The book I read for my report due 11-5-14 is Divergent by Victoria Roth. Divergent takes place in a post-apocalyptic city that is divided into five factions: Amity, Erudite, Candor, Abnegation, and Dauntless. These five factions were formed out of the idea that all discord among humans was based upon five major faults in human character. Amity blame violence, and so have created a society of extreme peace. The Erudite blame ignorance, and built a society in which knowledge is treasured above all else. Candor believe duplicity was to blame, and therefore constructed a society where honesty is the number one policy. Abnegation blame selfishness. They created for themselves a society in which all people are to think of themselves last, and vanity, luxury, and envy are all but eradicated. Dauntless blame cowardice, and so live in a society of thrill-seeking psychopaths. Every year, all of the 16-year old children in the city choose their permanent faction. They receive a simulated evaluation. In the simulation, the decisions they make will determine which faction they belong to. But Tris, an Abnegation girl, goes through the evaluation, only two factions, Candor and Amity, are ruled out. This means that Tris is what's know as Divergent. Being Divergent is potentially life-threatening. She is percieved as a danger because she moves outside the system and stand as irrefutable proof that the system doesn't work. Tris, knowing that she doesn't fit in well with Abnegation, chooses Dauntless. There, she makes friends and a place for herself among her peers. She even starts a romantic relationship with her instructor (Scandalous!), and eighteen-year old boy named Four. But it turns out her troubles are far from over. The Erudite people want to eliminate her home faction and reform the government. As the Erudite take control of the Dauntless' bodies using transmitters injected at the base of the neck, only Tris and Four, the two Divergent in Dauntless, are left unaffected. Tris braves loss, a gunshot, betrayal, and near death in order to free the Dauntless and save Abnegation from the Erudite. Divergent deals a lot with the flaws of human character, using the five factions, specifically the Erudite and, to a lesser extent, Dauntless, to portray the inevitable corruption of a way of society, and how that society must change in order to stay good.Through Tris, Divergent also touches upon belonging. As Divergent, Tris doesn't really have a place where she fits in perfectly. She has to work a lot harder to find her niche among Dauntless, and she is unable to properly fit the mold. While the themes of Divergent are familiar, I haven't read a book that addresses them anything similar to this, making it a new and therefore refreshing experience. The idea of five faction built upon the major flaws of human character is thought provoking, and used effectively throughout the novel. Also, the novel doesn't insult the reader's intelligence by spelling its themes and messages out. Victoria Roth also has an eye for detail, revealing that Tris's older brother Caleb has a large number of books before he surprises her by choosing Erudite as his faction. In addition, Four is terrified of heights, and one of Tris's friends states that he has never tried a mile-long zipline that cuts through and abandoned part of the city. I give Divergent a 5 out of 5. It's enjoyable, well-written, gripping, and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend.
Every year, all of the 16-year old children in the city choose their permanent faction. They receive a simulated evaluation. In the simulation, the decisions they make will determine which faction they belong to. But Tris, an Abnegation girl, goes through the evaluation, only two factions, Candor and Amity, are ruled out. This means that Tris is what's know as Divergent. Being Divergent is potentially life-threatening. She is percieved as a danger because she moves outside the system and stand as irrefutable proof that the system doesn't work.
Tris, knowing that she doesn't fit in well with Abnegation, chooses Dauntless. There, she makes friends and a place for herself among her peers. She even starts a romantic relationship with her instructor (Scandalous!), and eighteen-year old boy named Four. But it turns out her troubles are far from over. The Erudite people want to eliminate her home faction and reform the government. As the Erudite take control of the Dauntless' bodies using transmitters injected at the base of the neck, only Tris and Four, the two Divergent in Dauntless, are left unaffected. Tris braves loss, a gunshot, betrayal, and near death in order to free the Dauntless and save Abnegation from the Erudite.
Divergent deals a lot with the flaws of human character, using the five factions, specifically the Erudite and, to a lesser extent, Dauntless, to portray the inevitable corruption of a way of society, and how that society must change in order to stay good.Through Tris, Divergent also touches upon belonging. As Divergent, Tris doesn't really have a place where she fits in perfectly. She has to work a lot harder to find her niche among Dauntless, and she is unable to properly fit the mold.
While the themes of Divergent are familiar, I haven't read a book that addresses them anything similar to this, making it a new and therefore refreshing experience. The idea of five faction built upon the major flaws of human character is thought provoking, and used effectively throughout the novel. Also, the novel doesn't insult the reader's intelligence by spelling its themes and messages out. Victoria Roth also has an eye for detail, revealing that Tris's older brother Caleb has a large number of books before he surprises her by choosing Erudite as his faction. In addition, Four is terrified of heights, and one of Tris's friends states that he has never tried a mile-long zipline that cuts through and abandoned part of the city.
I give Divergent a 5 out of 5. It's enjoyable, well-written, gripping, and thought provoking. I would definitely recommend.