Divergent: Mid Pt Review

I forgot to mention the blogs I’m following:

-          -  John A

-          - Ethan B

-          - Ben Chaiken

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      I introduced part of the premise in my first blog post because I had already seen a movie trailer for the movie version of my book that is coming out. I talked about how the society is divided up into 5 factions, each with a different ideal about how humans should go about life. The faction of Erudite believes in the pursuit of knowledge. Amity puts peace above all else. No one in Candor is ever allowed to lie. The brave and courageous belong to Dauntless. Our protagonist, Beatrice, was born into the faction of Abnegation, which goes to extreme lengths to rid humans of self-indulgence. Beatrice is 16, and it is time for everyone her age to participate in the choosing ceremony. Pupils choose what faction they want to become a part of for the rest of their lives. First, 16 year olds go through the aptitude test. The results of these tests show where each student is supposed to fit into, but they can still choose a different faction.

SPOILER ALERT. Beatrice is bored in Abnegation and doesn’t feel she fits in. She also gets “Divergent,” as the result of her aptitude test. This means she could fit into more than one faction. She is warned by many people that being Divergent in dangerous. She boldly choose the life of a tough and courageous Dauntless. END SPOILER ALERT. In doing so, changes her name to “Tris,” in the process to help her forget her old ways and focus on her new identity.

      I have been somewhat disappointed at how the story is such a stereotypical young-adult action novel. Tris’s journey as a character goes through a rather bland path. There aren’t any accurate Vonnegut storylines, but I remember some mention of a storyline that follows a periodic rise and fall, with a general upward trend. Despite this, the book is very gripping and the author provides great imagery in important scenes. Beatrice narrates, “What feels like a solid wall hits me from the side, forcing the air from my lungs, and I fall hard, gasping. I can’t swim; I’ve only seen bodies of water this large, this powerful, in pictures. Beneath me is a rock with a jagged edge, slick with water. The water pulls at my legs, and I cling ot the rock tasting slat on my lips. Out of the corner of the eye, I see a dark sky and a blood-red moon” (387). Astounding descriptions such as this help in absorbing me as a reader into the story.

      Throughout the story, there have been little hints dropped that there are greater forces working behind the scenes. Beyond what Beatrice, or any normal citizen, faces in their everyday life. Someone who Beatrice is talking to says, “‘If I had it figured out, I would have told you by now… The only thing I’ve come up with is that changing the simulation isn’t what they care about; it’s just a symptom of something else. Something they do care about” (260). It doesn’t take a detective to conclude that Beatrice will be at the center of whatever conflict arises at the climax of the story.