Comparative Essay: Intruder vs Divergent

📌Category: Books, Divergent
📌Words: 529
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 22 February 2022

The protagonists from Intruder by Christine Bongers and Divergent by Veronica Roth are quite alike considering they come from different novels. The novel of Intruder was written by Bongers as a fictional drama and mystery whereas Divergent was written in a dystopian setting which is unfamiliar to the reader, so they are entertained rather than sympathised. Kat from Intruder is a more sympathetic protagonist due to her lack of control whereas Tris from Divergent has more control over what happens in her life. This can be seen through the invited reading, the characters' ideologies, and the influence of other characters.

The invited reading of both novels is different but still effective in their own way. For example, the invited reading for Intruder is 'don’t be afraid to ask for help'. Kat tells Al she doesn’t “like people thinking [she’s] a wuss" (Bongers, pg. 67) indicating that she doesn’t like to seem weak. In contrast, the invited reading for Divergent is 'be in charge of your own destiny’. Tris identifies why she would be making the choices for her faction, "It will require a great act of selflessness to choose Abnegation, or a great act of courage to choose Dauntless." (Roth, pg. 61). This difference is important because the invited reading influences the reader to emphasise for certain characters and in this case for Kat more than Tris. Overall, both invited readings are equally engaging. 

Kat and Tris both share similar personal beliefs which makes them quite alike. For example, Kat is very independent because of the devastating events that have happened to her in her life. Throughout her life, Kat has felt unloved by the people around her, "I'm just sick of people always… always what? Letting me down? Dumping me? Leaving me?" (Bongers, pg. 187). Similarly, Tris throughout divergent doesn’t let anything faze her and chooses her own path, such as when she “walks towards the Ferris wheel with light, quiet footsteps…" (Bongers, pg. 106). The similarity between the two characters is important because it helps create a form of sympathy for what they are going through. This is done through the choice of vocabulary and the first person, limited point of view.

Bongers and Roth have both included characters throughout their novels which influence the protagonists in both positive and negative ways. Within most of Intruder, Kat had Al who positively influenced her decisions. Although it was quite subtle throughout Intruder, Al encouraged Kat to see the better of Edie as “[he’s] not [her] enemy and [he doesn’t] think that woman next door is either" (Bongers, pg. 175). Likewise, during Divergent, Tris had Tobias shaping her to become better and strong, while keeping her safe because “It is more important for [her] to be safe than right” (Roth, pg. 577). Similarities like this are important between books because they help you empathise with the characters due to the sidekick’s help or otherwise. Both books have a love interest who help them grow as characters.

To sum up, Intruder by Christine Bongers and Divergent by Veronica Roth were the novels that were analysed and compared to prove that the protagonist from Intruder is more sympathetic than the protagonist from Divergent. Kat is demonstrated as more sympathetic through the invited reading, ideologies, and influence of side characters. Through these key ideas, the reader becomes more emotionally present with the characters. Therefore, Intruder has solely focused on getting an emotion from the reader whereas Divergent is more for entertainment.

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