Post #1 (New Trimester): The Line Between Right and Wrong

In Allegiant, Veronica Roth suggests that sometimes, actions that are wrong can be justified if they contribute to the greater good.

*WARNING: THE NEXT PART CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Tris, Four, and several other people escaped their city and ventured into the unknown to find a place called the "Bureau". Upon arrival, they learned that the people in the Bureau had been watching and controlling their society. The Bureau considered them just to be an experiment.

The group of survivors also learned that soon, the Bureau planned to reset the memories of everyone in their society in order to keep it from imploding. This caused Tris and Four to be deeply upset. They didn't think that everyone in their old society should have to lose their memories just because a few corrupt leaders made poor choices.

As Tris and Four tried to decide what was right and what was wrong, someone said to Four, "'The Bureau's whole reason for resetting our friends and families is to stop them from killing each other. If we stop the reset, the Allegiant will attack Evelyn, Evelyn will turn the death serum loose, and a lot of people will die,'" (Roth, 402). This caused them to think about the situation and what they should do. On one hand, they could let the Bureau reset everyone's memories and save lives, or, they could stop the Bureau and let the people keep their memories, but many people would die.

As they continued to figure out what they wanted to do, Four said to Tris, "It's not a perfect situation. But when you have to choose between two bad options, you pick the one that saves the people you love and believe in most," (Roth, 388).

Through these lines spoken by Four, we can clearly see how Veronica Roth feels about right and wrong. Although something may not be completely "right", if it contributes to the greater good and saves the people you love, it's okay.

Do you agree with the author? What are your opinions about when something is right and when something is wrong?