Glossary

Belly Ring: In the story one of the main methods of transportation was a hoverboard. The belly ring helps the board operate since it locates the center of gravity on the person wearing it. “Make sure you put your belly ring on if you want to make it past the river dry”

Bogus: A word that is used to describe something fake or counterfeit.  “This gold is completely bogus!”

Bubbly: This word shows the pride and energy rush that Pretties experience when performing a special stunt or an act against the government’s law. “We finally snuck into the master’s room! Wow I haven’t felt so bubbly in a long time”

Crash Bracelets: Bands on your arm that are worn when hoverboarding. If you slip or lose your balance of the board the bracelet catches you before hitting the ground. “Thank god it was for my Crash Bracelet or I would be flat on the ground right now”

House Minder: A term used in the Uglies for a person who takes care of the house and keeps it clean.  “The House Minder seems like a very nice guy, but he’s always so quiet and shy”

Hoverboard: A board that lets the rider hover above ground and transport to locations. It can only function due to the magnetic field around minerals under the ground. “Get your Hoverboards! Let’s head down to the lake!”

The Smoke: A town of runaway Uglies who refuse to take the operation and choose to remain Ugly all their life. This town was formed by the runaways, but was soon abolished due to the attack by the Special 

Circumstances. “The Smoke is such a real and special environment. Anything better than that fake Pretty 

world”

Rusty Ruins: The remains of an ancient city that once was the civilization today. It is now abandoned due to the lack of oil. The word Rusty also means old or of the old age when there was no barrier between uglies and pretties. “I don’t want to see this town turn into nothing. Sooner or later we will be the next Rusty Ruins”

Pretties: Humans that are turned pretty by an operation at the age of 16. This operation is held by the government and when you fully become pretty you move to Prettytown where you are only told to have fun. “Wow, I still have so much time until I become a pretty. I can’t take it anymore!

Journal Entry 4 (Reflection)

                I wrote this journal from Shay's point of view showing that she feels glad from escaping this sick dystopian society. Her running away to the Smoke is to get away from the pressure of becoming Pretty and all the discrimination towards Uglies. She feels very strongly for how people should not be judged because of their appearance and should be appreciated for what is inside them. As one of the greatest quotes goes "Do not judge a book by it's cover"
              The government is creating all these pretties with an operation to make the uglies feel bad about themselves and to lower their self-esteem in order to join the Pretty world. Shay did not fall for this discrimination and her solution was to just escape this evil society. In the Smoke people are all Ugly yet very different since they still possess the power of independent thinking and self thoughts. When made pretty the people are transformed to look all essentially the same and think the same. This limits them from overpowering the government. As I mentioned before in a story called "Harrison Bergeron" the people are also limited to forgetting all their thoughts every minute. This prevents any revolution that could overpower the government and this is the greatest problem in the totalitarian societies.
           Shay also believes that Tally is making the wrong decision about becoming a Pretty. She so strongly convinced that the operation supports the government interests and by not agreeing to it you actually oppose against it. As a result, Shay tried to discourage her friend Tally from falling for the pressure. The fact that she is surrounded by people with same beliefs makes her feel safe and calm

Journal Entry 4 (Shay)

            Finally after several days of traveling I arrived late at night to the fiery city. I felt so safe and calm as soon as I saw the blazing in the distance. This felt like home. I am really tired from that fake pretty world where no one cares about anyone. Here in the Smoke  people actually understand you and share the same anger towards the government. These Pretties are just trying to make us all feel bad about ourselves so we look up to them and worship them. This operation is just one big joke to me. When you get pretty you simply blend in with everyone else. Who are you!? Even when you get to the city you just are told to have fun. What kind of fun is that!? My life right now is fulfilled and I feel content. I would choose any day to be myself and to be free then to be some fake pretty and to have no self thoughts. I value freedom, of speech, of identity, because it defines you as a person. Your thoughts and attitude make YOU, not your appearance. The fact that few people understand  this  really torments me! What does your appearance have to do with who you are?! I dream it was like the days long ago when people were treated for who they really were and what  lays inside of them, instead of how their face looks.

        I wish I am free and safe here in the Smoke. Everybody is so nice and calm. No one is pressuring you to make choices or to feel bad about yourself. The sense of real freedom is tangible. The burden  of not being yourself and  feeling bad is what I wanted to get away from. Oh, Tally!... Tally can do whatever she likes. I am not the boss of her and if she wants to become pretty and throw her own life in the drain, that is fine with me. I still have hope she will realize that this pretty, fun city has a very mean and dark side.

       The government wants all the power it can get, meanwhile limiting the knowledge of all its citizens. This is so wrong! Such greed for power is just destroying our world in general. When you get it all, what difference does it make when your entire city is dumb and clueless. I tried to escape this horrible society as fast as I can. In the Smoke I feel safe for the moment and everyone understands me. For once, I feel happy.

