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Chloe Lehman

Professor Granillo

English 103

20 November 2019

The Classist Factions of Chicago

“We make a first class mistake if we treat others as second class people” (Harmon

Okinyo). The movie ​Divergent ​offers insight into the struggle of power and the effects of a faulty

government. “Postcolonial criticism defines formerly colonized peoples as any population that

has been subjected to the political and economic domination of another population…” (Tyson

398). According to the Marxist concept of classism and Postcolonial Criticism, the struggle in

society and the division between the factions can closely be identified as oppression and the idea

“that equates one’s value as a human being with the social class to which one belongs” (Tyson

56). Postcolonial Criticism helps identify the power figures and the ones that dominate, whereas

classism helps demonstrate those lower on the totem pole working their way up in society

despite all the odds cast against them. Neil Burger’s film ​Divergent​ argues that the five factions

will ensure a peaceful society, however, Postcolonial Criticism sheds light on the underlying

power struggle and the fight for dominance. Furthermore, the Marxist concept of classism

demonstrates the struggle of the weak trying to regain control and work their way up in society.

The ideas presented depict classist ideals of dominance over the weak, when the weak should be

given the same opportunities as the strong.

The movie ​Divergent​ is the first of three movies that make up the ​Divergent Trilogy​, and

was produced by ​Lucy Fisher​, Pouya Shahbazian, and ​Douglas Wick​ along with ​Summit
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Entertainment​ and directed by Neil Burger. The target audience for the film is a younger group

as the movie series is a remake of the initial books written by Veronica Roth. Many younger

individuals read the books and waited in anticipation for the release of the movies. In addition,

the movies main goal is for entertainment, however the movie has underlying themes of classism

which is represented among the five factions. Even though the factions are intended to be viewed

as equals, some hold the power while others strive to dominate and take the power. This action

of takeover ultimately ensues dystopian chaos and unrest in the midst of the factions, opposed to

the peace that was promised to be upheld.

Peace is a strong word that was regularly referred to in the film because of the

experimental Utopian society that turned Dystopian. The city of “Chicago” is the setting of the

movie and served as an experiment to create the perfect society. However, there were special

individuals that fell out of the five faction spectrum because they held qualities of more than one

of the factions and could not be fit into a box. Those individuals were referred to as divergents

and were believed to be what was wrong with society. However, as proven by the entirety of the

film, ego and a surge for dominance is what ultimately brought destruction to the quaint

experimental city of Chicago.

Divergent ​is a futuristic film in which the setting is a Dystopian Chicago that has been

divided into five factions: dauntless, candor, erudite amity, and abnegation. Upon turning a

certain age, all young members of society must go through a series of simulations and choose a

faction that will forever be their home and identity. The factions all have different roles to play in

society, such as abnegation, the selfless faction, run the government, because their selflessness

allows then to show no bias or corruption. The main character of the movie, Tris, has her doubts
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about leaving her home faction of abnegation. However, she reluctantly becomes dauntless, and

her brother chooses to become erudite. Among the five factions, erudite is the smartest faction,

and believe they should run Chicago and the faction system due to the idea of brains over morals.

The overall struggle of the entire movie is the inequality among the factions. They were created

in order present equality and have every individual live with others that share the same

characteristics as the other, which was thought to bring about the perfect society. However,

erudite tried to take over and their leader Jeanine is the oppressor of the movie as she preys on

the weaker factions and exerts her rule over them. Dauntless are the strongest, most fearless, and

pose the biggest threat against the planned government takeover and ultimately play the biggest

role in unraveling aspects of Jeanine’s plan. Furthermore, the movie presents a societal power

struggle and sifts the weak from the strong.

Tris, the main character chose to become dauntless because that is where she believed she

could do the most good. Nevertheless, upon her simulation appointment to determine which

faction she was best suited for, she was told that she was a divergent, or that she would never fit

into just one faction. Divergents were hated by Jeanine because she thought that they were what

was wrong and why the faction system could never achieve peace. The irony in this situation is

astounding because Tris almost single handedly set the factions free from Jeanine’s grasp despite

being divergent. She also proved that a craving for power is the most dangerous threat to society

and that even though classism is prevalent in almost every society, everyone deserves an

opportunity to be treated as equals.

