Reilly Crabbs - Blog Post 7

For section 3 of this course I have decided to work with the book “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld. This book in set in an undisclosed time in a future dystopian society. This society separates people into two groups: Uglies and Pretties. Uglies are basically modern day humans while pretties are genetically modified perfect specimens of humans. On one’s sixteenth birthday they become a Pretty and live a seemingly “blissful” life. Tally, the protagonist, anxiously awaits her turn to become a Pretty and along the way befriends another Ugly named Shay. Shay, however, rebels against societal norms and escapes the society with a group of defect uglies to live “real life”. The government then forces Tally to  find Shay and the other runaway Uglies and bring them back to face punishment or never become a Pretty herself.
I think this will fit my interests because it takes modern concepts, such as body dysmorphia, and takes it to a whole new level. Also, the surrounding areas in this society were destroyed due to oil mishaps, violence, and contamination. This is an exploitation of modern concepts as well which I wrote about in Essay 1. There is a lack of real emotion in the Pretties which was what my Essay 2 focused on. When an Ugly becomes a Pretty the scientists change more than just their looks. They also alter their mental states so they’re oblivious to the corruption. It will be really interesting to explore this concepts more in a reading of choice where I have more freedom to interpret.