Divergent: everything in our lives comes down to choices, whether it’s simple or important
Everything in our lives comes down to choices. Whether it’s a simple choice of what to wear today or a more important choice such as what we are going to choose as a career. For Beatrice, it’s the same way. For her though, it comes down to one choice. It is the most important choice she will ever make in her life. Beatrice lives in a future-dystopian Chicago. Because there had been wars and rifts between the people, it was decided that five factions would be made.
This archived article was written by: Brady Maynes
Everything in our lives comes down to choices. Whether it’s a simple choice of what to wear today or a more important choice such as what we are going to choose as a career. For Beatrice, it’s the same way. For her though, it comes down to one choice. It is the most important choice she will ever make in her life. Beatrice lives in a future-dystopian Chicago. Because there had been wars and rifts between the people, it was decided that five factions would be made.
These factions are called: Abnegation, Candor, Erudite, Amity, and Dauntless. Each stands for a specific trait. Abnegation are selfless, Candor always tell the truth, Erudite seek knowledge, Amity are peaceful, and Dauntless are the brave. Once a year, every sixteen year old must choose a faction. More often than not, they choose the faction that they grow up in. The day before Choosing Day, each sixteen year old takes a kind of personality. It lets them know what trait is their strongest. Beatrice takes the test and is told that her test is inconclusive. She isn’t one trait decisively. This means she is Divergent. The tester tells her being Divergent is very dangerous and she shouldn’t tell anyone, not even her parents.
The tester erases her test results and manually puts in that she is Abnegation. On Choosing Day Beatrice still hasn’t decided what she is going to do.
Most kids that choose new factions are disowned by their parents. Beatrice walks up on stage when it is her turn. There is a bowl for each faction.
The teenager choosing cuts their hand and places some of their blood in the bowl representing the faction they desire to join. Beatrice finally chooses Dauntless. She can’t be selfless her whole life. It isn’t in her nature.
Beatrice soon finds out just what the Dauntless faction believes bravery is. They must run and jump on a train and the jump off the train onto the top of a building.
From the there, they must jump off of the top of the building into the unknown. Beatrice, believing that to truly be dauntless, must completely give up anything to do with her old faction.
She jumps first. At the bottom she lands in a large net that covers a large chasm. One of the Dauntless at the bottom asks for her name and she says her name is Tris. The next day training begins. There are three stages of training. The first stage involves learning how to fight, throw knives, shoot guns, etc.
Tris is beaten badly in her first fight by Peter, a cruel and violent boy that will do what ever it takes to be number one. Tris starts to develop feelings for their trainer, four. While everyone knows this is a nickname, no one dares ask him what his real name is.
As Tris grow stronger and quicker, she starts to do much better during the fighting. She steadily progresses through the stages and starts to climb the rankings.
Stage two involves battling your fears. Each initiate, or those hoping to become new members of their chosen faction, must go under the influence of powerful hallucinating drugs.
These drugs bring up your worst fears. The sooner the initiates can fight off the fear and come out of the hallucination the better. Because she is Divergent,
Tris has a much easier time with the hallucinations. This will greatly help Tris later in her adventures. She soon discovers that not all the leaders of the people are content with the way things are.
Tris overhears a couple of her superiors talking about the Dauntless and their role in something big. By the sound of it, the Dauntless won’t have a say in what they do.
Tris is constantly fighting within herself; trying to decide who she is. While she isn’t completely selfless, she doesn’t wholly embrace the Dauntless views on bravery.
She can’t seem to give up small parts of her Abnegation past.
Would living like Tris be wise? Should we take hold of one trait and focus only on developing that one? That is the battle Tris has.
If that was how our society was, what trait would you choose? Should someone only be brave, or selfless?
Is seeking knowledge or being honest the best route, or should peace be the priority? Life comes down to choices, what will you choose? Who will you become?
