In 2012, Veronica Roth wrote the science fiction/dystopian book called Four in the Divergent Series. This book illustrates the relationship between Four’s family, and his journey through the faction he chose. There are five factions: Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Abnegation (the selfless), and Candor (the honest). After he turned 16, he needed to take this test to see which faction he had a place in, and since he picked a different faction than it said on his test, the relationship with his father got tough. This demonstrates how he’s struggling, and has to learn to be brave and fight everyone in order to survive. In the story Four is an afraid at first, emotionless, and a courageous character at the …show more content…
To begin with, Four is afraid. Four is called up to choose his faction at the ceremony: “I have to get out. It’s a desperate thought, and the pain only spurs it on with each footstep as I walk the stairs to the Choosing Ceremony floor. I struggle for air, but it’s not because of my aching legs; it’s because of my weak heart, growing stronger with each passing second” (26). Clearly, the author is trying to tell us that something awful is about to happen to Four. By reading this, it sounds like Four is nervous to choose his faction, while so many people are watching. Especially since his father is there, and he’s putting too much pressure on him. The author gives several examples with very descriptive adjectives to describe how scared Four is feeling. For example, weak heart, meaning he’s sensitive and anything people say can hurt him, but still he puts on a straight face. Four is a character that doesn’t seem to care for others, he never smiles or cries in front of anyone, but he started doing it after he …show more content…
When Four sees his mother, who was supposed to be dead, “‘I know this must be…alarming for you,’ she says. I hardly recognize her voice; it’s lower and stronger and harder than in my memories of her, and that’s how I know the years have changed her. I feel too many things to manage, too powerfully to handle, and then suddenly I feel nothing at all” (155). Four doesn’t know what to think at the moment, but it’s obvious that Four misses her, right now he is just startled. He still remembers how her voice sounds like, and he can recognize her very easily. Four must be dying to ask her millions of questions, like: “Why now? What does she want with me? Why did she leave me with that monster? Four is going to need some time to adjust to her, because he can’t have “no feelings” forever. The next day, he is still thinking about her “The faint burning that followed [him] to the next day of leadership training certainly made it easier to focus on what [he’s] about to do, instead of [his] mother’s cold, low voice and the way [he] pushed her when she tried to comfort [him]” (164). It all takes time. Especially since he thought she was dead for eight years. When he first saw her, he didn’t know what to do, so he just put on a straight face for her, like he does to everyone. Probably because outside he wants her to observe how brave he’s become, how different he looks, how he doesn’t care that she’s back. But on the inside, it’s the complete opposite. Her
I predict that Tris will discover that Four is also a Divergent, and they will start a rebellion together at the end of this book and beginning of the next one. I think that Four is a Divergent because of how he knew quite quickly that Tris was a Divergent. He didn’t have to scrutinize her he discovered it with ease. If he is not Divergent, then he must have known someone who was. “ ‘What?’ I demand. ‘You’re Divergent,’ he replies. I stare at him, fear pulsing through me like
...ildred sounds like dread which would be fitting since she must be depressed as she attempted suicide in the beginning of the book.
