Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Uglies, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Conformity vs. Individuality
Beauty, Science, and Influence
The Natural World, History, and Growing Up
Friendship and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
Tally finally finds her target: Garbo Mansion. It sits between two party towers, which each rest on elevator-size columns. Tally forces herself to watch as someone hurtles off of one of the towers; the guy’s bungee jacket catches him before he hits the ground and then deposits him gently onto the grass. Tally shivers and thinks that the bungee jackets use the same kind of lifters as the hoverstruts, the columns that hold up the party towers. She thinks that if all the technology stopped working, everything in New Pretty Town will tumble. Hurriedly, Tally pushes into Garbo Mansion, which is where the new pretties live in dorms without rules. Everyone is dressed up in ball gowns and coattails, and many of them laugh at Tally’s pig mask.
Tally’s descriptions of Garbo Mansion, party towers, and hoverstruts introduce the reader to the technology that dominates her world. Tally’s observation of what might happen if the technology stopped working is important, as it shows that she recognizes her society’s total dependence on hover technology. She recognizes, in other words, that her society isn’t invincible. Though she doesn’t takes this idea further here, it will become important as Tally begins to more broadly question the practices of her society.
Themes
Tally moves through Garbo Mansion, looking for Peris and trying to not get too distracted by the pretty faces or the growing sense that she doesn’t belong. Tally feels uglier by the second and wonders if she’ll even recognize Peris—she’s only seen him once since his operation, when he was still swollen in the hospital. Tally reassures herself that pretties don’t look exactly the same. From the floor below, Tally hears people giggling that there’s an improperly dressed pig at their party, so she keeps running. A group of pretties starts to chase Tally, and Tally mask struggles to keep the mask on her sweaty face. She races into an elevator and tells it to go to the ground floor, but it doesn’t listen since Tally isn’t wearing her interface ring.
Here, Tally directly references the operation that turns people from uglies into pretties. Given that Peris was seemingly unrecognizable after this procedure, it seems that the surgery is extremely extensive and taxing on an individual. That Tally has to tell herself that pretties don’t all look the same suggests that it’s quite possible she’s wrong (and knows it)—but she’s trying to make herself feel better about her prospects of finding Peris. Tally is clearly very concerned about how much Peris might have changed since becoming a pretty, and telling herself that he’ll still be recognizable is a way for Tally to reassure herself that her friendship with Peris will remain the same.
Themes
Tally flattens herself against the wall of the elevator. She can see the pretties in the mirror and knows that if they look, they can see her too. A pretty boy sneakily steps into the elevator: it’s Peris. Tally hisses that it’s her, and Peris quickly tells the elevator doors to close. When they close, Tally pulls off her mask and looks at Peris’s gorgeous face. She thinks of what they say in school: over the years, people have evolved to see pretty faces as ideal. Pretty people have big eyes and lips which signal that they’re young, harmless, and in need of protection—and subconsciously, pretty people make others think that their children will be healthy. It’s biology and it’s impossible to ignore.
In Tally’s culture, being pretty as she defines it here is the ideal that’s reinforced by evolutionary science. There’s no indication that Tally believes anyone can be attractive as an ugly, so of course she’s going to buy into the idea that pretty people are superior. In this society, if people want to experience the romance, fun, and success that people seem to enjoy in New Pretty Town, they must conform and become pretty themselves.
Themes
Peris takes in Tally’s muddy clothes and asks what she’s doing here. Tally sputters and holds out her scarred palm, but Peris uses Tally’s nickname, Squint, and asks if she couldn’t have waited. Peris holds out his own palm, which is smooth and conveys that he doesn’t have to work and that he’s too smart to hurt himself. Tally points out that Peris’s scar is gone, and Peris replies that all his skin is new. He remarks that Tally that she’s still such a child. Angrily, Tally says that they didn’t change out Peris’s blood and reminds him that they shared that. With a smile, Peris says that in three months they can laugh about this—but Tally has to promise not to do stupid things that might get her in trouble. Tally promises, feeling like a littlie.
Peris’s erased scar and all-new skin implies that becoming pretty is as much a process of erasing the past as it is a process of changing one’s appearance. Given that the pretty surgery seems to be a rite of passage, this suggests that becoming an adult requires emotional sacrifices such as leaving one’s friends behind and getting rid of these markers of friendship. One would think that this would be just as difficult for Peris, so his nonchalance is a bit concerning. His behavior suggests there’s more to becoming pretty than just looking beautiful: pretties also experience a shift in perspective.
Themes
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Peris takes the elevator to the roof and tells Tally to jump off using a bungee jacket. Tally hugs Peris, getting him muddy, but Peris sighs and sends Tally away. Tally realizes that she can’t access the bungee jackets unless there’s an emergency. As two suspicious pretties approach her, Tally presses the emergency button, setting off a siren. She slides into the harness and runs for the edge of the roof. The harness light turns green and Tally wonders if it will work since she’s not wearing an interface ring. She leaps.
Even though Peris helps Tally out, his dismissive attitude implies that their friendship may be more important to Tally than it is to Peris. By extension, this suggests that as people come of age and become pretty in Tally’s society, something shifts in the way that they think of their friendships.
Themes
