The Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

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The Divergent series, by Veronica Roth, was published between 2011- 2013. The story follows the 16 year old heroine Beatrice (Tris) Prior and her friends and family in their attempt to “fix” their broken society. Through their story, the themes of government corruption and not conforming to society become incredibly relevant. The novel starts out with Tris and her brother Caleb preparing for their aptitude tests. This test shows them (or at least is supposed to show them) which faction they belong in or where they fit in. Tris’s results come back inconclusive, therefore she is divergent, and her results are manually recorded as Abnegation. Divergent, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary can be defined as “differing from each other or from a standard.” In the novel, when someone is “divergent” they fit into multiple of the five factions. They do not conform to only one of the five standards. This forcing of choice causes them to conform to the patterns of a specific lifestyle even when if it means not being completely true to whom they are. Specifically in Tris’s case, she fit into Dauntless (the brave), Erudite (the intelligent), and Abnegation (the selfless). By choosing Dauntless she had to suppress her intelligence and ignore the intuition to help others, which in the end proved to be a difficult task. Later in the novel, Tobias (Tris’ boyfriend and instructor) makes an interesting statement. He says “‘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.’” In this statement, Tobias is saying that he does not want to conform to what the government tells him to do. He wants to be more... ... middle of paper ... ...n This Dystopia, Teens Must Choose Wisely." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 May 2011. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. < http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/books/review/young-adult-books-divergent-by-veronica-roth.html?_r=0> Plumer, Brad. "Absolutely Everything You Need to Know about How the Government Shutdown Will Work." WashingtonPost.com. The Washington Post, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. . Thoreau, Henry D. "Civil Disobedience." Virginia.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. . Washington, George. "Washington's Farewell Address 1796." Avalon Project. Yale Law School, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .

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