Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Every day, struggle charges into peoples’ lives, causing rage, ruin, and wreaking havoc. Struggle is in every world, whether it’s on Earth or in a book, such as Divergent. Divergent, written by Veronica Roth, takes place in a dystopian world where a civilization splits its population into five factions that represent their beliefs: Abnegation for selflessness, Amity for peace, Candor for honesty, Dauntless for bravery, and Erudite for intelligence. After the main character Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior goes through Dauntless initiation, she learns that Erudite is planning an attack on the Abnegation people. In order to significantly portray struggle in Divergent, the literary devices foreshadowing, mood, and conflict were used.

Foreshadowing is one of the main literary devices that is able to show struggle. For example, right after their first fear simulation, Will, Christina, Al, and Tris got new tattoos. While Al was giving Christina a piggy back ride, Christina almost fell off of him, and she grabbed Al’s face to hold on. Everyone started to laugh, but Tris noticed something about Al. “Al seems happy, but there is something heavy about even his smiles. I am worried about him” (Roth 247). Foreshadowing is used in this quote by hinting that Al is depressed. This indicates that something bad may happen to him out of his carelessness. Foreshadowing contributes to Divergent’s theme of struggle because the reader has to make an inference, and sometimes the inference is wrong. If the reader’s inference is incorrect, they don’t completely understand the importance of an event until it passes or is brought up again, leaving the reader perplexed and making it a struggle for them to follow the storyline. Throughout her journey, Tris must make i...

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... was usually shown through Tris’s conflicts with herself. At times, Tris doesn’t know how to respond to a situation because if she reacted how she wanted to, some people may see her as a traitor. When foreshadowing was used, Tris was concerned about Al, but if she acted like an Abnegation, the Dauntless would think of her poorly. Then, when the mood was ominous, Tris decided to follow Four, which was more like a Candor because she was curious, even if it could be consequential. Finally, when conflict was used, Tris had trouble when Christina took the flag from her. Tris could either have been a good friend, or told Christina that she came up with the plan, so she should get the flag. Although struggle is not a welcomed feeling, it is a way to overcome obstacles and challenges.

Works Cited

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011. Print.