Uglies Identity Quotes

This is the central problem of identity in Uglies: what's really you vs. what other people want to make you. And we kind of  want Shay's line on a t-shirt.

For Shay, being herself means being tricky and not listening to the rules. (And we mean all the rules—this girl treats the law of gravity more like a suggestion.) Note that Shay both objects to being turned pretty and objects to how the rest of her life is planned out by the city, what with different surgeries for the different stages. According to her view, there's no freedom once you're pretty.

In Uglies, having an identity doesn't always mean you're happy about it. In fact, it's almost the opposite: the uglies aren't happy with who they are (mostly) and the pretties are very happy but don't have their own identities. (Why do books always make it sound like you can't be happy and be yourself at the same time? That's why we stick with pop songs.)

Hands are meaningful in this book (see "Symbols" for more about that); and David's rough hands here tell us all that he's not a runaway, he's a native from the Smoke. In Uglies, hands are totally windows into people's identities. (Take that, eyes—you always thought you were special with that whole "window into the soul" thing. But not here.)

We tend to think of identity as a good thing; at least, if you know who you are, you know where your stuff is. But what if your ID card said,"Poison"? This is Tally's situation: she knows who she is, but she's a terrible person.

One of the enduring mysteries of identity is that people don't always know for sure what they are. (Except for Tally, who knows that she's a terrible person. Oh, we joke—a little.) Here, Tally asks a reasonable question about the doctors' idea of their own identity: if their brains were healed, couldn't they feel the difference? Surprisingly, the answer is—not exactly.

Shay will later say that she's not totally different: "Just because I'm pretty doesn't mean I'm totally boring" (45.44). But as far as Tally is concerned, the Shay they find in the city post-surgery isn't the same person at all. Not only did the surgery change Shay's face, but it changed her feelings about getting her face changed. Whoa.

The irony—oh, so much irony—of Tally's situation is that what changes her friend's identity also makes it possible for them to still be friends. That is, the city's surgery alters Shay's identity, but that alteration makes Shay not hate Tally anymore. Which raises lots of questions about friendship and identity, like, is it possible for people with strong identities to remain friends? Or is it easier for everyone to be friends in the city when they're pretty and brain damaged (and yes, a little drunk)?

Now, we're a little skeptical about the whole "real you inside"—even on the best of days, the "real you inside" is affected by a lot of things on the outside. (Ever notice how much happier people are on sunny days or when you don't have to write a paper for school?) But despite our skepticism, the Smokies aren't skeptical at all as they spread the story that the cost of a pretty appearance in Uglies is your identity, the "real you inside."

Can Tally hold on to her memories so tightly that she doesn't lose her identity? We're doubtful (and we can't wait to read the sequel), but we understand why she would hope that: losing your identity is pretty much the worst thing (even worse than losing your hoverboard). But note the connection Tally makes between memory and identity, that she can keep her identity if she keeps her memory and the feelings for her friends.