How shallow is appearance? (Book One Project)

How shallow is appearance? I believe appearance has always been on the minds of humans.  Early in society when there were Indians and tribes, they decked themselves out in jewelry, makeup, paint, etc.. Humans have always done something to alter their original appearance. We can make the argument now that the level we are willing to go to in order to achieve this perfect image is a lot higher than it used to be. People just wake up and say “Ohh, I’m too fat!”, “My eyes are drooping too much!”, or “Wow, I’m soo ugly!” And instead of being confident in the body God has blessed them with, they complain and complain critiquing themselves until they decide to get surgery. I am not saying every person has these thoughts to this extreme, but a whopping 11.7 million cosmetic surgeries were preformed in the United States with the most common surgery being liposuction. Botox injections didn’t fall too far behind though! But earlier civilizations went to just as extreme levels by piercing their bodies and scarring themselves for the rest of life. Chinese people would bind their feet so they wouldn’t grow, causing many health issues and deformities. Kuyan people placed rings around their neck to lengthen them, all going for this certain look of “pretty” in their mind.  Just like in the novel The Uglies, they require you to have a surgery to change how you look from an “ugly” to a pretty. Do we want to be altered into something society believes is beautiful? Tally struggles to decide whether or not she should have the surgery done. It is all she has wanted her entire life, but now that she is sixteen and has met some incredible “uglies” in the Smokes, she is rethinking her decision. “One day she might wake up and realize that she couldn’t stand to live her entire life as an ugly, no matter who it would hurt or what it would cost.” (231) But are they truly ugly to begin with? Someone out there see’s the beauty in every flaw. Luckily for Tally, she has met her match who loves her for her big nose and scars on her hands. But if you really sit down and think about it, society is the one telling us she isn’t pretty. We are surrounded by perfect people everywhere we look. Every magazine has pictures of celebrities who are flawless. You click on the television and this glowing goddess pops up for a commercial, she is perfect. The lists go on and on of perfect people everywhere. No one is forcing us to be perfect, but society puts this image in your head of the ideal look, which many individuals then chase after. Tally opens a magazine while she is in the Smokes, of famous people. But these aren’t your typical faces you would see if someone was famous. These are the many faces of the uglies who have made something of themselves. “Instead of being ashamed of their deformities, the people were laughing and kissing and posing.” (198) Tally finally realizes she can be beautiful; it just took a little push from society. Now if we could get every person to have this confident attitude with the body they have been blessed with, appearance wouldn’t be so shallow.

This is a link to an article about Cindy Jackson who currently holds the Guinness Record for the most plastic surgery with 55 surgeries to this day! Cindy Jackson: The Women Who Refuses to Age Without a Fight

A Book is a Gift (Reflection #3)

A book is a gift. People cherish them, honor them and take them pretty much everywhere they go. Some may argue it is the best gift you could possibly receive! Gifts are something people want, not necessarily need just like how books are something a lot of people want to have. They like to be able to pick up a good novel and use their imagination to escape from reality for a few hours. But it is no longer a necessity in life to have a non-fiction book that we can learn from. Everything we could ever think of is somewhere on the internet and only a click away. Joe Meno said, “Television, film, even the stage play, have already been imagined for us, but the book, in whatever form we choose to interact with it, focuses us to complete it.” I strongly agree with this quote because I know as I read, I imagine the book as if it was a movie in my head and make a million connections with it. I am the filmmaker, it is whatever I want it to be unlike me watching a movie. I can’t change the ending of a movie; it has already been decided and produced for all to see.

Are You Pretty? (Pages 139-280)(Review #2)

What does it mean to be pretty? According to www.dictionary.com , pretty is defined as “pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness.” Tally idolizes about being pretty but the truth is the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tally looks in the mirror and automatically tells herself she is ugly just because that is what society is telling her. She says, “There was a certain kind of beauty, a prettiness that everyone could see. Somewhere in the backs of their minds, people were always looking for these markers. No one could help seeing them, no matter how they were brought up. A million years of evolution had made it part of the human brain.” This is how the whole society is based in the novel and I can say that’s how it is today in our culture. People have created this type of image of what pretty is. Media plays a big role in what is considered pretty. All of the models weigh ninety pounds and have flawless skin.  Maybe Tally’s hair isn’t stick straight, she might have a scar on her finger and maybe her nose was too big for her face. But there is someone who thinks she is beautiful, David. She didn’t come to the realization that she doesn’t need to have the surgery and change who she was just to please society until she went out on her adventure. It took a young boy who had been living in the Smoke to make her feel like she was pretty. But why do we strive to get other people’s approval? Why can’t we just have so much faith and confidence within ourselves that it doesn’t matter what other people think? I hope Tally finds it within herself as I finish the last fifty pages tonight.

