Summary
Because of the camera crews in the palace, part of the attack is aired live to Illéa. This angers the King, which in turn makes America wonder if the attacks are more frequent than the public is led to believe. America spends the next two days in the company of her maids, who gossip with her and tell her all about the inner workings of the palace as they play cards. On the second day, Maxon comes to retrieve her. Maxon suggests they establish a sign they could use in order to subtly express to the other that they want to speak in private. They decide upon tugging on their ears.
That Friday is the first Report since the start of the Selection. For the occasion, Mary, Anne, and Lucy dress America with care. Marlee tells America that she had been meaning to speak to her, and asks to connect the next day. Before the start of the report, Maxon catches America’s eye and tugs on his ear. She reciprocates the motion in order to indicate she received the message. During the report, King Clarkson speaks of the “unsuccessful attack on the palace,” but America thinks that it wasn't that unsuccessful, after all, as it has succeeded in creating a massive amount of fear. Through the announcements, America notes that any bad news is automatically attributed to the work of the rebels. America wonders about the truth in these claims: “I didn’t think they could be blamed for everything that was wrong with Illéa” (178). The news shifts to discuss the Selection. Gavril walks onto the stage and tells the cameras that the next week will be “dedicated to getting to know these amazing young women” (178). This immediately concerns America, who worries about being asked to do anything more than “sit here and look nice,” as she “didn’t want to look like a moron in front of the entire country” (178).
America waits for Maxon to visit in her room. As she waits, she thinks about Aspen and misses him more than ever. Maxon comes to collect her and they walk out to the garden. In the garden, Maxon tells America how stressful his life is and expresses fear about not finding anyone willing to put up with those stresses. America assures him that he will find his soul mate through the Selection. Maxon asks America about her lost love, as they had established earlier that one of the reasons she remains in the competition is to avoid returning home and facing Aspen. Although she is reluctant to tell the story, Maxon presses her about it, wanting to know about love that could exist outside of the strict structures of their society.
America tells Maxon that early in her life, the Singer family had acted as patrons of sorts to Aspen’s family. When her older brother Kota sold a metal sculpture for an immense amount of money, he hoarded his wealth instead of sharing that money with his family in an attempt to buy his way out of his caste. With the loss of America's older sister’s income upon the occasion of her marriage, the Singer family struggled financially. Before America learned to begrudge Kota his actions, she helped him move into his own apartment. That is when she and Aspen connected for the first time. She tells Maxon that they fell in love, but that their relationship was forbidden due to Aspen’s caste. She cries as she tells him about their love and the way that Aspen eventually broke her heart. Maxon hugs America, and afterward, he promises her that he will keep her until the final three, “or the moment you’re ready. Whichever comes first” (195).
The next day, Marlee corners America in the Women’s Room. She tells America about her date with Maxon, which went very well. America is genuinely enthused for her friend and makes sure to talk up Maxon’s good qualities to Marlee. She admits to enjoying the way Maxon looks for beauty in the things in his life, as well as the manner in which he remains entirely involved when he is on a date with her. America notes that many of the girls in the room seem to be in bad moods, and Marlee tells her those are the ones who haven't yet been on a date with the prince. America feels annoyed that Maxon didn't tell her the details of his other dates with the Selected girls.
On Monday, the Selected girls are quizzed about the history of Illéa and the United States. During the Third World War, China invaded the United States because “the Americans owed them a lot of money and couldn’t pay them back” (209). When China invaded, they took advantage of American labor and rebranded the country The American State of China. The invasion of America caused many other countries to create alliances with each other, including those in Europe. The American State of China was then invaded by Russia, but the unsuccessful nature of the occupation, as well as warfare between Russia and China over the land, gave the country an opportunity to fight back. It was Gregory Illéa who headed the assault against Russia and formed the new country that was named after him.
One of the Selected girls, Tuesday, questions why the history of the country is not written down in a book so that it might be studied by its subjects. Silvia responds that “history isn’t something you study. It’s something you should just know” (210). This mirrors America’s experience with the subject, which consists solely of the repetition of oral histories by their mother. America remembers a moment in which she found an old U.S. history book in her dad’s office, and he had let her read it but warned her against telling anyone that she did.
The Selected take press photos with Maxon next. America knows that it is a test to see which of the girls looks appropriately regal next to Maxon. They are all dressed in similar dresses for the photoshoot, which highlights an emphasis on the appearance of each of the contestants. America is annoyed that Maxon will be portrayed as someone solely interested in their beauty. When Celeste walks up to Maxon, she tells him something that makes him laugh out loud. This also bothers America, especially as Celeste poses for the photo professionally, aware of the lighting and her most advantageous angles. In the middle of America and Maxon's shoot, an official approaches to tell Maxon about rebel activity in the country. As America leaves, Maxon requests she stay quiet about what she has learned, and America is confused about how incongruous this is with the King’s usual tendency to be quick about pointing out the rebel's sedition.
That night, another girl, Janelle, is dismissed. Before she leaves, she warns a friend to watch what she says but gives no more details about her dismissal, as she has been warned to keep the details to herself. America receives a letter from her sister which tells her that the women who have been cast away from the competition were already getting engaged to local authorities and celebrities.
