Prettiest. Ugliest. Every year, at this time your stomach turns with anxiety, wondering if your name will make the list. The pretty side that is. Making the pretty list will change your life. Making the ugliest will ruin it. The List, by Siobhan Vivian is about a high school who names the prettiest and the ugliest girls in each grade during homecoming week. Every girl dreams about making the pretty list. The List, by Siobhan Vivian definitely shows the theme of changing yourself because girls change their appearance, personality, and friendship groups all just so they can make the list. The first reason why The List shows the theme of changing yourself is because the girls in this book change how they look in order to make the list. One example …show more content…
is on page 52. On this page Bridget, who was named the prettiest Junior faces a reoccurring problem. “You have to eat breakfast today, eat breakfast Bridget, eat.” It goes on to say that over the summer Bridget had developed an eating disorder, so she would lose wait. All just to make the list. Another example is on page 83, where it says “She showers, does her hair and makeup.” Bridget never usually felt the need to do this every morning, until she made the list. She feels pressure to change her appearance in order to look pretty and perfect every day. The last example is on page 145. On this page Sarah, who made the ugly list tries to prove a point of how she wasn’t ugly before the list came out. She decided to stop all personal hygiene things to show that she didn’t deserve to make the ugly list before. She was pretty before. “It’s been three days without a shower and I am not nearly as stinky as I want to be.” Sarah decided to give up, and change her appearance just to prove a point to everyone. All these examples show how girls changed their appearance just because of the list. The next reason why The List, by Siobhan Vivian shows the theme of changing yourself is because girls change their personalities based on the list.
The first example is on page 104. Lauren, who was the named the prettiest sophomore changes her personality big time. Lauren used to do everything with her mom, she was home schooled up until now. On page 104, Her mom says “You didn’t mention it last night, we could have studied together.” Lauren has stopped telling her mom things because she made the list. Also on page 307, Lauren continues to change immensely. “She shimmies open her window, drops out, and runs across the grass. Lauren is sneaking out which is something she would have never done before. She has changed her personality big time all for the list. Lastly, on page 136 Candace, who made the pretty list last year, thinks she has all control. Over the summer she was considered the queen bee. “There were only four patio chairs to lie out on, and that was my excuse for being selective. Candace controlled who could come to the pool and who couldn’t. She wasn’t like this before. She changed all because of some …show more content…
list. The last reason why the theme of Siobhan Vivian’s book, The List is changing yourself is because the girls changed who they hung out with because of the list. They ditched old friends or became friends with new people all for some list. For instance, on page 215, Lauren who's usually a “goody-goody” got into some trouble because of her new friends. “You need to be careful Lauren, you don’t know these girls that well.” Laurens mom had been very concerned since the list came out and Lauren started hanging out with new people. Also, on page 236 Danielle who was on the ugly list has changed her perspective about her friends. “I care about my friends, okay. I care about their opinions.” This was something Daniele never used to say. She used to just do her own thing and she didn’t care about any one’s opinion of her. Lastly, on page 195, Margo who made the pretty list made a confession about Jennifer, who made the ugly list. Margo said that when high school started she stopped being friends with Jennifer because she was “ugly” or a “loser.” She now is regretting everything. “Those feeling were there before she’d ended her friendship with Jennifer.” The quote refers to how Margo cared and still does care about Jennifer. All in all it’s clear to see that because of the list, girls changed who they were friends with. In conclusion, it’s obvious that the list had a big effect on every girl in the school.
The List, By Siobhan Vivian, definitely shows the theme of changing yourself to fit in because the girls changed their appearance, personality, and freinds. Throughout the book these ladies faced all kinds of challenges, At the beginning they thought the only thing that was important was being “pretty.” By the end they realized that how pretty you are doesn't matter. They learned that it truly is what’s on the inside that counts. At the very end of The List, all the girls vowed to stop changing themselves. It sounds crazy that people would go to such extremes to be “pretty.” But think about it, if your school made a list naming the pretty and ugly people, you’d probably do some crazy things. But how far would you
go?
People change everyday, whether it is from good to bad or for the better. People often say to themselves, maybe, if I didn't do “blank” this wouldn't have happened. However, the reality is, it happened, and there is no way to change that. Why go around throwing maybe’s around if you cannot change it? Authors purposefully make readers ask those questions. Authors love to create complex characters, characters that go through change. In Ellen Hopkins’ book, Crank, is the perfect example. Ellen Hopkins writes from her own daughter's perspective, Kristina, on how “the monster” changed her own life and her family's life.
The author created this book for our entertainment, but also to teach us that you shouldn’t change for anyone, that you should express yourself the way that you want to.
This month I read the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. This science fiction novel is about a girl named Tally Youngblood who is about to turn sixteen. In Tally’s world, turning sixteen means undergoing an extreme plastic surgery to become what her society thinks is a “pretty”. When Tally’s friend, Shay, runs away to a land where “uglies” are accepted, Tally has a big decision to make, become a pretty or be accepted for who she is.
