Okay reading group lets get started. The first part of Uglies that we read had many of the literature conflicts in it. They were:
man vs self: Tally has a jacked up perception of why she wants to be pretty and what she wants to look like as a pretty. So far it just seems like the normal thing to do in her part of the world when she turns 16. She misses her friend Peris and spends many of her nights "imagining a thousand conversations with him" before she fell asleep. (pg 9) The inner conflict of herself becomes more evident when she argues with Shay, which is the next conflict.
man vs man: On a smaller scale in this story, I want to connect this conflict with Shay vs Tally. They clearly can learn from one another but the efforts to educate each other about the next step to take in life is where they meet opposition. Shay thinks that natural is beautiful, and Tally, just like the majority of the people in this town, thinks that artificial is beautiful. Tally argues that artificial is the natural way things should become but Shay does not believe it. Tally says, "You can't change [being ugly] just by wishing, or telling yourself that you're pretty. That's why they invented the operation." Shay says, "You've only seen pretty faces your whole life... But you weren't born expecting that kind of beauty in everyone. You just programmed into thinking anything else is ugly." (pg 82) Shay does not buy into the customs of her society, which makes her the center of the next conflict.
man vs society: Shay's ideas about artificial enhancements and environments is clearly against the society. This is why she wants to run away to another, more accepting place. When explaining why she wanted to run away, Shay says, "We don't have to look like everyone else, Tally, and act like everyone else. We've got a choice. We can grow up any way we want." (pg 89) If Shay were to stay where she were and not get the operation, she would be ostracized. Her ideas are clearly against the normal way of thinking.
The idea of two societies in opposition of views makes me believe that later on there could be a society vs society conflict, but the nature of the society of pretties is non-confrontational.
I hope i did not bore many of you in my reading group.
I like your idea of both Shay and Tally holding opposite opinions along with the view that if they listen to each other they can learn much more than individually.I believe they were place together to give the reader both views of society. Tally believes in the technology while Shay believes in more than just a pretty face. As we continue to read, I will love to here more on your views about these polar opposite views presented by Shay and Tally.
ReplyDeleteI really do fine the relationship between Shay and Tally interesting because you are right that they are basically two opposites, one rule follower that just wants to be accepted and one rule breaker that could not care less about what the others think, which makes her a complete outsider in this world because the entire society is based on appearances. I also agree that the two societies will probably be a society vs. society conflict. This analysis was very observational. I never really thought about the conflict between Tally and her inner self. That was a good point!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with what Aurijay.s said along with your blog. It is interesting to see that even though their minds are completely different about the future after becoming 16, they are still interested in each others viewpoints. Now after saying that, I feel like Tally is more interested in hearing Shay's points, but Shay also allows Tally to explain some of her reasoning.
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