Body Image and Science Fiction in The Keeper of Isis Light and Uglies
Example Assignment: Grade 10 Academic English (ENG 2D)
Both Monica Hughes in The Keeper of Isis Light (1980) and Scott Westerfeld in Uglies (2005) take very specific stances on the issue of body modification. In Hughes’ novel, Olwen is a sole survivor on a planet that will eventually be settled by pioneers from an overpopulated Earth. She lives on the planet Isis with a robot she affectionately calls Guardian. When the settlers finally come, Olwen must fulfill her role as the keeper of the ‘lighthouse’ and help them adapt to their new home. Olwen falls in love with one of the settlers, only to find out that Guardian has been making her wear a ‘human’ looking mask to cover her engineered body, which makes her look alien when compared to the settlers from Earth. When Olwen was younger, Guardian took it upon himself to surgically alter her physical form so she could live an easier life on the planet, including providing her with another set of eyelids to block the rays of the planet’s two suns, larger lungs which has altered her torso’s shape, and skin colour alterations to protect her from sun damage. The settler eventually sees her as she looks without her mask on, and cannot stand to look at her. Olwen eventually learns to love her altered body, and overcomes rejection by acknowledging that her altered body is right for her.
In Uglies, everyone at sixteen undergoes the process of becoming ‘pretty’ through surgical enhancements. The government in the novel believes that many of the problems before this social overhaul came from aesthetic differences (i.e. skin colour), so the process of becoming ‘pretty’ is mandatory. Tally has dreamt of becoming a pretty her whole life, until she meets a girl who plans on escaping the cities to avoid this process. When Tally runs away, she meets a band of dissidents who live ‘natural’ lives, and the book ultimately celebrates the human body in its ‘natural’ form. In this sense, Hughes and Westerfeld’s novels contain opposing arguments concerning body alteration. While Hughes’ novel promotes the idea that plastic surgery can be empowering for the individual, Westerfeld’s Uglies pushes against the idea of plastic surgery, and therefore against the idea of conforming to ideals of beauty.
Reading both texts comparatively problematizes both sides of the argument for or against body modification. In a contemporary era where plastic surgery is a growing trend, using texts which discuss body image are useful for students to think about these issues and how they feel about their own bodies. Both novels exaggerate current existing procedures, and thus provide clear examples which students can use to consider how they feel about ideals of beauty, and purposes for cosmetic and other kinds of body alterations.
This assignment will encourage students to use these texts to create an argument on the topic of body image and body modification through surgery. Students will be asked to either write a comparative essay or create a presentation to present their arguments using evidence from the text and outside examples to support their claims. By reading and using both texts to support their arguments or perspectives, students will be encouraged to avoid dismissing opposing claims, and will instead have to critically consider biases which exist in both texts.
Anticipated Time Requirement: This assignment is a summative assignment, and will occur at the end of the novel study. Because students are given the option of either an essay or a presentation, time will have to be provided accordingly to those who wish to present their arguments. Although a presentation will take advantage of oral communication skills, the same process will be followed for those who write essays through their need to collect evidence and argue in a coherent manner.
Expectations Addressed in this Lesson/Assignment:
Writing, Overall Expectations
| 1. Developing and Organizing Content: generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience; 2. Using Knowledge of Form and Style: draft and revise their writing, using a variety of literary, information, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience. |
Works Cited
Hughes, M. (1980). The Keeper of Isis Light. New York: Aladdin.
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2007). The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10: English.
Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english910currb.pdf
Westerfeld, S. (2005). Uglies. New York: Simon Pulse.
