Summary
In the week following her Selection, America’s home is visited by numerous royal officials, who verify the information on her form and add protective measures against rebel troops to her home. A week before her departure an official arrives to tell America the new rules she will have to abide by. He tells her that she is “now considered property of Illéa” (59). He prescribes her vitamins and a sleeping aide before verifying that she is a virgin. The list of rules that America will have to abide by at the palace is long, and includes rules such as being forbidden to leave the palace on her own; she will have to wait to be dismissed by the prince, and Prince Maxon will have to be the only romantic relationship in her life. The official tells the family that for every week that America is in the palace, her family will receive compensation. If America makes it to the top ten finalists, her family will then be propelled into Elite status. From that moment on out, her status is that of a Three.
Aspen visits. He tells America that he had been waiting to propose to her until the draft comes out. They fight about their break up. Aspen maintains that he did the right thing in ending things between them. Before he leaves, America utilizes her new class in order to force Aspen into accepting payment for helping her pack her bags. She also returns every penny he has given her, save one.
America leaves for the Selection the next day. A crowd forms to see her off, and seeing the reaction of those in lower castes to her presence, America resolves that she will do the competition well: “I would be the best of us, the Highest of the Lows” (72). She scans the crowd and sees Aspen holding the waist of another girl. This infuriates America, who in turn doubts the entirety of their relationship together. Soon, she says her goodbyes and departs for the palace.
America arrives at the airport, nervous about meeting other Selected girls. She imagines she is the only one as sad as she is. She steels herself and resolves to leave Aspen behind for good. Soon, America meets two of the contestants: Marlee, a Four, and Ashley, a Three. America thinks she might have a friend in Marlee. They are interrupted by Celeste, a Two, who has sunglasses on and is working to intimidate the others. It does not work on America. When they land, a crowd and cameras are assembled on the tarmac to greet their arrival. America puts on a brave face and waves to the onlookers. When she sees a little girl with red hair like hers holding up a sign for her, she approaches the girl and offers an autograph. She continues down the line of onlookers in a similar manner, which causes the other three girls to have to wait for her. Although Celeste is annoyed at the display, America is proud of how quickly she has adjusted to her new life.
On the way to the palace, there are more excited onlookers with signs. It becomes clear that Marlee is by far a crowd favorite and Celeste suggests Marlee has somehow bribed people into being her fan. They arrive at the palace, and two aides quickly whisk America away. A stylist sits America down in a chair and tells her they need to discuss her image, and rolls with America’s protest to this idea, telling her “your aversion to all things fake might just be your greatest asset here” (89). A swarm of stylists comes to clean and dress America. She makes friends with another Selected girl, Sosie.
America is directed to a chair in front of a camera for the “makeover special.” An official with a clipboard tells her it is so viewers might learn more about her: “we want them to really pull for you. And that won’t happen unless they can get to know you” (93). After the interview, they are given a tour of the palace and learn specifically which areas are off-limits to the competitors. They are told that they are not to go outside the palace as a safety precaution, as rebels have infiltrated the grounds before. They are all assigned three maids to be their personal servants.
That night, the women all gather to watch the Report. In it, they are introduced to the country as well as to Maxon for the first time. During the report, America decides that she will be rooting for Marlee to win. America’s effort to speak with the fans at the airport is noted (“Miss America Singer is not afraid to get her hands dirty, a quality that many believe our next princess needs” [102]), and it marks her as a threat to the other competitors. She can tell the other women in the room want her gone.
America cowers under the hostility she feels from her competitors at dinner. After dinner, they are sent to bed. On their way up, Marlee pulls America aside in order to offer her some encouragement and tells her the girls are looking at her “like you’re a bug so maybe you’ll feel like you are one” (105). She advises America not to give in to the intimidation.
That night, America cries so hard she panics, and she runs in an effort to get outside and feel the fresh air. Guards inhibit her from exiting the castle, and one catches her as she collapses in her panic. They are interrupted by the prince, who insists they let her outside. Prince Maxon follows America into the garden. He asks her if she is alright, and America responds aggressively to his question, which confuses him. America asks him if he has ever been in love. He responds that he has not. He asks her if she has been, and she tells him she has. The prince seems jealous of her experience. He assures America that what seems like a cheap competition to her is his only chance at happiness. He agrees with her assessment that the palace is a cage. America tells him that she is in the competition by mistake and that she will not be fighting for the crown like the others: “My plan is to enjoy the food until you kick me out” (116). Maxon laughs, which seems to America to be a “bizarre mix of rigidity and calm” (116). Maxon encourages America to compete and asks her to keep their interaction to herself, as it would upset the other Selected. Then he leaves and allows her some privacy.
