Section+One+Requirements

Vocabulary Words:
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1. **Bubbleheads-** a dismissive term for pretties. Originally, only Specials used this word to show ther superiority to the pretty- minded. But after the mind- rain, everyone began to use it for citizens who chose //not// to reverse the mental effects of the operation.

Use in sentence: pg.7 p.5 "Even as a beautiful **bubblehead,** Tally had hated the trickle of nerves that visited whenever crowds pressed in around her, the heat of so many bodies, the weight of their eyes upon her."

2. **Cutters-** originally a pretty clique started by Shay when she tried to create a cure for the lesions by cutting her flesh and producing extreme pain. After the Crims' mass escape, the Cutters were recruited by Dr. Cable to become a new divsion of Special Circumstances.

Use in sentence: pg.4 p.2 "The five **Cutters** were undercover tonight; black irises hidden under dull-eyed contacts, cruel-pretty jaws softened by smart-plastic masks."

3. **Smokies-** a group of rebels and runaways started by Maddy and Az, two surgeons who uncovered the bubblehead effect.They lived in a rustic mountain camp, using a combination of traditional and high technologies. They recruited runaway Uglies from the cities, which ultimately led to their being tracked down and recaptured by Special Circumstances.

Use in sentence- pg.9 p.3 "Tally scanned the crowd, searching for anyone who seemed out of place: too confident, overmuscled, and suntanned from living in the wild. She knew what **Smokies** looked like."

4. **tedium**- the quality or state of being wearisome; irksomeness; tediousness

Use in sentence: pg.6 p.1 "The random **tedium** of the place she'd grown up in gave her a sticky feeling along the inside of her arms, which wasn't helped by the feel of the recyclable dorm uniform against her sensitive new skin".

5. **monofilament**- a single, generally large filament of synthetic fiber

Use in sentence: pg.1 p.3 "Over its frantic beat, Tally heard every twitch of her new **monofilament-**sheathed muscles".

6. **skintenna-** a small antenna that can connect medical implants and other gadgets around the body by producing wireless signals that travel along the skin

Use in sentence: pg.1 p.3 " Fausto was pumping dance music straight through her **skintenna**, but that was silent to the world outside."

7. **icy-** is what the Cutters say instead of Bubbly. Specials are much scarier than Pretties so Westerfeld wanted them to use a word that sounded cold and sharp instead of frothy and fun.

Use in sentence: pg.95 p.6 "But I need you absolutely **icy**."

8. **bulbous-** bulb-shaped; bulging

Use in sentence- pg.104 p.6 "Its **bulbous** body bristled with weaponry and sensors."

9. **amiable**- agreeable; willing to accept the wishes, decisions, or suggestions of another or others

Use in sentence- pg.104 p.7 "Tally was used to robots; cleaning and gardening drones were everywhere in New Pretty Town. But those looked like**amiable** toys,"

10. **hovercams-** are semi-autonomous cameras with hoverlifters. They were originally developed to gather news and covering sports, but in Aya's city, where everyone has their own feed, they became a common personal accessory

Use in sentence- pg.113 p.4 "More nervous-making than the crumbly were the three little **hovercams** that floated above his head."

Literary Analysis:
1. The action of the subject is the Cutters chasing the Smokies, on hoverboard, through the Trails and trying to chase them although they are having a lot of trouble trying to catch the Smokies who appear to be better equipped than before. The subject is the Cutters and the Smokies.

2. **Diction examples**: "utter blackness" pg.28 p.2 "fiendish in the flickering moonlight" pg.29 p.7 "the trees emitting soft greenhalos" pg.29 p.4 "The sound ebbed and flowed with the breeze" pg.31 p.2

"Their skidding descent echoed through the brush" pg.28 p.8 "the snow-patched ground turning a cold blue" pg.29 p.4 "Kneeling, she closed her eyes, placing one bare palm on the hard, frozen ground." pg.30 p.6
 * Detail Examples:** "zipping through the forest, knees bent, eyes wide open." pg.28 p.6

"the caress of the pine branches shooting along her body" pg.28 p.6 "a low thrum drifting" pg.29 p.2 "A shiver of pleasure" pg.29 p.3 "the late winter cold leeched up through her grippy shoes." pg.30 p.2 " a soft sound pattering all around her" pg.30 p.3
 * Imagery Examples: "A shiver played across the treetops" pg.28 p.3

Comparison Examples:** "the Smokies' two hoverboards streaking like a gust of wind through the forest... " pg.28 p.3 "like the growl of some hibernating beast." pg.29 p.2 "like the buzz of her own nervous system or the sizzle of fluorescent lights." pg.31 p. 1 "as strange and unexpected as the whorls and ridges of human skin under a microscope." pg.31 p.1 "like the notes that sang out from the high tension lines stretching from the city's solar arrays." pg.31 p.2 "no louder than a hummingbird at a hundred meters." pg.31 p.3

3. E ach image, comparison or detail reveals Scott Westerfeld's frantic attitude toward the high-speed chase of the Cutters trying to catch the Smokies on hoverboards.

