Allegiant

Another element key to the background of Allegiant is the concept of eugenics. Eugenics is the science of improving the inborn qualities of a race. The study of eugenics began in England in the late 1800s, spread quickly to other countries, and was a common field of study by the onset of World War I. Geneticists believed traits like intelligence, health, and ability were hereditary and passed on through reproduction. Likewise, scientists thought they could reduce criminal behavior by studying genetics and not perpetuating weaker genetic lines. Charles Davenport, the most influential American geneticist in the early 20th century, said that one primary purpose of genetics was to help young people marry intelligently to have healthier children. Others thought killing anyone with severe mental or physical disabilities was wise to prevent perpetuating those problems. The idea of killing those with imperfect genetic lines was at the heart of Hitler’s attack on the Jewish race and his pursuit of building the perfect Aryan race.

In Allegiant, Roth demonstrates eugenics with the conflict between the “genetically pure” and the “genetically damaged.” The Bureau of Genetic Welfare seeks to correct the genetic damage caused by previous generations. This is why Chicago has factions, which divide people based on their strengths and then encourage people with those strengths to have children with stronger genetic lines. Further, those deemed genetically pure (actually the inverse of what the society thinks versus what the Bureau knows) have more rights and opportunities than those viewed as genetically damaged, which is part of the central conflict in the novel. Roth takes the idea of eugenics and shows its pitfalls, namely, that breeding cannot eliminate all of society’s problems and creating an ideal genetic line isn’t possible.