ipl-logo

Divergent: Utopia And Dystopian Societies

2703 Words11 Pages

“Divergent” has probably been one of the most popular post-apocalyptic books in this past century. Utopian and dystopian novels have been all the rage with teens more recently. Whether it be “The Maze Runner” or “The Hunger Games” all these books and now movies have something similar in common. They all showcase a society in which there is no social justice of the classes. There is a lower class that is constantly trying to overthrow the upper class that is in control of all of them. In “Divergent” (Burger, 2014) it is quite easy to see even within the first few scenes of the movie that the “Erudite” faction is definitely the group that is in power or wants to gain that power over the rest of the groups of people. One might say that this is …show more content…

According to Naiman (2012), a social class is a group which have “a distinct relation to the means of production..” Each society will have different hierarchies and labels that divide the population into different social classes. Social classes are different in each society. Generally speaking, how social classes are divided all depends on how distal or relative one would be to resources. The ownership of resources is different from someone working to make resources and therefore they would be in two different social classes. “Class conflict” is summed up with “the unequal distribution of resources…also the consequent unequal distribution of power.” (Naiman, 2012) Class conflict is a very popular theme as it is something that society within itself has struggled with for many years. Class conflict has manifested itself in many ways. Whether it be the white slave owner or black slave, the male dominance over government and the household or the Monseigneur’s glamorous lifestyle shadowing over the poor peasants empty plates, class conflict has been around/depicted for a very long time. In books like “The Tale of Two Cities” (Dickens, 1859) class conflict is very evident in terms of there being one dominating class with the majority of the power. Class conflict is a problem for the minority classes because “the greatest power in any society is held by those who own or control the means of production and, as a result, are able to extract surpluses from large numbers of people who must do their bidding in order to survive.” (Naiman, 2012) The societal conflicts usually are based on what type of person/who has the power and what they are doing with it. Because of the inequality of the power and status’ of each of the social classes, what usually happens is that the lower classes want to rebel in order to gain equality.

Show More
Related
400 Words | 2 Pages

In John Steinbeck’s rather infamous novel, there was a heavy handed message that classism creates problems and a false consciousness caused by the American Dream, that one can eventually achieve success with sheer determination and hard work, does more harm than good. This is due to the fact that it leads to competition between citizens in the same class (mostly proletariat) who all want to climb to the top of the metaphorical food chain. Some attempt to achieve their goal through shady means, like commodification- or some may try to go at it alone, believing in the ideology of rugged individualism, thinking that they can reach their goal without any help. This impacts society by enforcing the idea that we’ll stay in the class system that we were born into unless we’re willing to sacrifice our morals and the things we care about.

Read More
478 Words | 2 Pages

Class is a social system of hierarchy based on economic wealth. Joseph O. Jewell, author of Race, Social Reform, and the Making of a Middle Class: The American Missionary Association and Black Atlanta, 1870-1900, explains class as to “exist in large part as cultures-shared set of rules, ideologies, or

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

Thematic Essay- Society and Class Society and class is an important theme in “The Outsiders”, a novel written by S.E Hinton. “The Outsider”, is a book about two gangs, the Greasers and the socs who are rivals because of their economic and social differences. Throughout the book, S.E Hinton outlines that Socs, who have a better economic status are unaware of all of the other aspects in life and feel superior over the Greasers. In book, The Outsiders, it 's shown that a human society can be separated a society because of society and wealth.

Read More
977 Words | 4 Pages

There is lower, middle, and upper class, but there are also subcategories that fill the gaps in between, like the impoverished and the top one percenters. “Class in America”, written by Gregory Mantsios, addresses the myths and realities about socioeconomic class in America and how they affect American lives. His article highlights the unequal divide that has persisted over the course of history and will continue to manifest in the future. To introduce the existence of this issue, Mantsios states that this country’s citizens “don’t like to talk about class...or class privileges, or class oppression, or the class nature of society” (Mantsios 378). This is the case in America today because people are neglecting to acknowledge the existence of these elusive

Read More
560 Words | 3 Pages

social class can be hard to define. There is low status consistency which means have important jobs, but make moderate income. Social class can change during a person’s lifetime. It will either go up or down, but most of the time it stays the same. Social class can have effects on health, political attitudes, and prison rates.

Read More
1662 Words | 7 Pages

The first social class is called the lower class. In the lower class, there are two levels; working poor and underclass. The people in the lower class are right above poverty and have trouble being able to hold their own. In the working poor section of the class, the people in it are in the higher part of the lower class.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

It is argued that social inequality occurs because of the conflict between the upper-class and the working-class, or as Marx defines it, the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. Based on the Manifesto of the Communist Party (Marx and Engels, 1848), the divergence emerges because the aim of the Bourgeoisie is to obtain a surplus-value that is produced by the work of the Proletariat. On the other side, the Bourgeoisie provides the Proletariat with the minimum required, such as a place to live and a minimum wage, in order to keep the society under control and avoid a rebellion. However, Marx did predict a revolt of the working-class that would eventually lead to a communist regime. When it comes to applying this theoretical approach to reality, it is evident to notice that no global revolt in regards to capitalism has occurred.

Read More
1079 Words | 5 Pages

This is an important task from a sociological point of view as being well read in various sociological and political ideologies aids one in forming one’s own opinions. 1. Class struggles are a fundamental part of human history:

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

I think heritage, circumstances, and choices all define a person’s social class. For starters, one of the reasons for social classes in America is heritage. Since the very beginning of the United States, people have divided themselves into different groups and ways of living based on their status. For example, someone born into a certain class, grows up surrounded by, and expecting what they have lived with.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Marx and Engel focused on class conflict as the driving force for their argument. Throughout history, there is a common theme of a caste society lasting for so long until the mistreated lower class attempt to break the cycle; but that system is only replaced with a new

Read More
895 Words | 4 Pages

Greene and Lee (2002) states that when considering the social constructivist approach an understanding of the way individuals function within society is important to appreciate the meaning they ascribe to their experiences of society and culture. Dean (1993 suggests that knowledge and meaning are created and influenced by institutions within the environment. From this individual suffering from mental illness will create their reality and will then view future experiences through this (Dewees, 1999) As previously explored dominate members of society determine values, beliefs and norms that is supported and maintained by that society. Kondrat and Teater (2009) suggest that if individuals do not ascribe to these they are considered ‘abnormal’

Read More
764 Words | 4 Pages

Karl Marx’s class theory lies upon the premise that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." He meant by this that ever since the inception of modern human society, people have been always divided into classes which are in conflict with each other due to class interests. An argument against class interests is that they are not given ab initio, they arise out of exposure of people occupying different social positions in varying social contexts. Karl Marx and Engels divided the masses into three broad classes, the proletariats, the petty bourgeoisie and the bourgeoisie.

Read More
1514 Words | 7 Pages

(Lee 269). This shows conflict between classes because white people are giving black people a hard time. Black people were perceived as the lowest class and throughout the story people would treat them as if they were dirt. Being in the lowest class, they would have to do all of the terrible work. They never had a chance to get a good job and be successful because of the white people.

Read More
1486 Words | 6 Pages

Class conflict, Marx believed, was what encouraged the evolution of society. To quote Marx himself, The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one

Read More
793 Words | 4 Pages

Class struggle is a conflict in a particular society or between a society which is caused by the lack of unity in one society and different perspective of a different group in a society. It is also called class conflict or class warfare. One social issue of a class struggle is the social inequality. According to study.com, Social inequality is an inequity of social class, award, opportunities, religion, position in the community, social status and at some other point respect in a group of society.

Read More

More about Divergent: Utopia And Dystopian Societies

Related Topics

Open Document