The Uglies #5

" 'Nice to meet you, too, Tally,' David's mother said. Tally wondered what her name was. David always referred to them as 'Mom' and 'Dad,' words Tally hadn't used for Sol and Ellie since she was a littlie."

Pg 406

Reaction: This reminds me of Brave New World in how parents were sort of a taboo subject. It doesn't seem as extreme as extreme as in Brave New World since they do use the words 'Mom' and 'Dad' but only when they're very young as opposed to how speaking those words at all would be like yelling out something sexual in Brave New World. I feel like there's very little attachment between people in this book and this is something that just further separates any type of attachments and connections people would have with one another. By calling her parents by their first name rather than 'Mom' and 'Dad' it kind of weakens the bond between parent and child. Even though she knows those are her parents she as connected to them as any other normal person would be and I think that part of it is because she calls them by their first names as if they were just some older friends that she has.

Analysis: In this passage the author makes clear one of the characteristic of this dystopian society. Throughout the book we see that one of the things that very different from this society and our society today is the fact that people are very independent and share very little love with one another. From the age of 12 the kids are taken away from their parents to live in 'Uglyville' with all of the other 'uglies' and this is where the independence begins. By making these kids live without their parents from the age of 12 it forces them to learn to be independent and lose connections with their parents. It becomes almost a mystery as to how couples like Tally's parents come together in the first place since the society shows so little care for one another that its unclear as to how couples even form. 'New Pretty Town' becomes all about having and being vapid with the rest of your friends but very rarely do these 'friends' show any deep concern for each other. The lack of human emotional connection is one of the things that helps bring this society to the horrible state that its in.