Books Shmooks? (Reflection #2)

Why should we want kids to read books anyway? Books allow us to escape reality for a few hours and into this imaginary world. Whether the book is about war or a romantic teenage story, we still get away from anything going on in our live. If we get to choose the novels we read, it tends to be things that we have an interest in so we can make connections which can, in theory, help jog our memory. Reading books gives us knowledge that other things can’t provide. If kids didn’t read, they would be playing the latest video games or watching countless hours of television. These types of media tend to not be a good source for learning! A lot of parents will tell their kids to read if they can’t sleep (at least my parents did). But I think that was because they just didn’t want me to bother them if we are being honest. Having kids read can enhance their vocabulary and open their eyes to what’s happening in the world around us. The newspaper is a great source that the common kid doesn’t read. If they did read the paper every day, they would have a better understanding on the world and why it is the way it is.

The Uglies Review (Part I)

Who is Tally Youngblood? Tally is the main protagonist in the story. All of her friends have turned sixteen and she is still stuck with her ugly self counting down the days until her surgery. We all have been there though. Our siblings and friends have turned sixteen and finally got their temps to drive and you are impatiently waiting for your day to come.  She is faced with a lot of decisions in her life. If I had to sum up her character in one word, I would describe her as audacious.  Tally brings it upon herself though. Even though she knows all of the trouble she would get into by trespassing into the pretty city, it does not stop her. But one decision she is faced with could change her life forever. Dr. Cable says, “If you don’t agree now, I’ll find someone else and you will be ugly forever.” (134) Sure Tally can flip a coin and let it decide her destiny but the way the doctor presents the question, she doesn’t even have that option. She loses all of her audaciousness and simply tells Dr. Cable she isn’t the right person and she can’t do it. If men are taught one thing it’s that the word can’t is not in our vocabulary. The fact Tally breaks right here shows us another side of who she really is. This sixteen year old girl actually fears something for once. Her whole life had been filled with adventure and thrill up until today. Tally had to been having the words of Shay running through her troubled mind saying, “When they do the operation—they grind and stretch your bones to the right shape, peel off your face and rub all of your skin away—maybe after that you just aren’t very interesting anymore.” (50). Her name had been called upon and the surgery would be postponed until she reaches the smoke. Will Tally crumble under pressure? Will she be ugly forever?  

Popular vs Prize Winning (Reflection #1)

Popular books are able to be prize winning. If the majority of people enjoy reading that piece of literature, it deserves to be honored. Although it might not be as artistic as a book critique might think it should be, he isn’t the only one who has read the book. Great works of literature should be honored for they are worthy in the eyes of whom ever have read them. But I can also see how popular books are unable to be prize winning. To make the best sellers list, it means you have sold the most copies. Even though you sell a million copies of your book, it doesn’t mean all of the million people who bought them actually enjoyed reading it. As a matter of fact, I bet half of those people don’t even finish the novel before they just stop reading it. The media has some effect on how well books are sold. If they make a movie out of it, it tends to shoot up in book sales. So even if you are on the best sellers list, it doesn’t exactly mean your book is prize winning worthy. For example, Fifty Shades of Grey is number two on the best sellers list but in my opinion, it is not a prize winning piece. This book was written more to sell copies compared to novels that are written to expose controversy and promote thought.

Post #1: Why I Read

Why do I read? The main reason I read is for enjoyment. I like to take a good book to the pool or in my backyard and just spend the whole day reading! Books tend to change how I view something especially if I can make a personal connection with the characters. I fall into the book so easily that it takes me out of reality and into the book’s plot for a couple of hours. I can also use what the character has taught me and put it into my own life. You could easily say that’s what a movie does too, but it has a lot different effect. I can easily fall asleep watching a movie but when I am reading the book, I have a tendency to not want to put it down and to keep turning the page. The author always has a purpose for writing the novel and I find it fun to read between the lines and solve the hidden message. I take it as a challenge and the best part is there isn’t really a right or wrong answer!