Tuesday, April 10, 2018

“In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly.” -Scott Westerfeld, Uglies


Stylized covers from the Uglies series

*note: installment 1 and 2 are both posted. There are 20 questions for a total 5 runs, spread across the 2 posts: 10 on #1, 10 on #2.

** To make more time for discussion,  I am putting all the pertinent information into the posts. When we discuss on Thursday, I’m going to assume that everyone is up to speed on the subject  (so no powerpoint or summary!). Please think about the discussion points, because those are what we’ll be focusing on. Thanks!


Official synopsis from Uglies (first book of the series):

“Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world-- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever…”

Rundown:

A girl named Tally Youngblood, lives in a post-apocalyptic civilization, called the Prettytime, after the “Rusties” (our modern civilization and people) destroyed itself 300 years ago, following the release of a virus that exploded oil on contact.  Human cities are relegated to small biomes where everything is more technologically advanced. Each person, at 16, goes through the mandatory Operation. A description of what this Pretty Operation would do:


“The doctors used much sharper and bigger knives in the operation. They rubbed you raw, and you grew all new skin, perfect and clear. The old marks of accidents and bad food and childhood illnesses all washed away. A clean start.” -p. 25

“Her body was going to be opened up, the bones ground down to the right shape, some of them stretched or padded, her nose cartilage and cheekbones stripped out and replaced with programmable plastic, skin sanded off and reseeded like a soccer field in spring... That her eyes would be laser-cut for a lifetime of perfect vision, reflective implants inserted under the iris to add sparkling gold flex to their indifferent brown... Her muscles all trimmed up with a night of electrocize and all her baby fat sucked out for good... Teeth replaced with ceramics as strong as a suborbital aircraft wing, and as white as the dorm’s good china…

They said it didn’t hurt, except the new skin, which felt like a killer sunburn for a couple of weeks.” - p. 97

Why have everyone do it?

“Everyone judged everyone else based on their appearance. People who were taller got better jobs, and people even voted for some politicians just because they weren’t quite as ugly as everyone else.”

“Yeah, and people killed one another over stuff like having different skin color. So what if people look more alike now? It’s the only way to make people equal.

“How about making them smarter?”

Tally laughed. “Fat chance.” -p.44-45


* to be continued in installment 2… *

Quiz questions

1. What era/time does Tally live in?
2. Who/what are the “Rusties”?
3. What age is the Operation done at?
4. True or False: The Operation is an optional cosmetic surgery for the rich caste.

Claim a base for questions 5-9 if you can list 1  thing (separate parts of the surgery) that would be done in the Operation for each number.

10. What is the purpose of the Operation?



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