Uglies Scott Westerfeld Summary

Manipulation of citizens by the government is corrupting civilization as a whole. In Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, the government makes people think that normal people are ugly, they physically enhance their agents to control the people and they control their brains. The corruption is clear in the world of Uglies when the author states that “99% of people had had something done to their brains and only a few select people knew exactly what”(273). The government has therefore been controlling people by messing with their brains. It is a good example of how the government has been manipulating people. While the government was regulating people’s heads, they were also taking away the little choice that the citizens had. Scott Westerfeld makes this apparent when he wrote that Shay had the operation forced on her. He states that when Shay says “I got to be first because I made the most trouble. You should have seen me kicking and biting!”(365) And then Tally responds with “They forced you.”(365). This shows how they have devious plans for the smokies and how they won’t let them make their own choices.
It is apparent when Tally observes them when they are invading the Smoke. Tally describes them to be “superhumanly fast and strong. The special operation had given them more than just terrible faces.”(278). This shows how the Special agents are designed to tower over normal humans and be physically superior to them. Also, the Special agents don’t have the lesions in their brain that all the pretties do. In conclusion, the government in Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is manipulating society and corrupting it. They do this by not letting you make your own decisions, physically enhancing Special agents to control you, and brainwashing people into thinking that normal people are ugly. What do you think a government should look