4. Scott Westerfeld uses language to create a hectic tone in this passage from __Specials__. Pages 28-32 of __Specials__ introduces the hectic, frantic, and frenzied tone that accompanies the Cutters' thrilling hunt for the Smokies on hoverboards through a dark forest. The author introduces the setting and tone of the chase by using the literary elements of diction, details, imagery, and comparison. These help to introduce setting and tone. Throughout the passage, Westerfeld uses a specific word choice or diction to specifically give the reader a clearer sense of the scene that other words which may have not conveyed the message as well or given the reader that specific frame of mind.

The author introduces the dark forest setting and determined tone of the chase by using the literary elements of diction, details, imagery, and comparison. Using a specific word choice, descriptive details, words or phrases that provoke the senses, and similes and metaphors allows the reader to picture the scene in their head and to get a clearer picture of the scene than ordinary sentences without the mentioned literary elements setting the tone that helps the reader to see Tally and the other Cutters' desperation to capturing the Smokies which would stop them from producing the pills with the nanos that gave the Pretties their lesions.Scott Westerfeld used diction, which is word choice, to allow the reader to take in the Cutters' high speed pursuit of the Smokies and their set determination. When Tally is chasing the Smokies along with the Cutters, she is able to glimpse of how her new Special looks differ from the imperfect looks of the Smokies while hastily chasing them at night in the forest and recalls the sight. "The other three Cutters had caught up with her, arrayed a hundred meters apart," She continues to recall, "cruel-pretty faces fiendish in the flickering moonlight." (Westerfeld, 29). With this statement, Tally acknowledges the determination and intelligent plan of the Cutters' to catch the person they wanted most, David, and how their cruel-pretty faces showed their determination and willingness to go fast enough on their hoverboards at nighttime in the forest to catch the Smokies. The author also used detail to set the serious, determined tone and the dark forest setting.

Scott Westerfeld used detail to allow the reader to get a clearer image of certain elements in the chasing scene such as the environement and the ways in which the Cutters showed their determination to catch the Smokies. When Tally has departed from her hoverboard to use her Special senses to figure out where the Smokies are after they disappeared, She was "Kneeling, she closed her eyes, placing one bare palm on the hard, frozen ground." She continues, "Her Special hands had chips that caught the slightest vibration, and Tally let her whole body listen for stray sounds." (Westerfeld, 31). With this statement, Tally is trying to search through the dark emptiness to find the Smokies who used sneak-suits to hide from the Cutters such as Tally who was using her Special senses to detect the Smokies. Scott Westerfeld also used imagery to convey this tone and this setting of the passage.

The author used imagery in this passage to provoke the reader's senses and through "turning on" the reader's five senses, the reader is able to understand the scene, the setting, and the tone beyond just reading the words. It is like the reader is able to touch, taste, smell, see, or hear through certain words. While Tally and the other Cutters are soaring through the forest on their hoverboards, determined to capture the Smokies who were trying to escape, Tally recalls what she felt when she on her hoverboard was descending through the dark forest in hot pursuit of the Smokies, determined to seek revenge on them for giving Zane tle pills that contained the nanos that cripple dhim. "Tally covered her face with both hands as she dropeed, a spray of needles traveling from her feet to head, the carress of pine branches shooting along her body." (Westerfeld, 28). With this statement, the reader uses the sensory details to "feel" like they are swiftly shooting through pine needles due to the word carress in the sentence, just like Tally is in the passage. Words such as that provoke the senses and give the reader a whole new experience of reading. Another literary element that Westerfeld used to set the setting, scene, and tone of the passage was comparison.

The author used the literary element of comparison, such as similes and metaphors to convey the messages of the scene further which also helps the reader to understand the passage better. In many instances similes and metaphors help the reader to understand the purpose of that sentence by comparing it to something that the reader may be more familiar with. When Tally is using her Special senses to try to reveal the location of the Cutters who were invisible due to their sneak suits, Tally uses her Special ears to try to hear where the Smokies are to find them and capture them. "It was one of those ghostly presences she could hear now, like the buzz of her own nervous system," She continues, "or the sizzle of fluorescent lights." (Westerfeld, 31). These similes allow the reader to compare the buzz in Tally's ears to things that the reader may know more commonly such as fluorescent lights. This helps the reader to better imagine what the that the prescense of the Smokies was like instead of just reading about the buzz. These four literary elements enhance Scott Weterfeld's passage in __Specials.__ They also help to show the author's tone in the passage and to give the reader a better understanding of the action and subject in the passage.