Her family life is depicted with contradictions of order and chaos, love and animosity, conventionality and avant-garde. Although the underlying story of her father’s dark secret was troubling, it lends itself to a better understanding of the family dynamics and what was normal for her family. The author doesn’t seem to suggest that her father’s behavior was acceptable or even tolerable. However, the ending of this excerpt leaves the reader with an undeniable sense that the author felt a connection to her father even if it wasn’t one that was desirable. This is best understood with her reaction to his suicide when she states, “But his absence resonated retroactively, echoing back through all the time I knew him. Maybe it was the converse of the way amputees feel pain in a missing limb.” (pg. 399)
I was torn by Harry’s negative thoughts. Harry (2010) states, “You are beautiful, but if you’re going to hang around and give me trouble, I’d rather you died (p. 4). In addition, she did not see her daughter for the first 24 hours! A mother’s love for her daughter should always be unconditional. Riding along Harry’s roller coaster of emotions, I was sad and mad at first but then I became understanding of her feelings. Harry sets forth the honest truth of how she felt. She asked questions to the doctor regarding Melanie’s intelligence, while coping with her own fears. I understood the things she said and felt because it was her way of coping and expressing how her ideal story of motherhood and how it had to be rewritten. As Harry questions the doctors, she begins to expose herself to the unfamiliar world. She learns about her daughter 's diagnosis and grows as a person as she reflects on her thoughts. Hence, Harry’s growth as a person has left me feeling grateful that she tells her story the way she does. However, gripping on the last few pages, I was saddened and heartbroken to find out that Melanie had passed away at the age of 5. The way Melanie had died brought out my feelings of fear. It rushed through my body reminding me that my inner deepest fear of working with children is coming across death. If anything happened to the child, I would feel responsible and reminisce endlessly
In Chapters six and seven of Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives by John Laub and Robert Sampson, the lives of numerous men are shared and analyzed. The authors use life history interviews as well as crime history to help explain their theory. They interviewed these men various times throughout their lives, from a very young age up until age seventy. In Chapter six, Laub and Sampson mention the lives of a few men who have turned to desistance, or stopping, in committing crime. There were two subgroups, “nonviolent desisters” and “violent desisters”. These men had tough upbringings, living in deteriorated homes in Boston. Their parents were not supportive and showed little interest in parenting. Throughout the chapter, the men mentioned various turning points that occurred in their lives in which turned them to becoming desistant to crime. The Glueck’s analyzed and interviewed three men. Leon, Henry, and Bruno were the men. Leon’s turning point for his desistance was his marriage. Henry’s turning point stemmed from his decision to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was eighteen. And for Bruno, he said that his turning point was attending The Lyman School for Boys. While the men stressed one specific turning point for them, all three mentioned how all three factors (marriage, the military, as
Throughout 1984 and Divergent, conformity and obedience force the characters to go to great lengths in order to follow the basics and rules of the government. Throughout Orwell’s 1984, the individuals of the society hang onto every word, law, and thought of Big Brother. The citizens focus primarily on the Ministries and Party, not forming connections or relationships with others. Each member of a party have certain jobs and clothing assigned to them, separating them for others to easily detect. The same concept lies within the factions of Divergent. Each faction has a different job, and different colors to wear in order to display their role in society. The leaders of each Faction also hold the phrase “faction before blood,” depicting the same messege Big Brother enforces in 1984. Both governments want the individuals to stay within their parties, and do the jobs assigned to them. However, both novels include characters refusing to conform and obey to government rules. In 1984, Winston Smith resents Big Brother, using his knowledge from the Minitrue to reveal the lies the government spreads. Because of the disatisfaction Winston shows towards his government, O’Brien follows him, tortures him, and brainwashes him into conforming like the others. In Divergent, the government leaders label Beatrice Prior as a “divergent,” or one who possesses more than one
The year was 1960 when Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published. It was an immediate success even winning the Pulitzer Prize. The novel was the first published piece for Lee who was not widely known. The story itself was set in the American South during the Great Depression, which Lee was from and lived during that time. The story examined the angst of childhood, morals of society, racism, and the concept of perception.
I had come to feel that my mother’s love for me was designed solely to make me into an echo of her; and I didn’t know why but I felt that I would rather be dead than become just an echo of someone (Page 36).