The ​Communist Manifesto​ was written by Karl Marx and clearly depicts his views on

society and how he thought the structure of society ought to look, “economic power therefore
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always includes social and political as well” (Tyson 51). According to Karl Marx,

socioeconomic class is the extremely important and basically the worth and importance of an

individual, and the class system is also used to divide individuals and used as a means to

categorize. The Bourgeoisie makes up the upper class which are the strong and dominant powers

in society, while the Proletariat makes up the lower class, “Society as a whole is more and more

splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other –

Bourgeoisie and Proletariat” (Communist Manifesto). Furthermore, the Proletariat is described as

diverse, meaning there are many individuals content where their placed from a social standpoint,

however many want to work their way up and make a name for themselves. The Proletariat

really are the working class because they have to work for everything they have earned, whereas

the Bourgeoisie has not. Many individuals within the Bourgeoisie were born into their social

standing or with a “golden spoon” in their mouth. They did not have to work for anything. The

main division between the classes can be identified as a matter of drive and who can attain and

retain the power.

In Lois Tyson’s “Critical Theory Today” the bourgeoisie is “the middle class in general,

with no distinction between owners and wage earners” (Tyson 52). Whereas the proletariat “are

economically privileged: they enjoy luxurious lifestyles, are least affected by economic

recessions, and have a great deal of financial security” (Tyson 53). The bourgeoisie in the film

would most likely be the factions known as amity and candor. Amity is the faction of kindness

and they choose to live separated from the hectic life in Chicago on the outskirts. Amity also

provides much of the produce consumed by all the factions. They are extremely kind and

generous with all of their resources, however they are easily trampled under the feet of the
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stronger factions. Next, Candor is the faction of honesty and believed that dishonesty is the key

fault in human nature which began evil and war. Even though they have key foundational beliefs,

they still fall lower on the totem pole due to the strength of the other factions. Abnegation held

the government position in Chicago because they possessed the most morals and had no biases,

erudite were the smart individuals and valued logic above all, and dauntless were the physical

threats feared by all. They key foundational problem with the factions was that they were all so

different, that they believed all the other factions were the reason their society could not achieve

peace. Along with differing views on society, classism poses threat to the tranquility of Chicago

because of the fight to be number one and rule all of the factions.

Classism is a Marxist concept that illustrates the differences among the weak and strong

within a society, and “inevitably promotes social, economic, and political discrimination against

the poor” (Tyson 56). In the movie ​Divergent,​ the “weaker” factions are, presumably amity and

candor as they pose no threat to Jeanine’s uprising. Abnegation was the faction that held most

government power due to lack of bias, so according to classism, they were “more intelligent,

more responsible, more trustworthy, more ethical, and so on” (Tyson 56). They held the position

of “power” which ultimately placed them within a higher social class. However, Jeanine and

erudite wanted that power and became the oppressors of the film which is further described by

Postcolonial Criticism.

“Classism is differential treatment based on social class or perceived social class.

Classism is the systematic oppression of subordinated class groups to advantage and strengthen

the dominant class groups. It’s the systematic assignment of characteristics of worth and ability

based on social class” (What is Classism). This definition serves as a great source as to what Karl
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Marx was trying to convey when he determined that there must be a power struggle in order to

have a society. Weak and strong are what make up a society generally, but according to Marx,

the weak should remain weak. The less fortunate ought to be given a chance to make a name for

themselves even if they have to fight against all the diversity of society. Generally, the upper

class or proletariat members are born into their power and don’t have to work for themselves,

whereas the lower class have to work for everything they had. Equality is important and should

be observed on every society as a means of demonstrating unity. Unity is particularly important

from a Postcolonial perspective because it poses a threat to dominating forces and does not allow

for takeover. In the movie ​Divergent​, if the remaining four factions had united against Jeanine’s

coup, the takeover may not have progressed as much as it did.

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian writer that published many works regarding Postcolonial
Criticism and the struggles the weak face as a result of dominant forces. In his book “A Man of
the People,” Achebe illustrates life and culture of postcolonial Nigeria from the first person
account of Odili. Many traditions are depicted and at the end of the novel, there is a military
coup that results in a takeover among a small village, much like the erudite takeover in
Dystopian Chicago. Chief Nanga is another main character in “A Man of the People” and is also
the mastermind behind the infamous coup because he wants to obtain as much power as possible.
In addition, he was willing to do whatever it took to guarantee his power no matter how
detrimental the consequences may have been. Chief Nanga’s motives parrallel Jeanine from
Divergent​, because she was willing to murder anyone that got in the way of her takeover.

