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Essay

Rowan Harris

Rebeske

English 4 AP

7 May 2014

Choices

            In the modern Utopian novel Divergent by Veronica Roth, a sixteen year old girl with the name of Beatrice Priors has to make some pretty hard choices in life. Beatrice lives in a society which is divided into five factions, each dedicated to social gifts of people —Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must choose the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family in Abnegation and being what she wants to; Dauntless, she can't have both. The teenagers are tested before it is time to make their decision to see which faction their personality accurately fits into. Beatrice’s results were complicated; she was not any of the factions. She was Divergent, a form of faction that can result in death by the government. The next day, Beatrice ends up choosing Dauntless; which surprises everyone including herself. During the complicated and competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself "Tris" and tries to figure out who she really is. She meets many new friends, and even a boy named Four in joining Dauntless. As she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also finds that her secret might help her save those she loves or help destroy her, all through her choices.

            Tris’s life can reflect to the life of an American teenage girl. She is different from everyone and is trying to figure out her purpose in life. All teenagers struggle with one thing whether they know it or not: decision making. High school is full of daily battles and choices you have to make. Tris’s first major decision is choosing to leave her family in Abnegation to become Dauntless. She will now no longer live with her family or be able to see them. This choice can compare to the choice of high school students choosing where they want to go to college after they graduate. Some parents do not want their children to leave them, like Tris’s parents. Students who choose to attend college far away from home will no longer see their families. They will be a part of something totally new, just like how Tris joins Dauntless.

             Tris makes many more decisions that affect her future in the novel. When the leader of Erudite, Jeanine Matthews, tries to take over all factions she starts by going after Abnegation. She creates a formula that puts Dauntless fighters under her power and mind control. Jeanine plans to use the Dauntless warriors to end the entire Abnegation faction. This puts Tris’s family in great danger. Tris and her star-crossed lover, Four, attempt to put a stop to Jeanine’s Abnegation-annihilation by destroying Jeanine’s software. Tris and Four manage to escape to look for the remaining Abnegation members. Tris finds her mom and she helps her gather weapons for an ultimate escape. Tris’s mother is shot protecting her daughter and Tris has the option of trying to save her or leaving her. If she tries to save her she could get shot too and they would both die, but if she leaves her to die she lives the rest of her life without her mother. Tris chooses to leave her mother, escaping with the gun she used to protect her daughter. She decided that it would be better for one of them to move on then neither of them to. Her mother’s death is painful for her, but it gives Tris even more to fight for.

           Your happiness and the path of your life can be based on the choices you make. Tris’s decisions have resulted in an ultimate escape from her dystopian society with the ones she loves. If you make the right decisions and follow your heart, your choices can lead you to your own happiness. 

Fakes

"What a good actor he was. The thought makes me sick to my stomach, because even though I left them too, at least I was no good at pretending. At least they all knew that I wasn't selfless." (Chapter 6 par.30)

Tris deals with her brother's secret in the classic, sisterly fashion: by feeling sick to her stomach. It's interesting that what really bothers Tris isn't the betrayal of the family—because both of them left. What really bothers her is how good he was at keeping that secret for so long. How could he make it seem like he was loyal? I can relate to Tris on this one. I cannot stand when people are fake. Liars really make me sick to my stomach. Everyone knew that Tris didn't want to be a part of Abnegation, and Caleb kept his longing for a different life hidden from everyone, even his sister. 

Accept Your Strengths

"Because you're from Abnegation," he says, "and it's when you're acting selflessly that you are at your bravest." (Chapter 24 par.76)

Four always has something wise to say. This is one of his impassioned arguments about how the virtues of the five factions can work together. Tris is braver; and more powerful, when she's being selfless. And her selflessness seems to come from her family. In that sense, her power lies not in her faction identity, but in her personal relationships. And family is something that crosses faction boundaries. I agree with Four's argument, you are your strongest when you show your roots and realize your natural abilities. 

Guilty Dauntless?

"My mother and father would not approve of my kicking someone when she's down... I don't care." ( Chapter 14 par.48-9) 

Tris wants to believe that she no longer cares what her parents think. But the fact that her parents were the first thing she thought of when she did it shows that she really does care. We know that Dauntless has transformed Tris from a gentle charity worker to a heartless fighter; but no matter how fearless she acts she will still always carry the love of her parents with her. She can't help how she feels gentleness and bravery at the same time, because she is Divergent. She feels everything, including guilt. 

Choices

"Beatrice," he says, looking sternly into my eyes. "We should think of our family." There is an edge to his voice. "But. But we must also think of ourselves." (Chapter 4 par.64)

The day is coming when Tris and her brother will choose the faction they want to be the rest of their life. They are both having a hard time deciding. Tris isn't the only one who wants to express her individual choices against the faction norms. Even Caleb, the perfect Abnegation, does something very non-Abnegation here. And we know this is a big issue because Tris keeps breaking in to tell us it's a big issue: Caleb's eyes are stern, his voice has an edge. If this were just a boring line of dialogue, Tris probably wouldn't be noticing all these little physical clues. Caleb is secretly urging Tris to make her own decision; we all know she wants to be Dauntless. Caleb and Tris's decisions can be compared to that of a high school student choosing a college and what they want to major in. It could change who they are for the rest of their lives. The main lesson from the quote; make your major decisions in life based on no one other than yourself. 

The Utopian Struggle

"I think we've made a mistake," he says softly. "We've all started to put down the virtues of the other factions in the process of bolstering our own. I don't want to do that. I want to be brave, and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest." He clears his throat. "I continually struggle with kindness." ( Chapter 31 par. 75)

In many other Dystopian stories, the main characters would find an old book (or an old person) that described how society was in the past. But Four and Tris don't have those old resources, so they don't know what life was like before the five-faction system. Still, Four believes that the government has made a mistake in dividing the people into groups. He believes that everyone has the capability to be Divergent, and if everyone were Divergent they could be equal. Dividing people into different factions may keep peace for a while, but it is not fair for those who cannot fit into the system; like Four and Tris.