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Beauty, Friendship, and Society: Exploring Themes in Uglies

Dive into the themes of conformity, friendship, nature, and beauty in the novel "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld. Engage in discussions, projects, and activities exploring societal standards, environmental concerns, and individuality.

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Beauty, Friendship, and Society: Exploring Themes in Uglies

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  1. Kelly Rueda & Amy CooleyREAD 435Fall 2006

  2. THEMES • Conformity vs. Individuality • Beauty • Friendship/Betrayal • Environmental Conservation • Nature vs. Technology

  3. BEFORE-READING Writing and/or Discussion • If you could have an operation to change your appearance, what would you have done and why? If you wouldn’t have the operation, explain why. • What do you think is pretty? • Do you consider yourself pretty? • What are the costs and benefits of being pretty? • How do you know what pretty is?

  4. MINILESSONS • Book Genre: Dystopic, Science Fiction • Vocabulary author uses: interface ring (p. 4), river skimmer (p. 5), belly ring, hoverboard, ping (p. 94), scudding (p. 1), cacophony (p.9), impervious, • Advertisements/Propaganda on images of beauty • Symmetry (p.16 & 41-42)

  5. MINILESSONS • Inference: Tally calls her parents by their first names. What can we infer about Tally’s relationship with her family • Cause and Effect (Tally not being honest) • Explore poetic forms (directions to Smoke) • The Rusty Ruins (p. 61-68) contrasted with our current society • Compare/Contrast Shay before and after the operation • Compare/Contrast Tally before and after going to the Smoke

  6. SMALL PROJECTS • Create two collages: One of images you consider “pretty” and the other with images you consider “ugly”. Explain your two collages in writing. • Survey your peers and see if they consider themselves to be conformists or independent individuals? Graph results according to answers. • The following movie interviews young girls and their experiences with peer pressure to be beautiful. Write about your experiences. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Li3mg1GrKe0 • Research a local environmental issue and write a letter to a politician explaining your concerns and possible solutions

  7. BIG PROJECTS • Create your ideal society: include government, education, urban planning, etc. This can be presented as a PowerPoint or essay. You may also create a model to show your ideal society. • Research one type of plastic surgery. What are the costs, risks, consequences and benefits? Write a letter to someone who may undergo this surgery to give them this information.

  8. BIG PROJECTS • Tally’s trip to the Smoke gave her a sense of appreciation for the “wilderness” and nature. Research different ecotourism expeditions or adventure travel packages to find one you would like to do. Money is not an issue. Make a poster board illustrating your perfect outdoor adventure and how it would help you appreciate nature. • In Uglies, the government is trying to control the minds of its citizens. How does our government use propaganda/media/laws to influence or track what American citizens are doing? Create a newsletter explaining your findings.

  9. SHORT ACTIVITIES • Write a response to the following article discusses ugly as the new pretty: http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/news/red-111406-ugly-main,0,5419736.story • Tally and Shay use a computer program that lets them see themselves symmetrically. Tally believes people just naturally see beauty in symmetry. Shay disagrees. Read the article at http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060213_attraction_rules.html or research work from anthropologist Helen Fisher on symmetry. Do you think that attraction to symmetry is natural or learned?

  10. SHORT ACTIVITIES • Choose a character from Uglies and create a character hoverboard that shows the character’s traits (Art Project). You may also compare yourself with the character. • Draw pictures comparing and contrasting: Uglyville, New Pretty Town, and the Smoke • Pretend you are David write a letter to Tally explaining how you feel after you find out about her betrayal

  11. DRAMA & ROLE-PLAY • Write a dialogue between Tally and Az. What would she say to him? How would he react? • On p. 419, Tally is upset because she cannot have one last conversation with David. Imagine you are Tally, what would you say? • Imagine that something has happened to Shay that reverses the damage done by Dr. Cable, what would she say to Tally? What would Tally’s response be?

  12. EXTENDED WRITING • Write about a time that you kept a secret from a friend and regretted it later. • The Rusties used their knowledge about the past to make decisions about the present. As a result, they have a different lifestyle than the Rusties. Do you think people tend to learn from their mistakes or does history keep repeating itself? Write a persuasive essay and use real life examples to support your answer. • The society in Uglies think we were barbaric. Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not? • How important is beauty in our society? What kinds of images do you find about women/men in the media? What kind of impact do these images have on you as an adolescent?

  13. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL WRITING • Turning pretty is a rite of passage. What are some rites of passages teens go through today? • Was Tally really concerned about Shay when she went to the Smoke or was she only doing it to secure her chances of getting the operation? • If you could have an operation at the age of 16 and be “pretty” forever, would you? Why or why not?

  14. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL WRITING • Uglies call each other insulting names like squinty. Why do they do this? Tell about a time that someone called you a hurtful name or a time you have hurt someone else. How do you feel about it now? • The Rusties’ society was destroyed by a virus in petroleum. What kinds of reasons do we have to be concerned about our dependency on natural resources? What are our alternatives?

  15. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL WRITING • Tally describes her hoverboard as something “more solid, something that obeyed its own rules and that could be dangerous too.” Are there any connections between the description of the hoverboard and Tally or Shay later in the book? (p. 74) • Tally believes Shay doesn’t want the operation because she is afraid to grow up. Shay feels that she is content with her appearance and lifestyle as an “ugly”. What do you think? Is Shay afraid of growing up or does she have a valid argument? (p. 84)

  16. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL WRITING • Tally doesn’t question society’s decision to make everyone “pretty” because everyone becomes equal and nonjudgmental. Tally doesn’t question it because it is “normal”. What is seen as being “normal” or the “truth” in our society that we should question? • How do we judge people that are different from us?

  17. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL WRITING • Shay tells Tally that she chickened out when her friends ran away. She decided to stay in “Uglyville”. Write about a time when your friends or family tried to persuade you to do something. How did it feel to confront peer pressure? Were you convinced to go along or did you stand your ground? (p. 90) • David is very upset with Tally at the end of the book. Do you think David will be the one who brings Tally back? (p. 419) • Make a prediction for the sequel, Pretties. What do you think will happen? What do you hope will happen?

  18. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION & JOURNAL • When is it good to conform? When is it wrong to conform? When does conformity become a bad thing? • Define “pretty”. What is “pretty” to you? Is “pretty” just what’s on the outside? What about inward beauty?

  19. TEXT SET • Newspaper article from TimesOnline http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2445974.html • Movie showing the process used for magazine pics of models http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U • Newsweek articleThe Biology of Beauty http://hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/symmetry.txt • Teen Video review of Uglies http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC3ptE6ka_I • Activist website that challenges images of women in media http://www.mediawatch.com/

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