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.