Postcolonial criticism reflects values and ideals that resulted in colonization at the hands

of oppressors as well as “the resistance of colonized peoples against their oppressors…” (Tyson

399). Dauntless was the main faction to fight against erudite in the midst of the uprising. Candor

and amity fell under the radar and were quickly taken under the erudite regime. Dauntless and
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abnegation gave their best efforts in restoring government control to abnegation and ultimately

restoring the peace in society, however uprising has a major dampening effect on peace.

Furthermore, erudite was acting on their own accord based on the biases that knowledge and

brains trump selflessness and control when it came to who should control the factions.

Postcolonial Criticism helps to draw the line of discrimination between the oppressors and the

“colonizers” or those under control, which shows the inequilty in societies among those in

positions of power and those that are not.

In addition, the Postcolonial concept of cultural imperialism goes hand in hand with

classism as it, “consists of the “takeover” of one culture by another: the food, clothing, customs,

recreation, and values of the economically dominant culture…” (Tyson 409). In the movie

Divergent,​ Jeanine is trying to impose the faction of Erudite on everyone because she believes

they are the dominant faction and should be in charge of everyone. Serums and mind games play

a major role within the movie and serve as the main technology for the takeover. According to

Theresa Weynand Tobin​, cultural imperialism is “the imposition by one usually politically or

economically dominant ​community​ of various aspects of its own ​culture​ onto another,

nondominant community” (Britannica). The serums were used to control the people

intellectually, which in turn controlled everything they did physically. Once the serum was in the

system of the targeted individuals, specifically Dauntless because they were the strongest and

more soldier-like; Erudite had all the power over them and used them as puppets for their own

gain.

The intersection of Marxism and Postcolonial Criticism happens within the movie

Divergent a​ s classes were determined as well as dominating forces. The classes were identified
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through the factions. Each had their own set of strengths and weaknesses, and is the reason

behind the Utopian experiment that turned Dystopian. The variation of the factions was assumed

to create the perfect society, however, the factions were too different. They were so different that

they each believed the other factions were what was wrong with society as well as divergents.

Abnegation believed in peace and selflessness, erudite believed in logic, dauntless believed in

strength, amity believed in kindness, and candor believed in ultimate honesty. In a perfect

society, each of the factions would balance in perfect harmony, however, human nature takes

effect. Once human nature is applied, ego and the craving for power takes full effect. The

stronger factions showed Postcolonial ideals through the war for power. Abnegation was trying

to protect while erudite was trying to takeover, and dauntless was split down the middle as the

soldiers. Domination and classism go hand in hand, as displayed by the movie ​Divergent.​ Every

society has a division between the weak and the strong, and instead of focusing on peace and

equality, human nature influenced the need for power. Some of the factions were stripped of

their rights and not treated as equals when they should have been given an equal opportunity

even if it meant war. Oppression is never ideal and should never be an option because it

influences more than just the direct parties involved in the fight.

The Marxist concept of classism and Postcolonial Criticism, emphasize the struggle in

society and division between the factions can closely be identified to oppression and the idea that

values can only be placed among those with societal status. Postcolonial Criticism helps to

identify the power figures and the ones domination, whereas classism helps demonstrate those

lower on the totem pole working their way up in society despite all the odds cast against them.
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Inequality such as this should not exist, there should always be people that hold power positions

in order to keep peace. However, power should not be used as a means of oppression.
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Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. ​A Man of the People.​ 1966.

Fisher, Lucy, and Pouya Shahbazian. ​Divergent​. Summit Entertainment, LLC., 2014.

Marx, Karl. ​The Communist Manifesto.​ 1848.

Silverman, Jonathan, and Dean Rader. ​The World Is a Text: Writing, Reading, and Thinking

about Culture and Its Contexts​. Pearson Custom Pub., 2007.

Tobin, Theresa Weynand. “Cultural Imperialism.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica​, Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 29 June 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/cultural-imperialism.

Tyson, Lois. ​Critical Theory Today: a User-Friendly Guide​. Routledge, 2015.

“What Is Classism.” ​Class Action,​ classism.org/about-class/what-is-classism/.