53 pages • 1 hour read
Scott WesterfeldPretties
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Interface Rings and Interface Cuffs
Characters wear interface rings to make phone calls, send messages, request items, play music, and do all manner of other tasks. Like a smartphone, these rings can also be used to track the wearer. In the early parts of the novel, these rings represent connectivity and accessibility. When wearing the ring, a person can have their needs met and socialize with those they care about. However, the rings gradually take on a more sinister meaning, as those in charge of society can use them to listen in on conversations and follow a person’s movements. The surveillance nature of the rings shows the power of those in charge of society—particularly the Specials.
The introduction of interface cuffs, which are physically fixed to Zane and Tally and cannot be removed, further reinforces the power of those in control. These cuffs make it possible to monitor all movements and words. Unyielding and omnipresent, the cuffs come to represent the totalitarian society they live in. Tally and Zane only become free of them as they prepare to also forgo society. They leave their cuffs, and the accompanying Crims leave their rings behind when they cast off societal expectations and join the New Smoke rebellion.
Bubbly
Bubbly is the term characters use to describe the clearheadedness that comes with adrenaline, pain, starvation, or the cure to brain lesions. This contrasts with being pretty-minded, which is what the characters call the brain fog that contentment and luxury cause. Being bubbly means having freedom and free will. Characters who are bubbly hold on to memories and have revelations. The novel presents the advantages and disadvantages of this state by exploring character inspirations and desires. Tally and Zane, for example, risk becoming brain dead in search of clarity of thought. Meanwhile, Peris is content with being pretty-minded as it means fewer conflicts and consequences.
Tally highlights that being bubbly is a matter of consent. She and the rest of society did not consent to having their brains changed when undergoing the pretty surgery and therefore, she argues, should not be subjected to such a lack of clarity. Bubbly thus comes to represent consent in addition to individuality. This makes Tally’s self-cure, which she accomplishes without the aid of pills, even more important. Tally forced herself to become bubbly, doubly cementing her need for free will. She chose to become bubbly and wants to continue making the choices that are eventually taken from her as she is forced to undergo Special surgery.
Princess in the Tower
On three occasions, Tally dreams that she is a princess trapped in a tower. The dreams reflect the events of the novel but also reveal important details about Tally’s state of mind by building on the idea of a damsel in distress—a trope that Tally actively rejects. In the first dream, an ugly prince rescues Tally from a tower guarded by a dragon whose coloring resembles a Special Circumstances agent. This dream comes as a response to Croy’s visit and shows that Tally’s memories are latent: She dreams of David rescuing her but cannot yet articulate that he is the subject of her thoughts. In the second dream, Tally is once again locked in the tower, but this time she is simply bored and wishes to leap into the forest beneath her. She throws away items the tower gives her to help but lands injured, just as she does in the forest following her jump from the hot air balloon. Finally,, Tally dreams while she undergoes the Special surgery. The dream reflects her conflicted feelings about David and Zane, her betrayal of Shay, and ultimately the worst possible consequences of her actions. In each of the dreams, Tally’s anxieties manifest without her actively thinking about them: She worries about why David was not the one to rescue her, whether her body can survive the wilds, and whether she made a mistake and hurt all her friends in the process.
It is important that Westerfeld uses the fairy tale trope to serve this purpose. In traditional storytelling, princesses must be rescued, usually by their male counterparts. Tally typically avoids the role of damsel in distress, instead showing agency by developing plans and making her own choices. The princess in the tower trope highlights how few choices she has at the end of the novel, representing the fact that there are many things at work beyond Tally’s control.
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By Scott Westerfeld
