Comparing Perseverance In Uglies And The Third And Final Continent

As Thomas Carlyle once said, “Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.” Perseverance relates to the development of the common theme between Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, “If” by Rudyard Kipling, and “The Third and Final Continent” by Jhumpa Lahiri. One way the theme is developed by the novel Uglies and the short story “The Third and Final Continent” is through the setting of the two texts. Additionally, Uglies and the poem “If” establishes the theme of determination by the diction, or word choice, of the authors. Finally, the novel and the short story both advance the theme through the two authors’ characterization.

In the middle of the novel when Tally was travelling to the Smoke for the first time with the other Smokies, an example of the theme is shown. “Tally realized why the orchids were no match for it. The tangled brush and thick trees were knotted together into an impassable wall on either side” (Westerfeld 183). The forest has been unyielding in its fight against the superweed orchids, and Westerfeld’s portrayal of the forest shows its perseverance. Also, the forest never gave up when faced with the threat of the orchids and therefore survived. Similar to Westerfeld’s novel, Lahiri’s short story supports and broadens the theme with the setting. At the beginning of the story when the man first moved to the United States, the author exemplified the theme using the setting. “I learned that Americans drove on the right side of the road, not the left… ‘The pace of life in North America is different from Britain… Everybody feels he must get to the top. Don’t expect an English cup of tea’” (Lahiri). Lahiri uses the setting to describe how the man never gave up by describing the large difference between his former home, Britain, and his next one, the United States. The man was successful in fitting in the new world because of his determination. Both texts show that when in an unfamiliar world, one must never give up in order to survive. While the setting is

Near the opening of the novel when Tally is travelling to the Smoke, her persistence and mental strength is displayed. “Tally had always thought of the city as huge, a whole world in itself, but the scale of everything out here was so much grander. And so beautiful. She could see why people used to live out in nature…”(Westerfeld 147). As a reward for Tally’s determination when facing difficult obstacles, she is given a magnificent view of the natural world, as described by Westerfeld’s word choice of descriptions like “grander” and “beautiful.” Likewise, Kipling uses diction to help develop the theme with his poem “If.” At the conclusion of the poem, Kipling depicts the reward of completing the tasks described in the poem, most of which relates to the theme of