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 and David follow a river for three days until they reach the sea and then turn south. It feels like they’re the only people alive. Tally roasts a rabbit on a fire she builds herself. After a few days on the coast, dark clouds appear on the ocean and finally come ashore as a hurricane. David and Tally spend three days huddled in a tent, fascinated by the storm. When the storm gets boring, they talk. They end up having a “terrible fight,” and when David returns from cooling off outside, he insists their journey is taking too long. Tally assures him that it takes time to perform the pretty operation right. David shudders and asks what’ll happen if they do it wrong. The storm ends overnight, and the world seems transformed into a beautiful place. They finally reach the Rusty Ruins.
The cursory explanation of Tally and David’s journey draws attention to the natural world. As they travel, they must confront the magnitude and the beauty of the land around them—and understand that as humans, the land is far more powerful than they’ll ever be. Tally continues to embrace her Rusty roots as she cooks a rabbit and builds a fire, which allows her to gain additional understanding of where she comes from.
Themes
The ruins seem smaller than they did when Tally last saw them. They discuss how creepy and well-preserved the ruins are, and Tally explains that the city sprays them to preserve them for school trips. She realized that’s a perfect encapsulation of her city: everything must be a bribe, a warning, or a lesson. They hide their things in a decrepit building and then Tally leads the way down the river. David assures her that after they rescue Shay, Shay will forgive Tally, but Tally isn’t so sure. When they catch sight of the city, Tally feels a feeling worse than homesickness. The skyline used to excite her, but now it seems like a vacant shell. As Tally leads David to Special Circumstances, she thinks that she’s lost her home.
Before, when Tally was so afraid of the natural world and of the Rusties, the Rusty Ruins looked huge and unknowable. But now that Tally has matured and is more at ease in nature, she understands that the ruins have stories to tell—and they’re not all stories of stupidity and doom. All of Tally’s observations about her city show that she’s now aware of how those in power gain and maintain their power. She understands now that being a new pretty means giving up one’s individuality, and so New Pretty Town looks sinister, not exciting.
Themes
Tally and David ride to the greenbelt, and Tally reminds David that there’s a grid everywhere—they can ride wherever they want to. When they pass the hospital, Tally remembers being denied her pretty operation. As they leave the greenbelt, a part of Tally expects her interface ring to warn her that she’s out of bounds. Though she wore it for 16 years, she can’t stand the idea of being monitored all the time. Tally and David sneak through the middle pretty suburbs and reach the transport ring. Tally assures David that there’s no one there—the trucks are automatic—and they head up the hill. From the top, they can see Special Circumstances below. Tally explains that the fence around it is actually a sensor wire, so they can’t fly in. They realize they can jump in using bungee jackets.
As Tally and David move through the city, Tally has to face the memories she has of living here and fit them into how she now knows her city operates. Now, she’s able to see that it’s a good thing she didn’t get the operation, and she begins to see the value of being able to go where she wants without having the government tracking her every move. In short, as Tally begins to combine her past and her present in her mind, she’s able to use these new conclusions to support her decision to stand up against her city.
Themes
