Lemus 1

Sandy, Lemus
Professor Ahn
English 114b
Due: 3/17/14
What Is Beautiful?
Most women put on make-up. Most men work out. All of these mindsets that men and
women have to do these things started somewhere. Children have little to no knowledge about
life. There must be guidance to these small growing minds. The people guiding these minds are
usually their parents or guardians. They form the childrens mentality on how to look at the
world and judge it. In the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, Tally Youngblood has been
psychologically manipulated all her life. They had brainwashed her since a young child that she
had to become a pretty in order to be a part of society, being pretty meant she had to get a
surgery to reconstruct all of her body. This procedure was usually done to all the uglies that
turned 16. Just like in Tallys society, todays society has expectations and rules one must abide
to in order to fit in. For example there is a criteria that women must wear make-up to look
beautiful. Another example is how men have to be big and bulky to be considered strong. These
are characteristics that society defines to be the correct way to physically look. Psychological
manipulation has created minds that are forced to obedience by establishing guidelines and rules
one must follow to be part of a community.
In the book, Tally struggles using her own mind to make decisions independently because
all her life she has been told what to think. In her society the manipulation starts at a young age.
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It is encrypted that everyone who does not have the surgery done to become pretty is
considered ugly. The society that Tally lives in values a superficial beauty rather than an inner
one. There is no other way to think. In order to emphasize the operation, they have a separation
between the uglies and pretties they live in opposing sides. In anticipation of her surgery,
Tally would always look outside her window and see across town where she can see how all the
pretties partied. The party towers were lit up laughter and music skipped across the
water(Westerfeld pg4) Society had manipulated to make Tally think that life as a pretty
would be beautiful and that there would be no problems. This society made it seem that getting
the surgery was the best thing in the world. Tally was convinced that the only way she could
truly be happy was if she was turned to a pretty. They gave Tally an option to not get the surgery
but she would suffer the consequences and live a secluded life. In reality the choice was an
illusion given by the society she lived in, they established the guidelines of living happy. It
really did not matter who Tally wanted to be, because society had already defined who she
would be.
All around the world they are objects, images and actions that influence people to think
or act a certain way. For example magazines, magazines portray women as sexual objects (not
all the time but most of the time) by doing this they give men the proper way a women should
look. In the study Women Seen As Sexual Objects?Now Theres Scientific Proof the author,
Katja Heise states, that men tend to be perceived as persons, while women tend to be perceived
as object. This arises another problem with women, they must now look that way because
society has established that if one does not look that way one is not accepted. This goes deeper
than just superficial images but also the mind. Because many people think that is the proper way
of looking, it starts changing the mind it becomes shallow and loses the beauty of individualism.
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Everyone wants to belong and will do anything to do so. In reality there is no option one must
meet criterias of whatever community one wants to belong to. Regardless of free will there will
always be manipulation.
Furthermore, our society is similar to Tallys society. Just like in her society some things
are socially accepted and others are not. Tally does not need to be pretty but has to just like
maybe a model must be beautiful. At a young age Tally was told she would be beautiful when
she got the surgery, just how young girls in Americas society are told they will be beautiful with
make-up. In the book all the people thought the same way, they all thought that being pretty
was the best thing in life. The only reason was because they had no freedom to think otherwise.
Whether Tally saw it or not she was influenced to define beautiful as something superficial.
We're not freaks, Tally. We're normal. We may not be gorgeous, but at least we're not hyped-up
Barbie dolls.(Westerfeld pg_) Superficial because in her society it was easier to control
something on the outside rather than on the inside. In America there is such a thing as getting
surgery to enhance the body, many believe that it will make them beautiful. Beauty is defined as
superficial.
Growing up in America I seem to be startled by the fact on how hard many try to fit in to
be part of a community. I see a lot of pressures and manipulations that one must look a certain
way to be accepted. In the article Will We Ever Let Girls Be Good Enough by Paula Davis-
Laack, she writes We live in a world that teaches girls to judge their worth based on looks
rather than abilities. In addition, girls get the mixed message that they should be themselves but
be perfect too. The only reason people seem to try to belong is because society itself has told
them that one must belong to something. America is telling girls in this case they can be
themselves but yet be perfect too. This is just like how Tally had the option to become a pretty
Lemus 4

but really did not have an option. Society has defined beauty in our world and Tallys world.
They establish guidelines on how a girl must look like to be beautiful. Of course in order to
belong girls are willing to follow these rules. No one wants to be an outcast, everyone wants to
belong somewhere.
America is considered a free country, but society has defined what can be free. Society
seems to tame anything that can be different and will not accept it until at least one other person
accept it. In the article Media Manipulation of the Masses: How the Media Psychologically
Manipulates, the author, Samuel Lopes writes All that is necessary to destroy a persons
character publicly is to take that person and overtly or covertly associate them to something the
masses will reject. (Samuel Lopez De Victoria) Psychological manipulation plays a major role
to acceptance. The most important issue about this manipulation is who is making them. In
America the people establishing the trends and defining beauty is usually famous or important
people that other look up to. Because of the pressures these people bring more and more people
are trying to belong and be the same instead of being themselves. Sometimes in America we are
too caught up in belonging somewhere that the real freedom is left behind. For example the
president of the United States of America is not the most handsomest or charming but what he is
the brain. He does not go and let say drive a yellow mustang just because everyone is riding one
he goes and looks at the problem of the country and try to fix them. His eyes are focused on
important thing not things that do not matter. In Uglies special circumstances are the people who
made sure that everyone got the surgery and tried to capture anyone who would try to go against
them. They had power because they were running the whole towns. You can die ugly, for all I
care. (Westerfelf pg106) This is when Tally meets Dr.Cable from special circumstances, all
Tally wanted was to be a pretty and because she was thinking another way they wanted to punish
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her. Special circumstances was the organization that defined beauty just how famous figures
define beauty in our society.
The clothes people use came from a thought of someone else, the way we put our hair was
seen in someone else before. Tallys definition of pretty came from society. No matter what it is
everything has been influenced from somewhere or somewhat. Some do not think much of that
but it is there. Psychological manipulation had influenced minds and actions by not letting a
person have free will but by letting society establish what and what not can be done.












Lemus 6


Work Cited
Davis-Laack Paula. Will We Ever Let Girls Be Good Enough? Psychologytoday.com.
June 15,2012. Web. Febuary 21, 2014.
Katja Heise. Women Seen As Sex Objects? Now There's Scientific Proof. WorldKrunch.com.
2012-09-06. Web. Febuary 21,2014.

Lpez De Victoria, S. Media Manipulation of the Masses: How the Media Psychologically
Manipulates Psych Central. February 06, 2012. Web. February 21,2014.

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies. New York: Simon&Schuster Children's Publishing, 2005. Paper