Shay Character Analysis in Uglies

A young ugly whom Tally meets one night while sneaking out, as they both try to sneak back across the river to Uglyville. Shay has the same birthday as Tally, and since they’re both the youngest of their friends (and therefore they’re alone in Uglyville as all their friends have already undergone pretty surgery), the girls quickly form a strong bond. Shay is an avid hoverboarder and teaches Tally to ride. Shay has almost perfect lips and sleek black hair, but she’s far too skinny. However, Shay doesn’t want to undergo pretty surgery and she makes a point to act and speak in ways that show Tally that Shay thinks they’re both beautiful just the way they are. Shay’s insistence on maintaining her individuality leads to a number of fights with Tally, and culminates in Shay leaving the city for the Smoke without Tally. Though Shay is hurt, she respects Tally’s desire to be pretty. Once Tally arrives in the Smoke on a secret mission to bring Shay back, she’s delighted to see that Shay seems very happy, and that Shay is possibly in a relationship with an ugly named David. Shay forgives Tally for not initially coming with her and she makes a point to help Tally acclimate to life in the Smoke. Though Tally is floored by Shay’s kindness, she also notices that Shay doesn’t want to acknowledge the possibility that Tally is a spy. Shay is understandably hurt when, a few weeks later, David effectively professes his love for Tally. It’s clear that Shay’s feelings for David are real, but David suggests that Shay is too flighty and immature for him. Shay is the only one to connect that Tally is working with Special Circumstances betrayed the Smoke, and the Specials forcibly turn Shay pretty to stop her from resisting. As a pretty, Shay is an entirely different person: she loves parties, hot showers, and brushing her hair. While she once lived for hoverboarding and exploring the world around her, pretty Shay is content to live where she’s supposed to and act how she’s supposed to. Because of this, Shay refuses Maddy’s experimental pills that would cure Shay’s brain lesions and put Shay back in control of her mind.

Shay Quotes in Uglies

The Uglies quotes below are all either spoken by Shay or refer to Shay. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“You know,” Shay said, “I read that the real Cleopatra wasn’t even that great-looking. She seduced everyone with how clever she was.”

“Yeah, right. And you’ve seen a picture of her?”

“They didn’t have cameras back then, Squint.”

“Duh. So how do you know she was ugly?”

“Because that’s what historians wrote at the time.”

Tally shrugged. “She was probably a classic pretty and they didn’t even know it. Back then, they had weird ideas about beauty. They didn’t know about biology.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 39

Explanation and Analysis:

“Yeah, and people killed each other over stuff like having different skin color.” Tally shook her head. No matter how many times they repeated it at school, she’d never really quite believed that one. “So what if people look more alike now? It’s the only way to make people equal.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay

Page Number and Citation: 43

Explanation and Analysis:

“I didn’t know these things weighed so much.”

“Yeah, this is what a board weighs when it’s not hovering. Out here, you find out that the city fools you about how things really work.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker)

Related Symbols: Hoverboards

Page Number and Citation: 57

Explanation and Analysis:

On school trips, the teachers always made the Rusties out to be so stupid. You almost couldn’t believe people lived like this, burning trees to clear land, burning oil for heat and power, setting the atmosphere on fire with their weapons. But in the moonlight she could imagine people scrambling over flaming cars to escape the crumbling city, panicking in their flight from this untenable pile of metal and stone.

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood, Shay

Page Number and Citation: 60

Explanation and Analysis:

“You can’t change it by wishing, or by telling yourself that you’re pretty. That’s why they invented the operation.”

“But it’s a trick, Tally. You’ve only seen pretty faces your whole life. Your parents, your teachers, everyone over sixteen. But you weren’t born expecting that kind of beauty in everyone, all the time. You just got programmed into thinking anything else is ugly.”

“It’s not programming, it’s just a natural reaction. And more important than that, it’s fair.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 79

Explanation and Analysis:

“Look, Skinny, I’m with you,” Tally said sharply. “Doing tricks is great! Okay? Breaking the rules is fun! But eventually you’ve got to do something besides being a clever little ugly.”

“Like being a vapid, boring pretty?”

“No, like being an adult. Did you ever think that when you’re pretty you might not need to play tricks and mess things up? Maybe just being ugly is why uglies always fight and pick on one another, because they aren’t happy with who they are. Well, I want to be happy, and looking like a real person is the first step.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 80

Explanation and Analysis:

The boy smiled again. He was an ugly, but he had a nice smile. And his face held a kind of confidence that Tally had never seen in an ugly before. Maybe he was a few years older than she was. Tally had never watched anyone mature naturally past age sixteen. She wondered how much of being ugly was just an awkward age.