The first sentence of the book, Jack introduces himself to the readers he proudly says, "Today I’m five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe"(Donoghue 1). Throughout the novel Jack constantly reminds himself and others that he is five. This is how most children gain confidence and pride for themselves. In the article "Emotional Development" by Teresa Odle she explains how children show normal emotional development, "By toddlerhood and early childhood, children begin to develop more of a sense of self. Emotions such as pride, shame, and self-recognition begin to emerge"(Odle). Jack has a well developed sense of self especially with the way he believes he is much older and braver because he is no longer 4, he is 5. As the novel progresses Jack further develops his self recognition; when they were in the room Jack questioned whether he was a part of his mother at times but out of room he knew they were separate people. Also, Jack shows normal emotional development because he is able to recognize and respond to emotion. Ma is depressed because of the criticism she has gotten from people about keeping Jack so she eventually breaks down, "Ma’s got tears coming down her face, she puts up her hands to catch them. I’m off my chair and running at her, something falls over smaaaaaaash, I get to Ma and wrap her all up"(Donoghue 294). If children are delayed emotionally they would not be able to recognize and respond to emotion but Jack is able to recognize that his mother is sad and he responds by running to hug her. In Odle 's article she describes how children, "Can recognize nonverbal cues of emotion from one another. Preschoolers begin to distinguish between negative emotions such as sadness, anger, and fear"(Odle). Jack is definitely able to recognize nonverbal cues of emotion. Especially on days when Ma is depressed Jack is able to recognize that she is sad and he
Even when he tried to stay optimistic, fear and anxiety set in often in Schwartz’s mind. He experienced fear and anxiety related to impending death. Worries of missing out on his son growing up and not experiencing romantic moments with his wife ever again filled him with both terror and grief. He expressed this fear to his psychiatrist and his concern that he might be depressed. Dr Cassem assured him that crying was a sign of acknowledgment of his love for his family. He also worried if there was anything he could do t...
In the article “Doubling, Transfiguring, and Haunting: The Art of Adapting Harry Potter for Film” by Michael K Johnson the focus is on the third Harry Potter Movie, Prisoner of Azkaban. The question posed throughout the article is how do adaptions from books to film allow us to move beyond our one way of viewing and understanding the story? Johnson answers this question through discussing the use of time throughout the Harry Potter book and the different filming techniques used to create time changing in the film and comparing the film to the the movie The 400 Blows.
Within the book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling, characters and stories between Voldemort and Harry’s continuous struggle allude to stories from the Bible. Voldemort, who represents the evil in the struggle, fights against Harry Potter, who is the “good” representative within the book. In the fight against Harry, Voldemort has a pet snake by the name of “Nagini.” Nagini, at one point in the book, possesses over a good character in the book, Bathilda Bagshot. Bathilda is an author and a historian, who Hermione and Harry trust and visit. Bathilda eventually dies and the evil snake, Nagini, uses her body to attract Harry and Hermione. Nagini eventually reveals itself through Bathilda’s body and attacks Harry. However, Hermione
I believe this book show the true struggle with family, life, and society. Divergent reveals that life holds its ups and downs and that anything can bring out the ugly in someone’s life. Having to choose between one way of living and another is something everyone goes through and it can be hard. Even if one made the wrong choice, they have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Divergent shows that anyone can be scared of even the littlest things and those things can tear someone apart. If made my fair share of terrible choices but I choose not to let them get in my way of making my life right. I have fears that I don’t know why I have, but I have them and they can’t effect me and what I want to do.
Plot and Setting- The plot starts out with a little boy name Phillip Pirrip. It is a first person narrative about a boy back in the nineteenth century. The first eight chapters deal mostly with Pip’s childhood years. It also deals with who Pip is, and his family. In the beginning of the story Pip introduces himself, and introduces his dead parents. He is in the graveyard, and then a scary looking man comes up. The man threatens him. The plot of the story I think is good because it deals a lot with the struggles in a child. He has no one to turn to. The author really helped us relate to the story.
One of the most read series in all literature is Harry Potter. The seven-book succession has sold over 400 million copies and has been translated into over sixty languages. What is it that makes this series so wildly famous? What is it about the boy who lived that makes frenzied readers flock to their local bookstore at midnight on the day of the release to buy the latest installment? How is a story set in a world that doesn’t exist about wizards, witches, magic, and mystical creatures so popular? The series has been able to earn its spot on the New York Times Bestseller list and has granted author J.K. Rowling multiple awards because it is relatable. It is not the setting or the events in the plot of the story that we relate to. We relate to what Harry, his friends, mentors, teachers, caretakers, and even enemies feel. Harry is in a lot of ways exactly like us. He represents some of the good characteristics that all of us have as well as the bad. The series as a whole, is about one thing that is stressed over and over again in the novels, love. The Harry Potter series is one of the most read sequences of novels because the central theme is love and self-sacrifice, and readers are looking for a novel that shows them just that.