Beatrice "Tris" PriorTris is the main protagonist of the book. On the day of the choosing ceremony, when children at the age of 16 decide what faction they would spend the rest of their lives in, Tris decides to depart and leave her family behind and transfer to Dauntless from Abnegation. When joining a faction a person needs to go through initiation, a process that is considered a rite of passage marking acceptance into a group/society. During Dauntless initiation there are three stages; physical, emotional, and mental. The stage that reveals the most about Tris and who she is as a character internally is the emotional stage. During this section of the initiation all of the initiates are put under a simulation where they all face their biggest fears. During the simulation she is attacked by crows, starts drowning in a tank, gets burned by her family and friends, gets bombarded by faceless people, has to kill one of her family members, and begins to drown in the middle of the ocean. All of these are representations of her actual fears. When she is attacked by the crows it symbolizes her fear of being powerless. Tris is a very robust character and loathes feeling weak. Being overpowered by the crows helps the reader decipher what her actual fear is. Drowning in a tank symbolizes her fear of being trapped in a space where she feels hopeless and feels as if she is not strong enough to get out. Once again Tris dislikes feeling as if she needs someone's help for something that she believes she can do herself. Getting burned by the people closest to her represents her fear of enemies and family/friends joining forces to betray her. Faceless people bombarding her symbolizes the fear of not being able to defend yourself. Having to kill one of her family members is a representation of her being fearful of her family dying and it being her fault. She doesn't want to have guilt of a death dragging her down and is afraid that the death of the people closest to her will be her fault. Drowning in the middle of the ocean illustrates the fear of having no control over anything at a certain given time. Tris is an independent character that has a difficult time deciding whether to trust her instincts or to continue along with the safest route of things. At the same time she is also struggling with finding out who she actually is. To Tris her identity is unknown and she doesn't have a great hold, or feel, about who she really is. Something that Tris does often is that she hides her feelings of sadness to not come off as weak. She believes that showing weakness will land her as a target.
ConnectionsAll the quotes listed down below all have a certain connection with Tris and the world she is living in. They all in some way expose her true feelings about what being divergent really is.
They should perplex me. I should wonder what courage—which is the virtue they most value—has to do with a metal ring through your nostril. Instead my eyes cling to them wherever they go. ~ Tris It’s my choice now, no matter what the test says. Abnegation. Dauntless. Erudite. Divergent. ~ Tris ...it’s when you’re acting selflessly that you are at your bravest. ~ Four Courageous? Courageous would have been admitting weakness and leaving Dauntless, no matter what shame accompanied it. Pride is what killed Al, and it is the flaw in every Dauntless heart. It is in mine. ~ Tris You’re my daughter. I don’t care about the factions...Look where they got us. Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again. ~ Natalie Prior ReviewDivergent is a book set in futuristic Chicago where civilization has been divided into 5 faction each with a unique reason behind the flaws of society. Beatrice "Tris" Prior is a sixteen year old that is trying to find her place in this society and discover her new identity in her new faction. I would recommend this book to a lot of people. Tris is a relatable character and many would be able to relate to her and her personal struggles in the book when dealing with finding identity. There's lots of action in this book and the concept of having a society divided into factions by personality has never been a concept to cross my mind. One thing to keep in mind is that the nook was made into a movie but the book by far is better and the movie could not compare. |