2007, Form B.
Works of literature often depict acts of betrayal. Friends and even family may
betray a protagonist; main characters may likewise be guilty of treachery or
may betray their own values. Select a novel or play that includes such acts of
betrayal. Then, in a well-written essay, analyze the nature of the betrayal and
show how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is a novel set 300 years in the
future after the society we know today collapses. A new society forms
where kids must undergo an operation that biologically enhances the features of
these people to meet a certain standard of beautiful at the age of
sixteen. From a young age, these kids
are told that they are inadequate until they receive this operation. The protagonist, Tally, contemplates joining her suite mates in the
pretty city, or following her friend Shay to the rebel group that is plotting to
overthrow the government that forces the operation upon people up in the
mountains.
Unbeknownst to Tally, the government has been trying to
locate and exterminate this rebel group for many years now. After
discovering that Shay has already started the journey to the mountains,
the government jumps on the opportunity to use Tally as a rebel group
scout. Although Tally does not want to endanger to friend Shay, she only wants to do what is right. Tally begins her journey to the mountains
with a government tracker in hand. Once she makes it to the rebel group,
she befriends them, and finds herself unable to turn them over to the
government.
Tally is torn. Should she betray her new friends? In this
society, a new set of morals and standards about society is set; what
is considered beautiful? How much power should government have? What is
right or wrong? Tally finds herself conflicted between her own morals
and the ones society sets for her. Tally has grown up in a world that
tries to defy nature that says that it is wrong to appreciate the way
you were made, and that nobody is born beautiful. She sees her quest of
betrayal as just her duty to her government. Once she meets the members
of the rebel group, she sees a new perspective on life, and starts to
make her own judgments instead of the ones the government forces onto
people. Although Tally's betrayal was not intentional, it was a fight
against everything she had ever known. It was only Tally's moral compass
that brought her to the conclusion of what is right.
