Veronica Roth’s New York Times best seller ‘Divergent’ is
a thrilling, riveting and electrifying,
adventure that follows the choices, friendships and hardships of a sixteen year
old Beatrice Prior, later known as ‘Tris’. When young Tris Prior is forced by a
divided society where everyone must conform, to choose the faction she will
spend the rest of her life in; Abnegation (the selfless) Candor (the honest)
Erudite (the intelligent,) Amity (the peaceful) and Dauntless (the fearless), she
discovers that she does not quite fit. On the day of her ‘Choosing Ceremony’
Tris surprises everyone, including herself, with the decision she makes.
Alright so, who is Tris? Tris is a strong-willed
sixteen-year-old girl who hates showing weakness and is unsure as to where
she fits in her divided, futuristic, Chicago world. It was really enjoyable
following Tris’ thoughts and adventures because she was a believable character
with the common teenage problem, fitting in, which made her relatable. Although,
Tris’ trouble fitting in had nothing to do with the head cheerleader being
nasty. Tris is different.
As mentioned before, Tris had to make several choices about
which faction to choose in the ‘Choosing Ceremony’ and many others. This
choice, like many of those others that she was forced to make, were difficult
for her because it was either ‘faction before blood’ as the society says or
what she had known her whole life ‘others (in this case family) before self’ as
the Abnegation had taught her. With the knowledge that Tris gains from her time
in her new faction and from getting to know her attractive yet mysterious
initiation instructor ‘Four’ who she just cant seem to stop thinking about (yes
girls, he’s the guy) , Tris begins to understand that the world she thought was
perfect, is not quite. She discovers that there is evil in the people she
thought were the most pure and trustworthy and that in the world there are
others like her.
There are many very memorable scenes in this engaging book,
however, a personal favourite would have to be the scene in which Tris is
attacked, then saved by the increasingly romantic Four.
In this scene, some of
Tris’ fellow initiates Al (a supposed friend), Peter (a foe) and Drew
(Peters lacky), attack Tris due to her ranking first after the fear simulations
which are a test that show your true inner strength. Peter exclaims that he
will not be ‘outranked by a Stiff (an unaffectionate name for someone from
Abnegation) as the three boys turn Tris black and blue and dangle her over ‘The
Chasm’. ‘The Chasm’ is a large water filled ravine lined with jagged rocks.
Just as Tris feels as though her inner strength may not be enough this time,
Four comes to save the day. Tris later wakes up to the comfort of Fours living
space.
This scene was memorable, in my strong opinion, because it
was a weighted reminder of the cruelty of faction initiation and the fragility
of friendship when things go well for one and not for others. The significance
of this scene, in my opinion, is that it showed the weakness within Peter, Drew
and Al alike and how people, even in situations that are not quite the same,
turn on each other for irrational reasons. It was also a time for the reader to
once again see the relationship budding for Tris and Four when he cares for her
and ‘tenses when [she] mentions what they did to [her].’ The author made a conscious decision to have
the scene take place in ‘The Chasm’ because it is portrayed throughout the
novel as a hazardous and dreadful place, the place where people jump the
barrier and plunge to their deaths. This place suits the scene because it is
seen as a dark space and therefore more fear is instilled in the reader.
During the novel themes such as family, guilt and choices
were developed strongly. The themes family and guilt are connected because Tris
feels as though by choosing the faction she wanted she was betraying her family
and the faction she originated from. The theme of choices is also connected to
the above themes because Tris had to make many choices that involved her family
which in turn caused her to feel guilt.
The definite message presented in this novel is that there
is not just one good trait to possess and that diversity is important. The idea
of diversity is similar to the book title, Divergent and I think this is
deliberate. This book also outlines the fact that people cannot be simply
identified according to a certain part of their personality.
‘I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all
that different’ is something that Four says whilst trying to help Tris see that
she is not as different from her family as she first thought. This very simple
sentence is very well written and really catches the essence of Tris’ struggle
with herself. Another small excerpt is ‘human beings as a whole cannot be good
for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again.’ in my mind, this
sentence captures the idea that the seemingly perfect society is not so perfect
and that human nature is not perfect either. In these sentences and throughout
the entire book Roth consistently brings the story to life in the mind. She
uses a colourful range of descriptive language and there are several examples
of sensory imagery such as when Tris is being
attacked and she mentions the ‘mist touch[ing] [her] ankles.’ The scene
is written so well that you too can feel the mist touching your ankles and the
hand of Peter wrapped around your throat blocking the air.
With its sophisticated language, character and storyline
that is easy to follow and intriguing I believe that this book would appeal to
adults and children alike. This book would be enjoyed by anyone who loves a
fast paced, action-filled novel with a blooming romance on the side.
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