Marxist Themes and Class Conflict in Divergent
This paper examines the dystopian film Divergent through a Marxist theoretical lens, identifying themes of class conflict, power imbalance, and social stratification embedded in the story's faction system. The analysis draws connections between Karl Marx's theories of capital accumulation and labor revolt and the power struggles depicted between Divergent's governing factions. The paper then extends this analysis to contemporary American society, comparing the film's exaggerated class divisions to real-world economic inequality, Bernie Sanders's democratic socialist platform, and the parallels between the Erudite faction's surveillance and military power and modern U.S. government institutions.
- Marxist Theory and the Faction System: Marx's class theory applied to Divergent's factions
- Class Conflict and Social Mobility in Divergent: Rigid faction membership as class stratification
- Contemporary Parallels: Economic Inequality in the U.S.: Sanders, democratic socialism, and the top 1%
- Surveillance, Military Power, and the Erudite Faction: NSA surveillance and U.S. military as Erudite parallels
- Conclusion: Dystopia as commentary on contemporary society
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds the film analysis in a clearly articulated theoretical framework — Marxist dialectical class theory — before applying it to the text, giving the reading a principled analytical foundation.
- Successfully bridges fictional analysis and real-world commentary, connecting the faction system to U.S. economic inequality, political figures, and government surveillance programs in a way that feels organic rather than forced.
- Uses direct quotations from both primary and secondary sources to support claims, including an in-universe line of dialogue as evidence of social stratification themes.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates ideological criticism — applying a pre-established theoretical lens (Marxism) to a cultural text (Divergent) to reveal how the text encodes, critiques, or reflects real social conditions. This technique shows how popular fiction can function as social commentary.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an exposition of Marxist theory, then applies it to the film's faction system and themes of class conflict. The second half pivots to contemporary relevance, using Bernie Sanders's political positions and NSA surveillance as real-world analogues. A supporting quotation about dystopia's social function ties both halves together. The argument moves logically from theory → text → reality.
Marxist Theory and the Faction System
One of the central themes present in the film Divergent can be identified through a Marxist theoretical lens. Marx's belief was that there is a dialectical relationship between the owners of capital and the laboring masses. His theory postulated that the owners of capital would continually increase their power through the accumulation of capital, which also gave them greater power over society — until the relationship between capital (the means of production) and labor became so unbalanced that workers would have virtually no choice but to eventually revolt and disrupt the system. Marx based his theory on the historical analysis of many different societies that had followed such a trend, and several examples can be seen throughout world history. The dialectical relationship was fundamentally a relationship of power between different classes.
The powerful members of society would continue to consolidate their power until the laboring class had a comparatively meager existence. The laborers would eventually realize that they held power in numbers and would overthrow the existing power structures in hopes of creating something fairer, based on their class interests. Marx's theory held that this was a natural cycle, and that societies would continually be in one stage or another. However, Marx also believed that some form of evolution would allow societies to avoid repeating this cycle indefinitely — and, in his view, the next stage would be communism. Although communism has not succeeded in many attempts thus far, in theory it at least represents a more egalitarian and fair way to distribute resources equally within a society and eliminate social classes altogether.
The film Divergent takes place in Chicago sometime in the future. Tris, one of the main characters, must decide which faction to join — a custom required when individuals reach the age of sixteen. Those who are unable to join a faction are the equivalent of contemporary homeless individuals. In the film, the Abnegation faction currently controls the government. This faction is essentially selfless and would represent something that Marx might find more ideal than a society with severe power imbalances. Individuals who are less self-interested are arguably more capable of performing government functions equitably.
However, other factions — such as the Erudite — seek to seize power from the government leaders. Each faction holds its own distinct power, but these powers are neither equivalent nor equal; each faction makes different contributions to society and operates under a different ideology. The power struggle between these factions mirrors power struggles that have occurred in many societies throughout history, resembling the types of class conflicts on which Marx based his theories. There have been many such struggles between competing class interests throughout history, and the role of military force has frequently been central to them.
References
Farley, C. (2014, March 21). 'Divergent' and the class struggle in the classroom library. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/03/21/divergent-and-the-class-struggle-in-the-classroom-library/
Qui, L. (2015, August 26). Bernie Sanders — socialist or democratic socialist? PolitiFact. Retrieved from http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/aug/26/bernie-sanders-socialist-or-democratic-socialist/
Zukowski, J. (2014, March 25). The future is now: The dystopia of 'Divergent' looks like a journey through contemporary America. Spiritual Pop Culture. Retrieved from http://spiritualpopculture.com/divergent/
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