Identity and choices
The theme of Identity and choices plays very important role in Divergent. Divergent is a novel about choosing who you are and how you define yourself. It’s about belonging somewhere. Most of the characters in the novel are young adults and they’re struggling to find identities for themselves and choose what kind of personality to have, or where to belong. This theme applies to real life as well because we constantly are trying to find who we are and how we define ourselves. Our decision in life all comes down to us and the path we choose, but just one choice can transform us. Veronica Roth created a strange dystopian world that morally depends on the choices people make in life, because their choices define who they really are as people. In the novel Divergent the choice of faction defines the person more than anything else. The dystopian world of factions created in the novel defines identity
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Forcing people to choose one identity for themselves at such an early age only leads to confusion. Tris was born and brought up in Abnegation where she must remain selfless and was never allowed to focus on herself. Tris has traits of multiple factions but in the choosing ceremony she chooses Dauntless faction because she feels it will allow her to discover her true self. Tris’s character underwent many changes from when she was in Abnegation to now. Being a part of dauntless gave Tris strength and bravery. In dauntless her bravery begins to flourish. Her identity develops further with every decision she makes, which eventually makes her realise that she cannot limit herself to a single identity or a faction because she has some traits of abnegation (her birth faction) and she
Tris is trying to make herself feel like she should belong in Dauntless, her newly chosen faction when really she belongs with the Divergents. “A new place, a new name. I can be remade here. “Tris, I say firmly.” (Roth 60). Tris says that after she was the first
People live day to day struggling with identifying who or what they want to be. People allow parents, peers, friends, and even the media dictate what makes them unique. Identity is something that makes one person different from the next. Though it may take longer for certain people to understand that, it is a conclusion that one has to come to in time. People allow norms to stop them from being exactly who they are. We were all given a different identity so we could fully embrace the world head on. The time has come for people to stop letting outside forces like names, race, social identity, handicap, and gender determine who they are. One should identify who they are and never let any opposing forces get into the way of what they have to offer the
Tris however was not the only dauntless member that was divergent. A man named Four which was one of the leaders in dauntless was also divergent. Four was just a nickname Tobias was Four’s real name. Tobias was nicknamed Four because he could pass simulations within four minutes
“One choice decides your friends. One choice defines your beliefs. One choice determines your loyalties-forever. One choice transforms you,” (Roth, back cover) What do you choose? Well, for Beatrice, the main character in Divergent, it is not an easy choice. Set in a futuristic Chicago, Beatrice is faced with an internal conflict; what faction should she choose? She and her brother, Caleb have a hard time deciding, but Beatrice chooses Dauntless despite what her father wants her to choose. In Dauntless she starts the initiation process that is full of physical and mental training that includes fights and simulations. Along the way she finds and loses friends and enemies. Divergent by Veronica Roth is a thrilling book due to the intense conflict/
Tris and Four are very similar in the way they act, talk, and their background in the book. In the book they both switched out of Abnegation to join the faction of Dauntless. This is a very rare occasion for someone to switch out of abnegation, which is why t is a very important aspect that is similar. Dauntless are trained to be the attackers, not afraid of anything, Abnegation is supposed to me kind and generous, and because Tris has not been through dauntless initiation and four has been they are not the same at this moment. Although if you compared Tris to four when four was going through initiation, they would be at about the same level. During initiation the two of them also got tattoos, which was very hard for both of them,
The movie Divergent is based on the novel by Veronica Roth. The book and film takes place in future Chicago where there are five factions; Dauntless, Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. People in future Chicago take a test to determine what faction is most like them. If multiple factions are the result of the test, then it is determined that the person is Divergent. This is a rare story of Beatrice Prior’s experience as being Divergent and surviving in the Dauntless community.
The faction you choose defines you more than anything else does. Tris was confronted with two choices: stay with her family in Abnegation, where she grew up or move to another faction and start anew. Despite the fact that her aptitude test was inconclusive, she picks Dauntless in light of the fact that she feels it will allow herself to find her identity. Upon choosing Dauntless her bravery naturally begins to develop, but she encounters some other changes as well. Tris forges friendships and relationships central to her identity, with people who bring out the best in her. This gives her a sense of belonging and instead of being perceived as an outcast because of her divergence, she gains many friendships. By the end of the novel, she is fully aware of herself as Divergent - someone who does not fit in or belong, but who cannot be controlled. The events toward the end of the novel underline who Tris has been - considerate - and who she wants to become - dauntless. Divergent places huge importance on coming to terms with your identity and belonging, furthermore, at last, Tris acknowledges that she will never fit perfectly anywhere; and she must form her own pathway through her own
Instead of showing characteristics from just her new faction (Dauntless) or her old faction (Abnegation), Tris tends to show characteristics from other factions too such as Erudite. Her response to the dog in her aptitude test was considered intelligent and courageous because of the fact that she did not run in fear of getting attacked. Instead, she leaned down and was nice to the dog. In the Dauntless manifesto it states; “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another” and that is exactly what Tris did in two situations throughout the book. (Roth pg. 47) The Abnegation inside her shined through when she chose to jump on the visious dog to save the inoccent little girl who's intention was only to pet the dog. The second situation was when she stood up for Al and took his place in front of the target while Four threw knives. She did this because she believed that anyone can stand in front of a target and that it does not prove anything. After all, she did reveal this
Identity, is not a tangible thing; however, it is always there either lifting people up or pulling people down. This can haunt people so much so that they are constantly on the run from themselves. This is seen in Thornhillever changing identity, almost never providing him with contented. London, is the place where Thornhill’s sense of self is satisfied momentarily but then brutally stolen from him. He is constantly yearning for his identity whilst in the colony of Sydney and later the farmland of the Hawkesbury. Upon his reflection on what he has done to become who he is; the identity of Thornhill is forever stained resulting in him never being contented with.