In today’s world, many people place a huge emphasis upon appearance, self-image and fitting in. Some are willing to go great lengths to gain a better sense of confidence, even though the outcome may come at a great cost. In the short story,“Anointed With Oils”. Alden Nowlan introduced Edith as a young, shack girl who tried so hard to extinguish her past to create a new life for herself. As an uneducated young lady, Edith found it very hard to land a respectable and organized job that she desired. She was embarrassed of many aspects of her life so she always tried to enhance her quality of life and the way she appeared. Edith believed that in order to be a star, she needed to be beautiful but she didn't see that in herself. Changing her appearance
At the beginning of the year, I noticed that Melinda wasn’t very active or social. For the most part, she avoided most social activities. She seemed to prefer to be alone inside her closet. But during the second semester, I noticed that this started to change. “I start on the leaves suffocating the bushes”(p.166). This quote describes Melinda going outside and doing yard work on her own without being asked to, which I don’t think she would have done before. Another example is when she asked her dad to bring her some flower seeds(p.168). There quotes prove that Melinda definitely becomes more active during the second half on the year.
In this society everyone is obsessed with beauty. And the Uglies are the people between the ages of 12 and 16 they live in a remote community far from the beautiful people. In this community the Uglies anxiously wait for their 16th birthday. At the age of 16 they go through a mandatory plastic surgery in order to live up to society’s standards. After they go through plastic surgery they will be known as pretties, and they will also live with all of the other gorgeous people.
...ke a person experience a 180 change. It seems as if Mary Anne Bell’s a person who’s lost her cute personality after she was just too involved with the war that was going on. It has been said that a war can truly change a person so much that they can lose all their old characteristics or better yet their appearance. This quote was used to show how Mary Anne was starting to act grim and unusual. Also, this quote showed how different she speaks to her boyfriend and the ways she even finds her joy everything was and is different. This was unusal as Mary Anne because she obviously she loves her boyfriend a lot, but the unusual things is that not only is it that her personality changes but her appearances started to change also. Mary Anne’s appearance was just different and weird because it seemed as if she was just able to adjust her living styles to a common soldiers. “
I did not have the perfect body. I suddenly became aware of my appearance and made sure I wore makeup every day, especially on days I had Art I with Eric. Before every class I would brush my hair and put on lip gloss in order to try and fit in. To grab Eric’s attention I thought I had to wear clothes that made me appear slimmer and live up to society’s expectations of beauty. Pipher defines this as “lookism, which is the evaluation of a person solely on the basis of appearance” (346). Every time I talked to Eric I assumed he was judging me by the way I looked and not by my personality or values. I constantly felt like I was not good enough and that my body type was not the kind that guys found attractive. Pipher states that girls “sense the pressure to be someone they are not” (346). Every day I walked around acting in a play where I could not be myself. The more I put forth an act the more I felt that I did not fit in. Adolescent girls find themselves “vulnerable to the hurricane” (346) of judgement and predetermined expectations of women. After a while, Eric finally gave me the attention I longed for and we started to date. I had never been in a relationship before and I never knew how much tension it would cause between me and my
Girls try to copy the clothes the celebrities wear because it is what’s considered cool. They wear makeup because if they don’t have the perfect complexion, the sexy eyes or the right lip color, they are considered ugly. Society has taken away our say in what is beautiful and attractive. Society controls what to wear and how to look. The short story, “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” by James Tiptree, shows how society can dominate the lives of the individual.
When you are born people are there to take care of you, love you, and guide you through life. As you grow up and life changes, you must take charge of your own life and not become so dependent on others. Throughout the course of life a person will encounter many changes, whether good or bad. In 'A&P';, 'The Secret Lion';, and 'A Rose for Emily';, the main characters in the stories are Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily who face changes during their lives. All of these characters are in need of change. Because of their need for change, their lives will become much better. They are filled with wonder and awe about the world around them. No matter what type of person, everyone will encounter changes. It is part of the natural process. A person is encouraged to make these changes for the good. Sammy, the boys, and Miss Emily all encounter changes in their lives that fulfill their need to become something different.
In a world where many are led to believe that they fall short of what society depicts as “perfect”, it is still true that everyone is beautiful in their own way. There are even more demands on girls now a days than there has ever been before. Some may think they need to fit in, so they become someone they are not or they begin to act like a totally different person. “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy, illustrates society’s high and unrealistic expectations on the physical appearance of women, while failing to see that a woman’s self-esteem is at risk of being diminished.
LIEU, NHI T. "Beauty Queens Behaving Badly." Frontiers: A Journal Of Women Studies 34.1 (2013): 25-57. Literary Reference Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Everyone goes through a time where they wish they were a different person. Many people believe that they can never change who they are. However, transformations occur every day. Emily Bronte proves this true in her novel Wuthering Heights. Throughout the entire plot, numerous characters changed, either in their appearance, their social status, or their personality.
It is said that when we look in the mirror, we see our reflection; but what is it that we really see? Some people look through the glass and see a totally different person. All across the world identity is an issue that many women have. Woman today must be skinny, tall, thick, fair skinned and have long hair in order to be considered beautiful. Maya Angelou feels otherwise, as she gives women another way to look at themselves through her poem "Phenomenal Woman".
I would like to begin with the fact that women have always been known to dedicate their time to beauty. Those who are devoted to their appearance most often believe that beauty brings power, popularity, and success. Women believe this, because they grow up reading magazines that picture beautiful women in successful environments; not to mention they are popular models and world famous individuals. Beautiful women are no longer just a priority for most advertising, but we have become a walking target for the working class employers. It is documented that better-looking attorneys earn more than others after five years of practice, which was an effect that grew with experience (Biddle, 172). We cannot overlook the fact that it is always the most popular and most beautiful girl who becomes homecoming-queen or prom-queen. While these are possible positive effects of the "beauty myth," the negative results of female devotion to beauty undercut this value. These effects are that it costs a lot of money, it costs a lot of time, and in the long run, it costs a lot of pain.