Journal Entry 3 (Reflection)

In my journal entry for Dr. Cable I try to show the world from her point of view. I stress the fact that everyone must become pretty whether they like it or not because the government shall remain the most powerful hierarchy.  When people like Shay decide to run away, the doctor fears that uglies have found out the secret of becoming pretty. Rusties must be demolished and made beautiful because she fears in an attack that could possibly harm the government’s power and the order in this dystopian society. In the book, Dr. Cable mainly plays as an evil leader who controls all of the minions (Pretties). In most fairy tales the good guy always wins, but Dr. Cable has not been brought down yet. She thinks of herself as a very powerful person and in charge. I tried to show her power by presenting the way she thinks that she can just find someone so easily and extinguish him like nothing ever happened. People showing such mentality are called dictators. For them nothing really matters and no one influences their choices as long as they maintain the power to control –their only goal. Unfortunately, such totalitarian regimes still remain in the modern day society in many third world countries where the citizens can’t find means to save themselves from the dictatorship. To me, the character of Dr. Cable exposes   another  major problem in the Uglies. How nobody has the freedom of speech and the freedom to be himself when  one person or one entire group (government) controls everyone’s thoughts, beliefs and actions.

Journal Entry 3 (Dr.Cable)

If people like the Smokies want to expose the government’s secret, they must be destroyed. In this society you get to be Ugly for 16 years so you live the horrible, low self-esteem life. To these people the Pretties must be worshiped like idols. The Pretties are better because they are pretty and that’s the rule. When people like this girl decide not to follow the rules then they must be punished! Why do they think they have a choice?! Not in OUR world! No! It doesn’t matter what you want. Rules are meant to be followed and it just gets me so angry when people think that they can just run away and remain free forever. 

That attack from the special circumstances was brought on by the Smokies themselves. They thought they were hidden and safe, but thankfully the Tally girl exposed and betrayed them.  I am glad we sent a message to those savages that the government is more powerful than all their beliefs. They think they can just believe whatever they want and act foolishly, but I tried to stop this non sense. The Pretties must not know about what has happened to them. 

This rumor about some brain lesion medicine frightens me. If this is exposed to the pretties, our power will be abolished. They must remain clueless and focus on nothing. I need to get my hands on the culprit who thought of this stupid idea to cure brain lesions. Our doctors are so smart and powerful that no medicine can beat them unless it came from someone on the inside. You never know who can betray you like how that Tally girl betrayed her entire world.

                 As for now I shall try and focus on finding this medicine maker and extinguish him. This government must remain powerful and nothing will ever abolish it as long as I’m part 

Journal Entry 2 (Reflection)

In this journal entry I show the feelings of Peris when he met Tally as an ugly.  My intention was to show that he is brainwashed and programmed to think that he is better than Tally and that he is more superior just because of his appearance. I believe that this is what the operation does to the Pretties. They want to be with people who look like them and who think like them. Whenever an outsider like Tally, who is ugly, enters their world, they feel threatened and perceive the ugly as less worthy. It is a consequence of the government limiting the pretties from self thoughts and independent thinking. The world is divided into two parts: Uglies and Pretties where people with beautiful appearance are thought to be more superior than uglies when in fact it should not matter.

               

            Also in this journal entry I attempt to show that Peris feels comfortable with pretties; they all look like him and think like him. His mind is held back from diversity and this leads to a very false society because a world with no distinction is no society at all.

In his life Peris is only having fun because he is told to have fun and has nothing else to do. The uglies, on the other hand, do not have limits and can do pretty much whatever they like because they are thought of as savages. Some of them may face the dilemma: to be pretty yet to have only fun or to be ugly and discriminated, but to have independent thinking. In the society of Uglies they are shadowed from the fact that when you become pretty you are not yourself anymore and that you turn into someone else. If the whole society was introduced to the fact that independent thinking is much more valuable than appearance I believe that Peris would have stayed the way he was.

Journal Entry 2 (Peris)

What makes her think she can just lance around Prettytown and embarrass me in front of all my friends? Tally arrived at my home late at night yesterday and acted all awkward and strange. I’m not sure what she meant by coming all this way, but she just said we were best friends forever. I tried to get her away by convincing her it’s not safe here. I felt quite bad about her since she was just so ugly. How can someone live with themselves when they are so hideous?  I feel satisfied with my life right now and I think Tally would just never leave me alone. Yes, we used to be best friends, but I have moved on from that and am having a great time. I don’t want to hurt her feelings and make her hate me.  This town is magnificent and I have never felt better. Every single day I have fun and our friendship, I believe, has ended.

That night, when the elevator opened, is still in my head. She took her mask off and her face was just appalling. Every single being here is so beautiful and nice and when someone like her just walks in and demands for a friendship makes me remember how horrible the days when I was ugly were.  I have put that behind me and am focusing on making new friendships, going to parties and just living my life. I feel that someone like Tally would just hold me back and limit me. I don’t want to have limits; I want to be free and left alone.

As for now, I am not prepared to face Tally in three months and I just hope she stays safe and lives her own life the way she wants.  When the time comes, I will express my feelings to her and pray she understands. I don’t want to break her heart ,but I want to be happy myself.