Uglies Friendship Quotes

The only way "friendship" could be a more obvious theme is if it were on the cover. Losing Peris is such a serious issue that Tally keeps track of the days (and probably the hours too) until she'll see him again. Notice also how this quote sets us up for the idea of "losing" friends because of the surgery.

Friendship in this book can overlap with other relationships—like boyfriends and frenemies. But, do you buy it when Tally says she's just friends with Peris? Notice the comment that she "had dealt with it" when Peris dated other girls. Does that sound like she has something more than friendly feelings?

Here's a rule of thumb: if a friend says "I'll like you more once you're pretty," that might not be the best friendship. (Also, check out when Tally asks Peris if they're still friends, and he says, "Sure," which is not an enthusiastic response [2.97].)

Being friends doesn't seem so great sometimes in this book—you've got peer pressure and fighting and betrayal. But being lonely and friendless is not great situation either. For instance, here, Shay's friendship with Tally gives her the courage to do this thing that she wants to do. What's going to work? Teamwork!

Tally's central dilemma in the book is whether she values her friends more than she values being pretty. Okay, it doesn't seem too hard—but you have to cut Tally some slack, since "pretty" is basically the only value she's ever known.

Notice that friendship isn't the only thing Tally wants: she also wants clothes, food, and to be pretty. Friendship is important, but so is food. Starvation might be worse than isolation. Might.

We're not sure about Shay's motivations for rebelling against the pretty surgery (see her "Character Analysis")—and neither is David. Maybe she runs away to the Smoke just to be with her friends. If that's true, than Shay may be mostly motivated by friendship and a desire not to be alone. (And not by her desire to eat rabbit stew every day.)

Okay, maybe this isn't enough to qualify Tally as Shay's frenemy. But it does show that friendships aren't always unicorns and lollipops. They can also be competitive and complex. What do you think of Tally's question here? We may not like it—but we've been there before.

The irony is that, even after Tally has betrayed the Smoke and gotten between David and Shay, Shay does want to be friends—because when she's pretty, she no longer cares about stuff like betrayal and disappointment. So friendships can be damaged for many reasons, but they can also be saved. (Although, in this case, it's saved by brain damage. Do not attempt at home.)

The "one thing that really mattered" in this quote is David. Some change: at the beginning of Uglies, Tally wants to be pretty with Peris; at the end, she wants to be ugly with David. Is her change really all that significant? Or has she just transferred her "best friendship" from Peris to David?