The big picture of the passage is the chase involving the Cutters and the Smokies. The passage helps to lead into the discussion that Tally has with Shay which leads to them talking to Zane which disappoints Tally because she is so upset that Zane is still a pretty Bubblehead and was not willing to become a Special and join the Cutters. The passage shows how hypocritical people can be. In the first book of the series, Tally and Shay were both in love with David for saving them from becoming and Pretties and showing them another way of life. In the passage though, Tally and Shay desired to be able to capture David because they were Specials now and were brainwashed by Dr. Cable to make a once friend into a huge enemy. It makes me sad to think how easily one's opinion can change because of one alteration to someone's physical appearance.

**Literary Letter:**
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Dear Mrs. Morgan, I have quite enjoyed rereading the book __Specials__ by Scott Westerfeld. One of the reasons that I really enjoyed this book was the discovery of how the author got the idea of writing the Uglies trilogy. I never would have imagined in a thousand years that he got the idea for the complex Utopia that Tally lives in from an email from a friend who went to the dentist. Incredulous of this thought, I realized that authors can get ideas from anything. From personal experience, I read a book and I come up with many new novel ideas for NaNoWriMo but then the hard part is narrowing down those ideas. The story of Mr, Westerfeld's decision to write the Uglies Trilogy was, as mentioned before, an email from a friend who moved from New York to Los Angeles and went to the dentist. Due to the sorry state of his teeth, the dentist asked him if he had a five-year plan for how he wanted his teeth to look. He of course thought it ridiculous after inspecting the bright teeth of other who most likely had a five-year plan. Mr. Westerfeld received the email and thought about five- year plans for people's entire bodies and cosmetic surgery being common. He then studied the science of beauty and futuristic technology. I could not believe this. An email about a dentist appointment created the wonderful Uglies trilogy. When I first read that information in __Bogus to Bubbly,__ I laughed. I have heard about authors who got inspiration from the oddest most ordinary things and I know that The Beatles got some of the ideas from their greatest hits because of something they heard about in the newspaper. This discovery allows me to understand where he got some of the ides for the books from and allows me to make the connection. Unfortunately, this has led me to inspecting common objects to try to come up with a great novel idea but this has just led to frustration and more crumpled up papers in my recycling bin.

Another aspect of rereading Specials that I enjoy is that I am now able to see things clearer about the story. After __Pretties__ I felt befuddled but after I read and reread __Specials__, the story makes a lot more sense. Because of the fact that I am rereading this, I am able to understand the characters more. I love Tally's new attitude about keeping order as a Cutter much more than when she was a lowly Ugly, trying to escape and much more than when she was a mindless, Bubblehead, Pretty. I think Zane is a huge coward for not trying to think his way out of being a Pretty like Tally did and I believe that he is not going to carry on trying to become a Special, even for Tally's sake. What I wonder is how can people be brainwashed so easily? Throughout the whole trilogy, Tally is being brainwashed and believes everything from idolizing Pretties', being Bubbly, or using ruthless methods to keep order. Can it actually be that easy to control a whole population, even if it is for their own sake? It occurred with Mao Ze Dong and with Adolf Hitler but in the future, when more technology is supposed to be produce to keep peace, should people not be able to think for themselves?

Sincerely (and eager to read more), Avilasha S.

1. **The Quest** is often shown in the book because from the first page of the book, Tally and the other Cutters are hunting for the Smokies, especially David, who were making and handing out the pills with the nanos to Pretties.

2. Throughout the first book, Tally is always recalling her **Special Powers/ Abilities** that have been given to her after the surgery and the new ways that her senses have helped her, such as her improved hearing and strength that were so different from her times as a Pretty Bubblehead.

3. Throughout the first book, there are **Magical Transformations** because whenever Tally cuts herself or when she was dunked into the river, she magically transforms into someone who sees things with sudden, intense clarity.

4. The **Faithful Friend** is often shown through the book because Tally and Shay are often rescuing each other, such as when Tally saves Shay from being captured by Smokies, and are always willing to help each other out through thinck and thin.

5. **The Love Triangle** is shown in the book because although Tally and Shay no longer are in love with David, Tally still references how Shay still held a grudge over her for stealing David from her when they were in the Smoke. Although they joked about it, Tally still does not like to adress that subject for she is afraid it would disrupt their friendship.

6. The theme of **Betrayal** is shown through the book because when Tally met Zane after becoming a Cutter, she felt betrayed that Zane wanted to stay a Pretty Bubblehead insstead of becoming a Special Cutter like she and Shay were.

7. The **Food** throughout the book is the same type of food which is made of soy based products to replace meat and is usually Asian such as PadThai and CurryNoods. It shows how people in the future have so much Asian influence and how they have evolved from eating real meat.

8. The theme of **Separation** has just been shown in the book. Shay is extremely angry when Tally separates herself from Shay and the rest of the Cutters in the wilderness to accompany Zane and the other Crims. Shay is very angry that Tally would rather be with Pretties than herself and other Cutters who Shay believes Tally is a part of and she should be with.