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood, Shay, David

Page Number and Citation: 181

Explanation and Analysis:

“So this is what people looked like before the first pretty? How could anyone stand to open their eyes?”

“Yeah. It’s scary at first. But the weird thing is, if you keep looking at them, you kind of get used to it.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker), The Boss

Page Number and Citation: 189

Explanation and Analysis:

“Maybe they’re just worried because we’re kids. You know?”

“That’s the problem with the cities, Tally. Everyone’s a kid, pampered and dependent and pretty. Just like they say in school: Big-eyed means vulnerable. Well, like you once told me, you have to grow up sometime.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker)

Page Number and Citation: 216

Explanation and Analysis:

The physical beauty of the Smoke also cleared her mind of worries. Every day seemed to change the mountain, the sky, and the surrounding valleys, making them spectacular in a completely new way. Nature, at least, didn’t need an operation to be beautiful. It just was.

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood, Shay, David

Page Number and Citation: 219

Explanation and Analysis:

She scanned the captives, looking for Shay and David. The familiar faces in the crowd were haggard, dirty, crumpled by shock and defeat, but Tally realized that she no longer thought of them as ugly. It was the cold expressions of the Specials, beautiful though they were, that seemed horrific to her now.

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood, Shay, David

Page Number and Citation: 286

Explanation and Analysis:

“Yeah, I know what you mean. But that was all ugly stuff. Crazy love and jealousy and needing to rebel against the city. Every kid’s like that. But you grow up, you know?”

“You grew up because of an operation? Doesn’t that strike you as weird?”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Shay (speaker), David

Page Number and Citation: 376

Explanation and Analysis:

“Why did we even have to ask? They didn’t get her permission when they did this to her!”

“That’s the difference between us and them,” Maddy said. “After Az and I found out what the operation really meant, we realized we’d been party to something horrible. People had their minds changed without their knowledge. As doctors, we took an ancient oath never to do anything like that.”

Related Characters: Tally Youngblood (speaker), Maddy (speaker), Shay, David, Dr. Cable, Az

Page Number and Citation: 393-94

Explanation and Analysis:

Shay Character Timeline in Uglies

The timeline below shows where the character Shay appears in Uglies. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...herself up. She apologizes, but the figure isn’t a warden: she’s a young ugly named Shay. Shay explains that she’s been hiding for an hour, waiting to sneak back across the... (full context)

Shay bites at one of her fingernails—a habit that the pretty operation cures—and asks if Tally... (full context)

Tally falls off her hoverboard and remembers to relax like Shay told her to. The crash bracelets around Tally’s wrists spin her in circles before setting... (full context)

Beauty, Science, and Influence Theme Icon

As Tally turns with delight to tell Shay she did it, she falls. Tally and Shay laugh, and Shay calls Tally “Squint” and... (full context)

The Natural World, History, and Growing Up Theme Icon

Shay says she wouldn’t abandon Tally anyway, but Tally points out that new pretties never visit... (full context)

In Tally’s dorm room, she shows Shay some morphos on her wallscreen. Option two is sleek and catlike, and Tally agrees with... (full context)

Finally, Shay agrees to make a morpho and lets the wallscreen scan her face. A second later,... (full context)

Shay tells Tally to stop but Shay refuses to run the software herself. She says she... (full context)

Tally and Shay let the breeze carry them along as they hoverboard at the treetop level at the... (full context)

Shay says she’s been wanting to show Tally the ruins since Tally told her daring story... (full context)

Shay says that she wants to do something she thinks is fun, before they have to... (full context)

...seem like uglies are supposed to sneak out. Tally heads for the dam and meets Shay. Shay insists that her method of tricking the safety governor so the hoverboard won’t tattle... (full context)

Shay asks if Peris made Tally promise so she wouldn’t bother him anymore and assures Tally... (full context)

Shay says that from here, they’ll walk until they reach a vein of iron a half... (full context)

Tally and Shay ride high above the ground through the Rusty Ruins, which are the hulking metal frames... (full context)

Shay says she wants to show Tally something and leads her away from the maintained part... (full context)

Tally sits down, shaking, and Shay apologizes. Shay explains that nobody told her about the gap the first time, and she... (full context)

Back at the heart of the ruins, Tally anxiously follows Shay into the tallest building and then up to the roof. From there, Tally can see... (full context)

...until they’re 18 to turn pretty. Tally suggests they head home, and after a minute, Shay agrees. Tally thanks Shay for bringing her along and introducing her to all these cool... (full context)

Tally and Shay watch the dorky new 12-year-old uglies file in. Tally tries to remember what it was... (full context)

