A Comparison Essay Of A Dystopian Government In 'Divergent'

Veronica Roth’s novel “Divergent” is an extremely eye-opening and perception-changing book when it comes to comparing our society to the dystopian world the story takes place. The community is separated into 5 different factions that define each individual depending on which one they choose, the options being limited to bravery, peacekeeping, intelligence, selflessness, and honesty. As we follow a 16-year-old girl named Tris who struggles to find where she belongs among the five factions, we discover that because of the civilization she lives in, it quickly became difficult for her to keep pushing through the conflicts she was constantly faced with. Not being able to fit in was a difficult road for Tris, but something had to keep pushing her forward during her exploration of the world to help her become the person she wants to be. Three of the biggest reasons that encouraged her to keep going through her journey of self-discovery were the fact that she was divergent in a convergent world, her mission to keep herself above the factionless, and her peers that helped her through the entirety of the novel.

To begin, Tris found it very difficult to continue with her exploration of the dystopian society she lived in because of her divergence. After the simulation test to help her decide which faction to give her life to, she discovered that being divergent was not acceptable where she lived and was often punished with a life sentence in prison, labor, or even death which frightened her. However, it also encouraged her to figure out more about what it means to be divergent and why everyone seemed so afraid of those who were divergent. “Please help me understand,” I say quietly. Tris once said: “What does it mean to be …” I hesitate. I should not say the word “Divergent” here. “What the hell am I?” (Roth 257). This quote proves that Tris was desperate for answers to her questions about her abnormality but was never given them because of how hidden her secret must stay. Because of this, she took matters into her own hands and decided that if she wanted any answers, she had to find them herself, which created another mission for her to keep going. Another reason why figuring out more about her divergency kept her going was because it didn’t only affect herself and how she thought about herself, but also how others thought about her. “I don’t mean you shouldn’t share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone, ever, no matter what happens. Divergence is extremely dangerous. You understand?” (Roth 23). This quote is from Tori who Tris did the test and proves that being divergent means that you’re a danger to society which confused Tris. She couldn’t understand what she did wrong to be such a dangerous person and because Tori wouldn’t answer any more of her questions and told her not to bring it up to anyone else, it made Tris more determined to figure out why being divergent made you such a more harmful person than if you belonged to a faction. Along the path of her discovery of divergence, she continues to pile more and more questions upon the others which were what really pushed Tris to keep going with her adventures.

Secondly, Tris had an ongoing mission with herself to stay above the factionless or the ones who didn’t belong anywhere. Near the beginning of the novel, she had an interaction with one of the factionless and they told her to never become something like them ever since then, she told herself that she would do everything she could to stay above that line that qualified someone as factionless. Although Tris was born into the Abnegation faction that dedicated their lives to helping the factionless, she never saw them as people who had worthy or a purpose in life like everyone else around her. “Without a faction, we have no purpose and no reason to live.” (Roth 20). This quote proves that Tris saw the factionless as unworthy or even as nothing; she knew they didn’t have any purpose in life and knew she had to stay above the line that determined whether or not she had a faction. The thought of her failing and becoming one of the factionless frightened Tris and encouraged her to keep pushing herself to become better than her peers when fighting for the top 10 in the Dauntless faction leader board. Another quote that proves this is when Tris stated: “I would rather be dead than be empty, like the factionless.” (Roth 54). Tris practically says that she would rather die than be factionless which proves that she would do anything than to end up at the bottom like the factionless. The thought reoccurs very often to Tris which is what keeps her going; whenever she thinks of giving up, she remembers what it’s like to be factionless and reminds herself that it is not worth living like them.

Last but not least, her peers played a huge role in pushing Tris to keep going with her adventures. Tris’s brother Caleb was always a huge role model for her since he always seemed to fit in with their selfless community whereas she had trouble being as selfless as the rest of her family. The night before the Choosing Ceremony, she was almost 100% sure that he would return to the Abnegation faction for their family, but he told her something that not only changed her mind about his soon-to-be choice, but also her own and who she should choose for: “We should think of our family.” There is an edge to his voice. “But. But we must also think of ourselves.” (Roth 36). This quote is what helped Tris really push herself to be the person she wants to be instead of the person her family or community members want her to be. They both knew that choosing another faction could hurt their parents, however, it could also help push Tris in the right direction which was what Caleb was trying to help her with. Tris knew that if Caleb could make a difficult choice for himself, she could do it too. Another person Tris saw as a role model was Four because he helped the new recruits to Dauntless become a real member of the faction and he was constantly encouraging her to be the bravest and the best person she could be. Although sometimes he was a little harsh with his encouragement, Tris always understood what he meant and tried her best to pursue what he was telling her. Four said: “Be brave, Tris,” he whispers. “The first time is always the hardest.” (Roth 232). This quote proves that Four always helped her be the strongest and bravest version of herself that she could be while still reassuring her that even though sometimes it can be hard, pushing yourself to your limits can benefit you in the future when you need the strength. Tris chose to surround herself with a lot of supportive people to help remind herself that she can be the capable person that she aimed to be. Even if it was hard for her to continue fighting at times, there was always someone next to her to push her to keep going.

In the end, Tris successfully managed to become the person she wanted to be with the help of her own mission to find out what it meant to be divergent, her ongoing conflict with herself to stay above the factionless, and the people she surrounded herself with. Despite the fact that being divergent had still remained quite the mystery by the end of the novel, she was still able to make it through the war she was faced with and did everything she could to protect herself, her friends and family, and her reputation.