Veronica Roth’s dystopian series, Divergent, takes place in a futuristic Chicago, where society is divided into five factions. Beatrice, an Abnegation born, is what they call Divergent, meaning that she does not fit into any one faction. She transfers to Dauntless and begins to find out the many secrets being kept from the citizens. Tris soon realizes that the factions are not all what they claim to be. Dauntless is turning into a ruthless army, Erudite into a greedy faction wanting power, and Candor has been lying by hiding unknown facts from the other factions. One theme that develops throughout this series is this: A utopian society does not exist, even if there was a good idea to start out with, corruption will always occur.
Tris come to the realization out she is ?Divergent?, which means that not only does she has the skills of Dauntless and Abnegation but that she has the skills of all the factions. Tris has the traits of Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor who believes ?dishonesty makes evil possible. Truth makes us inextricable.? (West, Web), and Amity who believes ?Trust. Self Sufficiency. Forgiveness. Kindness.? (West, Web). The superior, Jeanine sees Tris as a threat to the society. Jeanine believes that someone who is divergent is a risk to the society and the order that they have placed already. In their quote it states, ?Intelligence must be used for the benefit of society, and by this it could mean that the capturing of someone who is divergent will benefit the society in every way possible. The divergent won?t cause disorder, overturn of the society, or danger if they are
Her personality makes her vulnerable to manipulate and be taken advantage of. Tris had the opportunity to change her faction or choose the faction she was born into. So, Tris had her destiny in her own hands. She was raised Abnegation but at the choosing ceremony, she made a bold decision to change the path that was paved for her and decided to convert to Dauntless as her new faction. By changing her faction, Tris made herself impotent in her environment.
She was a divergent, a person who overcomes each faction and doesn’t fit into any of them. She has to pick her future based on a gut feeling. In this case, the quester is Beatrice and the place to go is Dauntless. Tris has been following the Dauntless, watching their every move, intrigued by them and secretly admiring their every move (reason to go). Once Tris officially puts her future in the hands of Dauntless, she will soon learn the challenges that will block her in the path. As Foster said in his novel How to Read Literature like a Professor, “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge. That’s why questers are so often young, inexperienced, immature, sheltered” (Foster 3). There were dozens of challenges that Tris was going to face. If she didn’t make it through three steps of training/initiation, she would become factionless, simply put, homeless. Homeless for the rest of her life because once you choose your faction, there is no coming
She wonders how each choice will affect the city and how it will affect her. The tagline of Insurgent is “one choice can destroy you” (Roth). Tris’ decision can destroy her, not literally, but emotionally. Deciding against Evelyn means deciding against Tobias, whom she trusts and loves. But deciding to go against Marcus and to help Evelyn’s plan succeed, means destroying an entire faction and killing more people. “How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most important relationships and friendships, and damage another” (Roth 155). Tris ultimately decides against Evelyn and Tobias is not happy with her. Not only does Tris have endless amounts of guilt swimming through her head, she has to decide the fate of her city. Actress Shailene Woodley, who plays Tris in the Divergent Trilogy movies, shared in an interview with Los Angeles Times, “it was fun to explore this Tris because she was going through so much more of an internal emotional battle than in the first movie. In the last film she lost her parents, she lost her best friend, so in this movie she’s dealing with a lot of guilt while also trying to figure out how to continue to aid the community that exists around her.” Tris’ final decision may define the final outcome for the community. When talking about if Tris will kill the main antagonist, Janine, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Roth says that Tris always has “her parents in her head, telling her what’s right and what’s wrong.” Tris listens to what she imagines her parents would tell her and that is where she bases her decisions
Divergent is a dystopian novel that takes place in a futuristic Chicago. The setting also looks like a perfect Utopia, but as you go on reading you find out that it has a lot of problems. In the novel there was a war that was caused by differences in people's ideologies. The war caused Chicago to be divided into five factions. Each faction has a virtue which they value and cultivate. The five factions are Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. The Abnegation faction values selflessness, the Amity peace, the Candor honesty, the Dauntless bravery, and the Erudite intelligence. Throughout the novel the main character is Tris which was born in Abnegation and chose to go to the Dauntless faction. Chicago in the novel is governed by a group of people from