Zakaryan 1

Rita Zakaryan
English 114B
Prof. Ahn
Project 1
Identity: Uglies and Our World
In the dictionary, identity is defined as the way one seems to classify themselves as an
individual or with a group (Merriam). Many things such as how appearance and behavior define
and shape our identity. In the novel Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, the role of identity is shaped in
similar aspects such as beauty and class. In the world, no two people are the exactly the same.
Although many say that the individual shapes identity, identity is the concept of classification
and is shaped by such aspects like society, internal influences, and the external influences around
us.
Uglies is a dystopian novel that tells the story of the character Tally Youngblood and
process she undergoes that helps her form her identity. Particularly, for Tally, the main aspects
that shape her identity are by society, self-classification, and by the everyday events that take
place in her life. At the start of the novel Westerfeld introduces who Tally is and the city she is
from. From the start, we see that citizens of this city are labeled or identified as a certain class
that depends on their appearance and age. For example, from the ages of 1-11 children in the city
are known as littlies because they are small, 12-15 are known as uglies since they are of an
adolescence age and are experiencing the common body changes that one might consider uglgy
like acne, and from the ages of 16 to mid 20s they are pretties, and so forth (Westerfeld 7).
Here we see that the city labels its people depending on age and appearance. Throughout the
novel we are taken on the journey to see Tally mature as awaits for her sixteenth birthday. All

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citizens in the city await for the day to turn sixteen as it allows her to undergo a certain
operation, which is a form of severe plastic surgery that changes everything about a citizen
starting with physical appearance, changing the size of bones to ones mentality. The idea behind
this operation is said in context to stop discrimination against one another. It is the idea that if
everyone is alike physically and psychologically - there will be no issues. Societys goal for this
operation is to change those who are ugly to pretty so that they can fit in with the rest.
In our world one of the common forms of identity we form is a childs. It begins from the
day parents find out the sex of their child; they begin starting to identify the child as a boy or a
girl and then with a name. As the child grows up and begins to understand the world around, he
or she begins to understand whom they are. Identity is who a person is; composed of individual
and social categories a person identifies with (Alberts 55). It is a simple idea that we form who
we are and who we choose to be. A major influence on shaping identity is how society has an
influence. The social forces that society as a whole withholds encourages characteristics of our
identity thus without understanding society and the way it defines individualities we cannot
understand identity (Alberts 66). Society within itself has many aspects such like race, gender,
social class, age, and sexuality that it looks at in order to identify us. Westerfeld portrays the
concept of how social forces influence a characters identity. For example, the character Shay,
who is Tallys friend runs away to a new city, called The Smoke where all runaways go. Due
to Shays actions there comes a time when Tally is caught in a bad situation as city officials,
called Special Circumstances (Specials) are after her. In order to reach Shay, they go to Tally and
use the operation against her. When Tally replies to Dr. Cable, who is head of the Specials, Tally
makes the assertions that those who have ran away do not want to be found. In response, Dr.
Cable threatens Tally and says that if she does not cooperate she wont be able to undergo the

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operation. Dr. Cable leaves Tally with an ultimatum - Then Ill make you a promise too, Tally
Youngblood. Until you do help us, to the very best of your ability, you will never be pretty
You can die ugly, for all I care (Westerfeld 110). As Cable threatens Tally, it is clear that the
operation is crucial. We see that it is the only way that Tally can become a pretty and be able to
be a part of the life she has awaited for.
As of now Tally is known as an ugly, someone who has her natural born appearance and
because of that she is out casted with those her age. In our world we see similarities. Society has
its way of getting into our personal lives. As a young adult, society has shaped my life from the
way I act, dress, and speak. In the article, Identity Formation published on Pbs.org, states how
many people have the ability to be bicultural the ability to have different identities.
Personally, with my experience I feel that it is true - though society identifies me with what they
see such as a young full time female student multiple part-time jobs, they also have the ability to
identify me by the roles and values I share as a young American/Armenian woman. As society
identifies us individually, every aspect such as outside influences has an impact on shaping our
identity.
Internal and external influences have great effect on our views of shaping our own
identity. Our internal identities are our values and beliefs and these individual characteristics
are defined by our physical, emotional, and intellectual characteristics. As for our external
characteristics they are defined as our cultural classifications such as race, religion, gender,
family, and careers (Davis 1-2). All factors fall under how we shape and present ourselves. Being
an American/Armenian I see that my internal characteristics form my values and norms and are
influenced by external characteristics. We grow up knowing who we are from our surroundings.
From adolescence, individuals begin to get a sense of idea on their identity as they go from group

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to group and explore their options and paths they wish to take (Identity 1). Finding oneself is
difficult to do as we grow up and has a change in perspective, yet as individuals we allow our
external issues to mix with our internal issues. Tally is the best example of how she lets her
environment influence her internal ideas of who she is.
In the beginning, the external environment leads her to believe that there was no life
without the operation but as soon as she got to The Smoke, her perspective changed. As she
spent more time at The Smoke she realized that this place is a city of its self with its own rules
and lifestyle. Living like the others, doing work the way we do today, she came to the conclusion
that there was more meaning to life. The Smoke (which is the external environment) influenced a
new internal perspective in her about life, living, and identity. She understood that there is more
to life then getting the operation and fitting in.
Society, external influences, and internal aspects influence the shaping of our identity.
Social forces have great impact on our identity as they shape the values and norms that we share
with our city. In contrast with society, external influences work along with our internal
perspectives to shape what we believe we are as individuals. In Uglies, we see that society of
each location has its own influence. The old city in which Tally was from shaped identity with
appearance and with the help of the operation as it was the way of creating equal identities with
social forces of having natural appearances be seen as a negative thing. As for the city The
Smoke, identity is shaped mainly by your internal influences and the external influences as
ones individual physical appearances were not an issues and had the ability to create and shape
their own identity and let society be another characteristic that help figure out what they choose
to identify themselves as. We come to the conclusion that all three aspects influence one or the
other as internal characteristics are influenced by society and external, external characteristics

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and influences by society, and society is influenced by both our internal and external
characteristics as an individual.




















Works Cited

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"Adolescence: Identity Formation." PBS.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Alberts, Jess K., Thomas K. Nakayama, and Judith N. Martin. "Chapter 3." Human
Communication In Society. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007.
Davis, Jodi. "Identity." 27 Feb. 2014 http://www.jodidavis.com/pdfs/excerpt_identity.pdf
"Identity Formation." CSUN, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
"Identity." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse, 2005. Print.