Over time, society changes as well as the people in that society. Today’s society is obsessed with looks, fashion, and glamour. Advertisements can be found everywhere you look for clothes, beauty products, diet pills, etc. Society nowadays judges people based on their looks more than anything, There is a strong belief that the attractive ones are more likely to succeed. People living in today’s society will often find themselves doing anything to achieve this “beauty” in order to “fit in” and be accepted by others. This problem is commonly found in today’s younger generation; mainly teenagers and young adults. They grow up with the belief that one must have looks over more important things such as personality, intelligence, and self belief; they lose their uniqueness. This is the problem Scott Westerfield sees wrong with society. He sees teenagers in today’s society worrying too …show more content…
much about looks and thinking that they can succeed with only that. Within the novel, Westerfield sees the young pretties as today’s teenagers. Young pretties believe that their only job is to spend their time partying and drinking yet still succeed in life. This idea is very similar to the beliefs of today’s teens who think that they can party all the time and get by without work but still succeed in school and in life. In this novel, Westerfield talks about very important messages about life and society.
In the Uglies, he describes the White Tiger Orchids as the most beautiful flowers ever seen. However, when they are mass produced, they lose their uniqueness as well as their beauty. When there are too many, they grow out of control and choke out all other plants to replace them with more orchids. I think Westerfield uses the White Tiger Orchids as a symbol of today’s teenagers losing their uniqueness by trying to “fit in” and be like everyone else. This problem in today’s society destroys the confidence and self esteem of people whom oppose it. Westerfield uses the rangers as a hope for humanity, who’s job is to destroy the orchids so that other species are allowed to grow. They show that a big change is possible but it requires a lot of hard work and sometimes even wiping everything out and starting fresh. He uses the rangers as a message to society to encourage people to be unique and be themselves; to not give in to the whole idea that you have to be good-looking to
succeed. Change requires a lot of hard work and our society is not headed in the right direction. With people constantly worrying about their looks and stressing themselves out trying to “fit in” today’s society. Looks will not win you everything in life, there are things that matter more and are more important to be successful; personality and intelligence. A solution to this is very simple; just be yourself and never mind what other people think about you. Don’t ever let no one tell you you’re not beautiful.
Cristian Guzman.
August 24, 2011
Summer Reading