America sends a letter to Maxon requesting his presence, and he comes soon after receiving it. He was worried that something was wrong and seems confused that America simply wants to spend time with him. Maxon tells her about the budget meeting he has just left, and his frustration that the advisors are not taking his suggestion they invest more in education. He thinks that spending more on education will help with crime. America counters this opinion and tells him crime has more to do with poverty than a lack of education. She asks him to imagine what it would feel like to be in love with someone and have them go to bed hungry night after night. This bothers Maxon, and he demands that she stop speaking, but after a moment of contemplation, asks her if it is really like that out in the world. He asks if she had ever been starving herself. He is distraught to learn more about America’s financial situation, even after she attempts to lighten the blow by telling him how much he had already helped her family. He goes back to his meeting feeling determined.
Analysis
Maxon and America quickly develop a friendship in her first week at the castle. The prince is taken by America’s honesty and bravery, and in their first one-on-one encounter, he calls her his best friend. As their relationship grows, so does America’s fondness for Maxon. She begins to look forward to the times that they will be together. The relationship also has implications for America’s proximity to information, as Maxon tells her secrets about the government of Illéa. Another aspect of their relationship is that of America coaching Maxon through the courting of the other women in the competition. Although he is a supremely poised and elegant person, he is ignorant of the nuances of interpersonal connection and seems to be particularly confused as to how to navigate interacting with girls his own age.
As America learns more about life in the castle, she begins to understand the rebels as they exist in reality, as well as how they are used as a political tool by the royal family. She realizes that the King tends to blame any event that might cast a bad light on the government on the actions of rebel groups. She also learns that the royal family seems to be much more ignorant about these groups than they let on. The Illéa Capital Report is shown to be less of a means of distributing information and more of a propagandistic tool utilized by those in power in order to maintain their hold upon it. As established earlier by America when discussing the strict rules placed upon subjects, she understands Illéa’s youth and supposed vulnerability to attack to mean that the preservation of peace implicates the maintenance of power within the country’s borders.
The notion of a soul mate, as it emerges in Maxon and America’s conversation in the garden, illuminates Maxon’s desire to find a partner that will support him through the trials of ruling the country. His honest fear about not finding one works to humanize the prince and offers a window into his experience. The question of a soul mate also calls back the earlier conversation about love that America had with her father. In a world that does not particularly make space for things such as love, the characters, including the Prince, yearn for the ability to feel it. By opening up to Maxon about her history with Aspen, America further endears herself to the prince. In the face of America’s distress, he promises her that he will keep her in the competition for as long as possible in order to protect her from having to feel the pain of facing Aspen.
Self-confidence emerges as a theme in Chapter 16. As Marlee speaks to America about her date with Maxon, America considers all the ways in which she is unfit to be a princess. She thinks she might be the only one who sees her flaws: she is “unrefined,” unorganized, unable to be bossy, “selfish,” and she has “a horrible temper” (200). Worst of all, she isn't brave, and she knows that whoever is elevated into the position of princess will have to be particularly brave. America, determined not to win the Selection, lets her low self-regard come in the way of considering that she might be fit for the role, even as others around her tell her that she is well-suited for it.
The history lesson offers more context for the political dynamics of Illéa. Not only does it explain the emphasis on protecting against foreign invasion, as the colonizing powers of Russia and China had originally conquered the United States and therefore propelled the country into years of war and manipulation by foreign actors, but it also provides an interesting contradiction within Illéan society. While the government portrays the rebel groups as dangerous to Illéan power—to the extent that their danger and destructiveness is a fact America often takes for granted—it was the leader of a rebel army, Gregory Illéa, who originally fought out the colonizing powers and regained the country its independence. This section also situates the dystopian novel within the context of the 21st century. Although the actions discussed are presumed to have happened after the current moment, they call upon other hegemons in the current world order. Fear of the power of both China and Russia are common to discussions about the United States’ current position within international politics. The Selection reads as a warning about the potential ramifications of allowing that power to grow unchecked.
Furthermore, history itself is presented as a political tool, and the fact that there are no widespread educational resources about the history of the nation seems to be a purposeful tactic intended to keep the masses ignorant. America begins to question why the King would keep his subjects in the dark about their collective history.
At the end of this section, Maxon begins to become more aware of the realities of life in Illéa outside of the palace walls. Although he is resistant to the conversation at first and maintains his position that stealing is wrong and education might be a tool to teach people how wrong it is, America changes his mind by calling upon both his empathy and his care for her. As with the discussion of Illéa’s history, we see Maxon consider education as a tool that the government might be able to use in order to control the actions of its subjects. Although this impulse isn't as actively dangerous as that of purposefully keeping the country’s history from its subjects, it still demonstrates how the government cares more about stopping activity it views as wrong rather than in addressing some of the more pressing concerns facing its subjects.
When America opens Maxon’s eyes to some of the darker realities of the caste system, he is genuinely surprised to learn that life gets so hard outside of the palace. Although it is a hopeful thing that Maxon becomes more aware of the realities of Illéa, his lack of power within the larger structure is continually emphasized, and his ignorance about the suffering of his subjects paints a picture of a world that will be incredibly difficult to reform. Furthermore, the fact of America’s continued presence in the palace is depicted as a fluke—she would have never arrived if not for the Selection, and she is already the person of the lowest caste remaining, even though a minority of the participants have been sent home. It is a rarity that a person like America would find herself in a situation where she can truly have an effect on someone as powerful as Maxon.