Analysis
The official that comes to America’s residence to verify her health and virginity further emphasizes the dystopian nature of Illéa. The country feels entitled to the bodies of its residents. Beyond the strict caste system, girls like America are forced to maintain a certain virginal status of their own. This might be shocking to a reader situated within a democratic context. America fights with these regulations in her own head, comparing them to “invisible chains keeping me down” (60). America knows that the Illéan law enforcing chastity is in place in order to “keep diseases at bay,” and “help keep the castes intact” (64). Illegitimate children are automatically made Eights, and their parents are jailed. At the end of the official’s visit, America is revolted to hear the man tell her that it would be unwise to deny the prince anything he asks of her, even if he asks for physical intimacy. The double standard of the situation disgusts her. This makes America feel “dirty, lower than an Eight” (65). This conversation brings to light the nuances of building connections across social divides and the dangerous way in which power distorts that connection.
The draft, which calls upon every Illéan male between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three to be chosen at random for war, contrasts with the process of the Selection. Aspen and America’s futures threaten to diverge completely at the despotical will of their country. Both those girls Selected and boys drafted are powerless to argue against the demands of their state, and both prematurely lose their innocence and their freedom. The tragedy of Aspen and America’s love is furthered by the demands that the state places upon them. The only upside to the situation is the fact that if Aspen were chosen for the draft, he would automatically ascend to level Two, even though he would be at the government’s beck and call for the rest of his life. In Illéa, status can be obtained for a lucky few who in turn sacrifice their freedom to the state.
America’s interactions with the other Selected girls immediately puts her at odds with them, particularly Celeste. She tells her herself that this is because she is not considering the competition to be much of one at all, as she has no desire to win. Where the other girls readily accept their new high-society status, America speaks with those in the crowd that are excited to see her and resists the idea that she might have to change herself for a man she has never met before. Later, when America is prompted to speak poorly of the other competitors in the interview, America does not take the bait.
When America meets Sosie, it is the first time that she acknowledges the girl’s identity without immediately recalling her caste. This indicates that America is starting to lose some of the stratified manner in which she understands her world and her fellow competitors. For better or for worse, America is now equal among them. The fact that she is a Five might work against her in the competition, to the extent that other girls are more readily attuned to the customs of higher classes, but there are hints that this might offer her an edge in its own way.
For every competitor, there seem to be numerous staff members at the palace. Very few offer America their names as they whisk her around and orient her to her new life. They act as producers and crew might in a reality TV show. Their namelessness accentuates their roles in the competition—although this is the product of the work of many, it is only the royal family and the Selected who will be filmed. America differentiates between different individuals by noting their physical appearances and the ways in which they speak. When she meets her personal maids, America notes their names but struggles to remember who was who at the beginning. But by the time dinner has come and gone, she recognizes them for their independent roles and personalities.
For as much as The Selection is about politics, it is also about the nuances of romantic love. America learns about the interactions that occur between women when they perceive that they are in competition for a man’s desire. America, who has been homeschooled and knows few girls outside of her family, is immediately overwhelmed by the hostility. Her friendship with Marlee is a breath of fresh air, as Marlee takes her under her wing and helps her understand the dynamics of these interactions. She assures America that every conversation is deemed by the others to be an opportunity to make America feel bad about herself and therefore push her out of the competition. Their friendship undermines this perception that the Selected girls have to be at odds with each other, and their alliance threatens to make them both stronger in the long run.
America and Prince Maxon’s chance encounter gives America the opportunity to be honest with the prince about her intention in the competition—which is not to compete at all. She is surprised at how genuine the prince is, and this helps drain some of the hostile preconceptions she has been holding about him. When Maxon learns America’s name, he thinks that it is appropriate for the girl he met. He is not scared away by her bluntness or hostility; in fact, he seems to be amused by his interaction with her. He tells her he hopes she found something worth fighting for: “After all this, I can only imagine what it would be like to see you actually try” (116). This section builds out Maxon’s character beyond America’s preconceptions of him as the prince. He is shown to be a figure independent of both the royal family and the Selection itself, with his own motives and intentions.
