Summary
When America Singer receives her letter summoning her to something called the Selection in the mail, she fights with her mother over whether she should go. Her mother sees the letter as the solution to all of the family’s problems, but America considers it to be “something close to death” to participate in the competition (2). America doesn't want to sacrifice the things that she loves about her life. In the country of Illéa, there are eight castes that designate subjects’ place in society. America’s family exists in the fifth caste, which is made up of “artists and classical musicians” (3). Living in this caste means her family isn't destitute, but their money is tight. Employment depends on national holidays, where their art is purchased as gifts by patrons.
The letter was sent to every single woman between the ages of sixteen and twenty. In order to celebrate the coming of age of the prince, the kingdom calls upon thirty-five girls to go to the palace and present themselves for marriage to him. A number of women who volunteer per province will be chosen at random and sent to the palace to meet the prince, and their families will be paid a large sum of money for their daughter’s participation in the selection. The contest is to be broadcasted on television, and America can't imagine anything as humiliating as watching as “this stuck-up little wimp picked the most gorgeous and shallow one of the bunch to be the silent, pretty face that stood beside him on TV” (7).
At dinner, America fights with her mother and does not eat her food. That night at midnight, she takes the food and sneaks out to meet with her secret love, Aspen, in the family’s treehouse. America loves Aspen: her “great ambition” is “not to be Illéa’s princess,” but Aspen’s (15). She hides this relationship from her family because Aspen is a Six: “servants and only a step up from Sevens in that they were better educated and trained for indoor work” (15). As Aspen eats her dinner, she tries to convince him not to take on another job, as he works hard enough as it is, and “it wasn’t anything new for a Six, Seven or Eight to just die of exhaustion” (18). Aspen asks her if she wants to enter the Selection, and when she emphatically denies wanting to do so, he presses her about what life as a Six would mean. He encourages her to enter the Selection, for his sake, so that he will know that he hadn’t kept her back from a better life.
America decides that there is a minor chance of her getting picked, so she might as well go through the motions in order to appease Aspen and her parents. That night, she dreams Aspen is dressed in white and adorned with a crown made of woven twigs. The next day, America’s mother offers her the chance to work on her own for the first time and keep half of the money she makes in exchange for signing up for the Selection. America immediately decides to sign up, as the money would help her and Aspen eventually get married. After she fills out the form, America’s father tells her that his highest hopes for his daughter were that she one day find love, “and I hope you get to marry for love and not a number” (29).
America goes with her mother to submit her form. In line to do so, Aspen’s mother warns them that they will be taking pictures to submit along with the form. She hints that the Selection will not be random after all. The next day, there is a royal report on the public access channel. The prince sits with the rest of the royal family and America muses about how “uptight” and “rigid” he looks. The king speaks of an attack on a region of Illéa called “New Asia,” and mentions that a rebel camp would be raided the next week. They announce that the man who would be in charge of hosting the competition would be Gavril Fadaye. America thinks that the prince is “so stiff and quiet,” and that she can't “imagine anyone being happy with such a wimp” (44).
A week later, America uses her new extra money to make Aspen a feast, but the gesture upsets him. He tells her that it is emasculating to be provided for. Aspen tells her that if they got married she would become invisible, and that Sixes “aren’t meant to be seen” (50). He ends their relationship. America starts to hope that one of Aspen’s little sisters would be chosen for the competition because if she won, Aspen’s family would be propelled into being Ones and they would be able to be together. The night of the selection, the family gathers around the television, and all but America celebrate as her name is called.
Analysis
These chapters give necessary exposition as the author acquaints readers with the country of Illéa. In the future, the nature of society in the country has changed. Although it was built upon the land of the United States, Illéa is a very new country. The youth of the kingdom has implications for domestic life as well as international relations. The actions of the royal family are all designed to help grow the country’s power, overseas as well as within its borders. In this section, it is made clear that the strict rules of Illéa are marketed to its subjects as a means of maintaining domestic control. We also learn that there are rebel factions within the country actively attempting to challenge that power, as well as international pressure as other, stronger countries threaten to wage war on the weaker Illéa.
America’s name is an important reminder of the past in this dystopian future. In a world where the customs and culture of the United States have been abandoned, America’s name automatically puts her at odds with the new status quo. This mirrors her stance about the competition, as well as her reluctance to play into the desires of society that she marry upward and out of her caste. America's name is a testament to her character: she is a fighter, she is fiercely independent, and she rebels actively against the monarchy that attempts to dictate her entire life.
One change that directly impacts the Singer family is that of holidays. The date of Christmas hadn’t changed, because “it’s not like you could change the birth date of a deity” (3), but even so a national relationship to religion and Christianity seems to have changed. Illéa adopted its New Year celebration after the Lunar New Year, due to a “massive peace treaty with China” (3). And finally, Thanksgiving was moved to the summertime and became a celebration of the formation of the state. All of these changes work to solidify the fact that although Illéa is a new nation, it is not completely divorced from the ways of life from before. Although the dates of the holidays have moved, society still seems to be structured around these moments of universal celebration. These holidays also work to blur the lines between the castes. Although it is certain that those of higher castes celebrate in a different manner than those of the lower castes, these are moments when wealth trickles down through the castes and enriches families like America’s.
America’s life is designed around her role in her caste. She picks up extra responsibilities due to being the oldest unmarried child in her family and schedules homeschooling around her daily rehearsals, where she attempts to master several instruments. Although she is content with her position in life, her mother wants more for her and wishes that she would marry up and out of Five. Because of these ambitions, her love for Aspen is forbidden. To choose to marry him would mean choosing a harder life for herself. Aspen is aware of this, and hesitant to bring America into his caste, but they are deeply in love and speak of a future where they can make it work with each other.
Love is an important theme of The Selection. The early chapters of the novel are defined by America’s love for Aspen, which threatens to upend her life and at the worst bring danger. America’s love for Aspen encourages her to break rules, like sneaking out after curfew and being physically intimate with another person outside of marriage. Love as a concept is debated by America’s parents, as her mom pressures her into joining the competition and her father tells her that he hopes one day she might marry for love. Her parents' love is thrown into question. America thought that they had married for love, but also that perhaps the stresses of being in a lower caste have eroded that love over time. America’s mother seems to think love is an afterthought in a society that so strictly stratifies its subjects and keeps many in poverty.