Shay and Tally hide on the top floor of the library, waiting for the uglies to... (full context)

The girls change to go swimming. They splash into the river and Shay says she’s serious: Tally’s nose and eyes aren’t ugly. Tally says that according to biology,... (full context)

Shay points out that some people do lose, and Tally shudders at the thought of the... (full context)

...feeling sad even though she’s spent four years impatiently waiting to become pretty. Tally and Shay haven’t spoken since their fight in the river, so Tally has spent most of the... (full context)

Shay dumps her knapsack onto the bed and points to her position-finder, firestarter, water purifier, and... (full context)

Shay says that after meeting Tally, she didn’t feel alone anymore and felt safer going back... (full context)

Shay insists that she wants to become who she wants to be, not who a committee... (full context)

...young ugly approaches Tally and asks why she looks so sad. Tally thinks about what Shay said about the operation and wonders if she should tell the young ugly about how... (full context)

...up her half-full duffel bag, which is only as full as it is to hide Shay’s note. The hovercar takes her to the major hospital, where everyone goes for serious operations.... (full context)

...last name. Tally asks what’s going on, and Dr. Cable replies that this is about Shay. Tally insists she doesn’t know where Shay is and asks what this place is. Dr.... (full context)

...the truth, and her voice gets even icier. She tells Tally that she’ll never see Shay again and explains that six of Shay’s friends disappeared at once and two others chose... (full context)

...and thinks that everything is gone. This all feels like a cruel trick. She pulls Shay’s note out of the bag and reads it, looking for clues. It’s a poem and... (full context)

Sol and Ellie say that they heard about Shay; Sol suggests that Shay’s a lot of trouble, but Ellie reminds him that Shay is... (full context)

...laugh off Special Circumstances too easily and it seems like he knows nothing about where Shay went. Tally wonders if most people don’t want to know. She remembers learning about the... (full context)

...sneaks out and rides her new hoverboard, which is tricked to function at night like Shay taught her. The fourth night after her birthday, Tally races along through the greenbelt. She... (full context)

...that if it’s just for a trick, she should tattle, but Tally insists she made Shay a promise. Hurt, Peris reminds Tally that she promised him something too. Slowly, Tally looks... (full context)

...says they always have choices and then begins her questioning. Tally tells Dr. Cable that Shay talked about running away with David, a person Dr. Cable has heard about. Tally mentions... (full context)

...either, and Dr. Cable pulls out a small briefcase filled with survival items like what Shay had. Tally says that Shay also had a hoverboard and enough dehydrated food to feed... (full context)

...one final look at the city, she vows not to think about the possibility that Shay shouldn’t have trusted David. Tally hikes to the Rusty Ruins and finds the roller coaster,... (full context)

...seen one from outside the city, and its colors are spectacular. After eating, Tally consults Shay’s note again, which says to “make the worst mistake” at what she assumes is the... (full context)

...despise. Neither direction looks like the obvious choice, but Tally remembers that when she and Shay made morphos, Tally noted that she hates her right side. She decides to take a... (full context)

...are gone, Tally notices a tall, flowerless hill that must be the “bald head” where Shay’s note said to wait. At the top, Tally thinks that all she has to do... (full context)

...all wear white hats that would render them invisible if they crouched. When Tally recognizes Shay, she races down, and the girls happily embrace. Shay says that no one thought the... (full context)

...operation as he gleefully discovers her SpagBol. Tally tells him he can have it, but Shay pulls Tally’s bag away and tells Tally she needs to keep her things to trade,... (full context)

Shay assures Tally that they have a ways to go before they reach the Smoke. Tally’s... (full context)

...with horror that the Smokies have been cutting down trees. She expresses her dismay to Shay, but Shay assures her that the pre-Rusties lived like this and that Tally will get... (full context)

Tally is horrified by the Boss and that anyone would want to look so saggy. Shay, however, pulls out a handful of what she calls magazines. She points and giggles at... (full context)

Shay walks away to talk to the Boss and Tally notices that Shay is still too... (full context)

...tables that were clearly cut from tree centers. This disturbs Tally, so she’s happy when Shay and David take her outside to the cooking fire. Shay’s friends, Astrix, Ryde, and Croy... (full context)

...orchids for days, but Tally says she didn’t know they were superweeds. David frowns at Shay and says that her code almost got Tally killed, then shares that typically nobody makes... (full context)

...to not be a problem. David suggests that Tally trade for a new one soon. Shay offers to take Tally to the trading post. The old ugly running it isn’t as... (full context)

Shay asks what Tally was going to say in the library, before the Boss interrupted them.... (full context)

