Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Analysis- Uglies

       In Uglies, the main character Tally starts out the story by trying to go see her friend Peris, who lives in a mansion on the other side of a river. While she tries slithering out of her house, she gets worried that she may get caught sneaking to his house. Why would she be in so much trouble for going to try and see her friend? Some parts of the story may have clues that can lead the reader to determine why going to see Peris could mean trouble for Tally.

       "Of course, Tally was nothing here. Worse she was ugly. But she hoped Peris wouldn't see it that way. Wouldn't see her that way. Tally had no idea what would happen if she got caught... But she and Peris had always been very careful about not getting caught on these expeditions." (Westerfield 7)

       This quote from the story can lead the reader to make inferences about the differences between Tally and Peris. Tally doesn't want Peris to see her in her state, which might mean that Peris has already gone through the transformation that would make him 'pretty'. I guess that Tally has not gone through the plastic surgery yet, and that she isn't able to be in contact with anyone that has. The uglies are not allowed to talk to the pretties, according to the text.

       "One step out of the underbrush and she'd be spotted. Her face seemed to burn as the light touched it. What was she doing here? She should be back in the darkness of Uglyville, awaiting her turn. But she had to see Peris, she had to talk to him."(Westerfield 8-9)

       This textual evidence shows how the dystopian society she lives in is very strict with the rules. The fact she is still fifteen is important because she doesn't have the legal right to go and talk to somebody that is already sixteen. I'm not sure if her town is actually called Uglyville, or if she was making a joke about it because all the people living there are uglies. The text also says that she "has to see Peris", so maybe Tally has an important question to ask him, like what it is like to be sixteen and have the surgery.

       I can predict that at one of these points when she tries sneaking out, she will be caught by a pretty and be given a severe punishment. The text describes how Tally goes out so sneakily, saying, "Tally crept along the river until she reached a pleasure garden, and slipped into the darkness beneath a row of weeping willow." It must be an atrocious thing to do if you sneak out to go and see a pretty.
        

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