perfection. When picking up any magazine the front page is bound to be altered to show us how we should look. Gone are the days where voluptuous, well rounded women are considered to be goddesses. People in today’s society see models and movie stars starve themselves until they believe they are beautiful and Westerfield plays on this throughout the entire text. Tally sees herself as ugly because she does not notice anything good about her, until she meets David. When anyone compliments Tally she refuses to believe it as the truth, and it is unlikely that she has ever felt attractive in her whole life. Westerfield only describes Tally the way she sees herself and although it is in the third person the reader is given certain knowledge about what goes on through Tally’s mind which the reader does not have for any other character. At the beginning of the text the reader is led to believe that Pretties have the idealistic life; beautiful with not a care in the world but the reader may feel discomfort with how superficial it all seems. Nothing is wrong with the way Tally looks and the reader can presume that she is quite naturally attractive after receiving several compliments from two

The story began were the (-- removed HTML --) Pretties (-- removed HTML --) left off. Tally got accepted to this new special circumstances group, called the Cutters. They made their life “Icy” by cutting their wrists. The group is a bunch of teenagers with bones of steel that repair themselves. They go on these really hard missions to stop the Uglies from spreading the brain cure. The brain cure was an injection given to people who did not want to be a “Bubble Head” anymore. Ordinary Pretties, might live their whole life without meeting a Special. Throughout the series of these books, Tally’s entire personality shifted and changed constantly as she underwent not just plastic surgery, but mental surgery. It was really frustrating knowing Tally had been brainwashed, but she refused to believe it.

Her name is Connie, and she is very different from most girls of the time she lives in. She is vain, she is always fighting with her family, and she is in such a rush to grow up. Connie has two very different split personalities, “One for home, and one for anywhere that was not home” (452). Everything from her walk, her facial expressions, and laugh changes once she steps out her house. Connie hides her inner childish ways when she isn’t home and the seductive young woman emerges. Connie is only concerned about her appearance. She can be conceited because "she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirror or checking other people's faces to make sure her own was all right" (452). Connie wants to live her life the way she wants too not the way her family wants her too. She

Connie feels powerful when she rejects attention from random guys. Her beauty is her power and

This means that strived perfection won’t only be changed on the outside; the inside will be changed as well. Westerfield states, “ ‘Becoming pretty doesn’t just change the way you look,’ she said. ‘No,’ David said. ‘It changes the way you think.’ ” This quote is found in the book, The Uglies, on page 268. This means that changing yourself is skin deep and not only in the looks. Most of the Uglies were persistent to become pretty that they didn’t realize that when they get the operation, they were being set up and changed internally to believe and do what they government wants them to do. As a result, perfection does take away uniqueness and

Connie is yearning for attention and approval from others. Oates states “she had a quick, nervous giggling habit of craning her neck to glance into mirrors or checking other people’s face to make sure her own was all right” (Oates #1). Connie does not get the attention that she wants from her parents, so she goes out and try to get attention from older men, by dressing in outfits that do not cover her up good enough. Connie seems more self-conscious about the way others view her. She is always trying to view herself from the outside. Oates states “Connie would raise her eyebrows at these familiar old complaints and look right through her mother, into a shadowy vision of herself as she was right at the moment: she knew she was pretty and that was everything” (Oates #1). Connie’s sense of self consciousness revolves around her beauty more than any other quality. Connie wants older men to accept her in a way that boys her age do not. She cares more about what other people think of her. Oates states “Her villains are actuated by raw emotions, or none at all, outfitted in the most unlikely and sinister ways, and possessed of an unaccountable knowledge of the doings of the victim and her family” (Quirk, Tom) Connie cares more about other people’s opinion on her than what she thinks about herself. Connie doesn't think that she’s “pretty” due to the way that her parent and sister treats her. Connie’s actions could be for attention from her parents, they show that they care more about her older sister by comparing Connie to her all the time.

In Tally’s eyes, being a pretty is the only important thing in her life. She is counting down the days until her 16th

As I read Uglies, I consider the topic of acceptance because the message the author is trying to get across is that everyone should just be accepted for who they are. When I read this book, I see a society that needs to change. The place the characters live in forces them to get a surgery to change into what society considers “attractive”. You are called “ugly” or a “pretty” and treated differently based on your looks. In my opinion, this is very wrong. No one should be judged based on the way they look. Everyone should just be accepted for who they are and not be judged by who they are on the outside. Tally says in the book, “What’s inside you, matters more.” I think the author had Tally say that to prove his point even more; that

does not think of herself as pretty, but in fact she believes that she is ugly

Some people dream of being able to live up to their society's beauty standards but this was no problem for Tally Youngblood a 15 year old girl living in a world where everyone was turned pretty by the time they were 16. Uglies is a science fiction novel written by Scott Westerfeld that will make you jump out of your seats with its twisting plot. Although being beautiful seems like a blessing to most people in their society, others would disagree. Those people would run away to communities like the Smoke where they stay ugly forever. One day Tally's newfound friend, Shay, disappears leaving only a puzzling note with directions to the Smoke behind. Tally is taken to Special Circumstances, an organization responsible of keeping pretties and uglies

This excerpt shows how more emphasis is put on women’s appearance and its keep up, and also shows the negative connotation of this prettiness; it is associated with shallowness. Not only is there an assumption that women spend much of their time on their appearance, but also there is the connected fact that others pay more attention to their appearance than their other character traits. This is still a reality of today as can be seen on the red carpet. Female celebrities have a whole industry devoted to making them look fashionable and pretty for events. The focus of these events becomes what they’re wearing rather than their work as actresses and singers.

Society has set certain stereotypes to girls and women about what it is considered to be beautiful that girl’s focus more in their appearances than in their internal selves. Every girl deserves to feel beautiful because they all are, but how can girls think that they are beautiful if there is always that constant reminder of what being considered beautiful is. It is often seen on TV various shows where little girls are being judged by the way they walk, turn, how their makeup and hair is done and what they are wearing, and obviously their beauty. Society has set such high standards of what is considered beautiful and girls are being the victims of those standards. Girls now feel that they are not beautiful enough because they do not meet

Now, let’s get the facts straight about “Beautiful” people’s self-esteem. Our self-esteem has been affected by the “Beautiful” people. We either have high or low self-esteems and the environment that we live in creates it. At work, school, and home we are surrounded by beautiful people with high self-esteems. The not so pretty people have low self-esteems towards the world and themselves. Dove gives plentiful facts about self-esteems related to beauty. Dove Self Esteem Fund, company, in the article "Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National report on the state of Self-Esteem" (2008), analyzes that girls have a lot of pressure due to emotional stress with ourselves. Dove gives a lot of ethos to back up each statement said. Dove talks about kids and parents in order to get to kids and parents to be involved in a positive way. This article attracts audience as young kids, teens, and parents. Parents also contribute to kid’s low self-esteem issues. Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, commissioned by the Dove® Self-Esteem Fund, reveals that there is a self-esteem crisis in this country that pervades every aspect of a girl’s life including her looks, performance in school and relationships with friends and family members (Dove). Self-esteem is a key issue in the world. In the article it’s revealed as a crisis in the country and it’s mostly about beauty.