...activated the pendant when she arrived, as now she knows that she’s not just betraying Shay. She’s betraying hundreds of people. Shay says she can’t wait until Tally’s love arrives as... (full context)

...they can take the scrub trees back to the Smoke to burn. Tally looks to Shay, hoping she’ll support leaving the trees, but Shay looks carefully neutral. Croy and Astrix continue... (full context)

...he does. At lunch, the crew sits down at their worksite. Tally sits next to Shay and says they need to talk. Shay says they don’t need to talk about “him,”... (full context)

Tally notices that Shay has been crying. Shay holds out her hand to Tally’s to prove that they’re the... (full context)

...horrendous, and the brutality of the rabbit stew suits her mood. Tally hasn’t spoken to Shay or Croy since lunch, and Dr. Cable’s pendant seems to get heavier and tighter around... (full context)

...he’d never come back, and he admires and trusts Tally because she came just because Shay asked her to. Tally feels worse and worse. David says he was angry with Shay... (full context)

...seems pretty for a moment. Tally doesn’t think she deserves David’s admiration and says that Shay probably wishes she’d never talked about the Smoke. David says that Shay changes her mind... (full context)

...turned Tally pretty had they stayed. They discuss Tally’s solo journey to the Smoke using Shay’s directions, and when Maddy and Az say they haven’t heard of Shay, Tally wonders what... (full context)

...science of beauty, but she asks if David really thinks she’s beautiful, more beautiful than Shay. Quietly, David admits that he does. Tally feels awful and thinks of growing up in... (full context)

...assures David that no one’s coming for her. She knows that she’ll have to face Shay tomorrow, but she feels free knowing that Dr. Cable won’t ruin the Smoke. Crying, Tally... (full context)

...but Tally shares that she was out with David. Croy admits he hasn’t seen David, Shay, or the Boss. Tally says that she and the Boss made a run for it,... (full context)

Tally sees two Specials throw Shay into the pen. Shay croaks a greeting to Croy and then accuses Tally of betraying... (full context)

...Tally feels like she can’t tell the truth or she’ll lose David, in addition to Shay, Peris, and the Smoke. Tally vows to herself to tell David the truth after she’s... (full context)

...lies that she got caught sneaking into New Pretty Town on the night she met Shay, and says that the Specials tried to intimidate her. David says this makes sense—Tally has... (full context)

...then Tally leads the way down the river. David assures her that after they rescue Shay, Shay will forgive Tally, but Tally isn’t so sure. When they catch sight of the... (full context)

...hears another voice and turns: it belongs to a tall, elegant woman. The woman is Shay, and Shay is pretty. (full context)

Shay is thrilled to see Tally. She condescendingly says that Tally’s still a troublemaker and then... (full context)

Shay says that Tally did her a favor getting her out of the Smoke; she loves... (full context)

Maddy leads everyone to the elevator, dragging Shay by the wrist. She yells that they need Dr. Cable, so Tally and Croy drag... (full context)

...of the jumpsuit with a tracking device in it to drop somewhere, and Tally pulls Shay on the boards with her. (full context)

Shay remarks that she doesn’t have crash bracelets and teeters dangerously. Tally asks Shay if she... (full context)

Shay asks if Tally thinks it’s true that Az is dead; she saw him a few... (full context)

Tally and Shay reach the cave first, and Croy hurtles in a moment later. He groans that he... (full context)

Tally smells food when she wakes up and she hears Croy trying to placate Shay, who wants a shower. Even though Shay is bedraggled, she’s still stunning. Astrix and Ryde... (full context)

...outside the hiding spot, looking exhausted. He and Tally embrace and kiss, and he greets Shay. David, unlike the others, doesn’t seem to see Shay’s beauty. Turning to Tally, David shares... (full context)

Maddy sits Shay down and tells her that during her operation, they did something to her brain. Shay... (full context)

Shay says that the Specials are psycho, but if they all turn pretty, the Specials won’t... (full context)

When Tally notes that the doctors didn’t get permission to change Shay’s brain the first time, Maddy says that they have to be different—as a doctor, she... (full context)

...change her memory, but Maddy says they won’t since they didn’t bother doing so with Shay. Maddy reason that Dr. Cable won’t hurt Tally, and Tally reiterates that she has to... (full context)

Tally admits that she came to the Smoke to betray Shay and she tells David everything. She says she didn’t mean to call Special Circumstances, but... (full context)

Maddy suggests that Tally put her consent in writing, so Tally asks Shay to write it since Tally never learned penmanship. David is still gone when Tally is... (full context)

Croy thanks Tally for rescuing him and then heads back up the river. Tally and Shay walk toward Uglyville and Shay chatters about how popular she already is because of her... (full context)