Divergent by Veronica Roth

The book Divergent by Veronica Roth, was first published in 2011. The setting develops in Chicago where the main character, Tris Prior, was born and raised in the faction Abnegation. Tris Prior reaches the age of 16 and must decide on leaving her parents behind and making a life of her own, or staying in a world that she does not fit in. The five factions, Abnegation- The Selfless, Amity- The Peaceful, Dauntless- The Brave, Erudite- The Intelligent, and Candor- The Honest is what Tris must decide on. She takes an aptitude test that reveals where she belongs; however her results come out as inconclusive and she is labeled as Divergent. Being Divergent is dangerous because you cannot be controlled under simulations, so she must hide her Divergence. She decides on becoming Dauntless and encounters herself with many difficulties. Tris must battle her way through initiation, her enemies who are waiting every moment to destroy her, and her divergence, which she cannot define. She must kill the ones she loves in order to survive and she constantly faces danger. Her Divergence can destroy her or it can save many.

The protagonists in the story were: Four, the instructor (later becoming Tris’ boyfriend), Tris, and Jeanine, the antagonist. Jeanine is the leader of the Erudite; she seeks a way to detect and destroy all of the Divergent. She constantly creates serums that help the non- divergent to be controlled. Her goal is to make a long lasting serum that the Divergent cannot defeat. Four is just a simple instructor who immediately sees Tris’ Divergence. Not only does he feel her presence, but he sees the intelligence and selflessness and the bravery in Tris. He constantly challenges her and pushes her to be better than what she is. Now Tris, she is a very complex character, whom is in search of finding her place in a world where she is wanted dead. She is intrigued by Four and together they fight their way into the imperfect world they live in. During the climax of the story, when the Erudite and the Dauntless decide to attack Abnegation, Tris and Four must turn against their own faction. They blend with the rest of the brain-dead dauntless solders and later encounter themselves with the horrifying truth: all Dauntless solders are turning into murderers without noticing. Jeanine is control them to reach her goal. She decides to attack Abnegation because they decide to share vital information to all factions; she decides to kill all Abnegation leaders. Tris’ mother gives up her life for her daughter and so does her father. They both died in an honorable way and it is up to Tris to reveal the truth in honor of her parents. She is defeated multiple times, however not once does she give up. Tris and Four seek the truth in order to allow all factions to know the truth.

Many morals or themes can be taken by the book Divergent; the theme I choose to take from this compelling adventure is to be all in one. Tris, my favorite character, puts herself in danger in order to save others. The Abnegation in her gives her the strength and courage to fight for what she believes in. She is a hero to many and she will do everything she can to figure out the truth. As stubborn as she is, she is very intelligent. The meaning to her Divergence to me is that she is all in one; she is brave, intelligent, and selfless. She is my favorite character because she isn’t satisfied with just having one characteristic. She is constantly challenging herself to become better. I can relate to Tris because I try to be the best I can be. I am perplexed by the way she views and underestimates herself. Many times I have been challenged with who I am and who I want to be. Sometimes we never see who we truly are because we are too blind. We all can be brave, honest, intelligent, selfless and peaceful. All these traits go hand in hand and Tris possesses them all. Near the end of the story, Tris says,” I am no longer Tris, the selfless, or Tris, the brave”(Roth, 487). She is Tris the Divergent, she is everything she can be.