Uglies Society and Class Quotes

Here's one stable social situation: the people on the bottom (uglies) look up to and want to please the people on the top (pretties). Notice that this feeling in unexplainable—it's "magic," it's "something," it's because they're "so… pretty." We love those ellipses—we love all ellipses really—because it's what you would do if you were searching for a word but can't find it. And that's the narrator's position here: the only possible word is "pretty."

Of course, what Tally means is that the surgery is the only way to make people within the class equal. So the pretties are all equal, but they are super-double unequal with the uglies. (For extra fun, note that Tally has no idea about the Specials, the secret police of this state. Good job, secret police—stay secret.)

The issue of tricks comes up a few times: Cable says the city lets uglies do tricks to develop their creativity (13.52); Tally later thinks that the tricks are just a way for uglies to "blow off steam" (42.14). (That's the technical term.) Whichever it is, the city society is definitely organized so that uglies can pull tricks without being punished.

Notice how Tally "always" has these feelings for the pretties: no matter who those middle or late pretties are, she felt respect for them. Similarly, whenever she met a new pretty, she was a little in awe and every time she meets a Special, she'll be a little afraid. So the class system in the city basically governs every interaction and feeling these people have.

In the city, Tally has certain feelings for the classes (see the quote above) based on their appearance (the firm jaw, elegant clothing, etc.). But here in the Smoke, these uglies give off the same feeling as middle pretties without the clothes. Is this a society without appearance? A society where what you do matters?

Shay tells Tally that there's no boss in the Smoke: "And you can leave whenever you want, go anywhere you want" (11.38). Even the character named "The Boss" is just the Boss of the library. But notice how David is kind of in charge of who comes to the Smoke. He's the one who goes to the cities to recruit kids and he's the one who makes Shay promise not to tell Tally. So maybe the Smoke isn't totally leaderless.

Here's Shay being sweet and sensible—and totally dumb about Special Circumstances. She may be right that no one has the moral right to tell her how to live her own life, but Special Circumstances is more about power than morality. Since we know how ruthless Special Circumstances can be, this reasonable question reminds us that society sometimes involves force and violence to uphold its class system. Bummer.

Here's just a reminder that the Smoke is different from the city in little ways and big ways. There's the big issue of the pretty surgery, and the little issue of how kids and parents relate. (But mostly it's the surgery, including the brain lesions.)

Maddy and Az want a fresh start—a town of young people who aren't set in their ways (or brain damaged). But it's awfully hard to get a totally fresh start. Maddy and Az may want a clean slate, but all the uglies they recruit were still raised in the cities. Even Maddy and Az are from the cities: notice how Maddy calls them "uglies" before correcting herself and saying "Young people"?

Honestly, our first response when someone says "people have always been sheep" is "what do you know, old man?" But do you think Az is right—do societies always need leaders to force the followers into some form of order? And is that necessarily a bad thing? Even in the Smoke, it seems that some people (cough Az cough) think that society needs to be organized and controlled.