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Familiar Sights
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Uglies, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Conformity vs. Individuality
Beauty, Science, and Influence
The Natural World, History, and Growing Up
Friendship and Loyalty
Summary
Analysis
Tally says that if they hurry, they can drop by the Uglyville art school and steal bungee jackets. David looks nervous and admits that he’s never seen this many people before. They hoverboard quickly back to Uglyville and when they reach the art school, Tally discovers that it’s almost too easy to sneak into the basement through a window. Two months ago, this would’ve seemed daring. Now, Tally realizes that tricks are just a way for uglies to blow off steam until their rebelliousness disappears with the operation. She completes her theft in less than a minute, which wows David. They catch sight of the ruins as the sky starts to lighten and they decide to strike tomorrow night. David asks about the Specials and where they’ll be. Tally suggests there will only be a few around at night but she knows that even one Special will be too many.
While it’s important to recognize that Tally’s youthful tricks did prepare her for life in the Smoke, she’s also correct that the tricks are expected of young uglies and aren’t actually as rebellious as she once thought. In the grand scheme of things, those tricks don’t even matter much, since pretties’ lesions dissolve their desire to be tricky in the first place. This also shows that whether a person is a young ugly or a mature pretty, they’re conforming to the government’s expectations.
Themes
Tally suddenly feels exhausted and scared. This rescue isn’t just a trick—it’s serious and dangerous, and Tally knows that the Smokies may be imprisoned elsewhere. She says she wishes they had help, and David stops her and points: they see a safety sparkler at the ruins. David suggests they wait—the uglies must be looking for him. He says that the rumors about him will continue forever, even if he stops coming around. When they hear the uglies, David startles them by pointing the flashlight up at his face. They’re shocked to discover that David is real and they introduce themselves as Sussy, An, and Dex. They smile when they learn that an older friend of theirs actually did make it to the Smoke.
Learning that these young uglies also have a connection to the Smoke shows Tally that the network of people who believe in preserving diversity and a more natural way of life is much larger than she ever thought. While the Smoke may have expressed this through its design, this meeting reassures Tally that Shay wasn’t alone in wanting to go to the Smoke. This also offers hope that if Tally is able to recruit these young uglies to her cause, she may have a much larger support network to rely upon.
Themes
An says that she wants to see the Smoke too, but Tally says she can’t right now. Tally knows that if she tells the truth, it’ll seem far-fetched and eventually benefit Dr. Cable, so instead she says that the Smoke moves around and is scattered right now. She explains that they’re not here recruiting; they’re here to do a trick and they might need help. Tally thinks of what will attract Dr. Cable’s attention and says they need sparklers. She tells the uglies they’ll need to get into New Pretty Town and she is thrilled to introduce them to her silent bridge.
If Tally admits that the Smoke is gone, it’ll give Dr. Cable the satisfaction of knowing that young people might stop looking for it. It’s also important to note that the Smoke doesn’t have to physically exist to be a potent and dangerous idea. Just as the idea of one kind of beauty gives people power in the city, the idea of a place where uglies can be beautiful could be what gives young uglies the strength to resist.
Themes
