PART 1
When I was in third year high school, my Social Studies teacher told me
that in order to have peace, we must first have war. I was surprised
then, because up to that point, I had believed that peace could be
achieved by a form on its own, a form of peace too. But as I pondered
about what he said, it occurred to me that he was right. War is the
predecessor of peace. It is a twisted path, but it is. I was reminded of
this thought when I was reading the novel Divergent by Veronica Roth.
It had occurred to me that the people of the five factions of
Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite are in a rather more peaceful
harmony compared to in reality. It made me wonder how they had
accomplished that. The beginning of the novel showed some tension
between Abnegation and Erudite, but it is verbal only and not as severe
as other conflict.
Divergent is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Beatrice
Prior who is from the faction of the Abnegation (the selfless). But
Beatrice transferred into Dauntless (the brave) during the Choosing
Ceremony, after she had discovered that the aptitude test that
determines a person’s faction didn’t work on her. Instead, the aptitude
test result showed that Beatrice has aptitude for three factions –
Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite (the intelligent) – a condition known
as Divergence. Back to Beatrice’s transfer, she transferred because she
reasoned out that she was too selfish for Abnegation. I commend
Beatrice for doing what she did. It is actually quite selfless to leave
your family because you do not deserve to be with them; it is also a
great act of bravery.
But I also wonder why the Dauntless is so raucous. They say
that they are brave, but isn’t being brave different from being harsh?
They are fearless, yes, but isn’t fearless different from stupid?
Because it seems to me that jumping out of trains is stupidity.
In the end, I think Tris will face more challenges in her
future in the Dauntless. But I think it will not only for her, but for
the whole city, and all the factions too.
Part II
FAVORITE PART OF THE NOVEL
My favorite part in the novel is when Tris placed first in the stage
two of the initiation stage. She had gone through tough times,
especially in stage one where she was beaten up by Molly. So when she
was first place in the fear simulation stage, I was very happy for her.
She had finally shown her competitors, especially Peter, Molly, and
Drew, that she is not a little helpless girl.
However, I think placing first would spell trouble for Tris. Edward,
who placed first in the ranking during stage one, was stabbed in the eye
by Peter. Tris will be put in a dangerous situation, especially
considering the tight competition between the initiates. Her life could
be threatened by her fellow competitors.
Also, her friendship with Al, Christina, and Will could be
challenged. I think her friends would be suspicious of her, even
envious, with how she could cope up and deal with the fear simulation,
given that all of them are having nightmares and shook up from their
fears while Tris seems unaffected.
Unfortunately for Tris though, I know she could not explain to her
friends the reason why she could easily get out of the simulation –
because she is Divergent, and her brain could comprehend that what is
happening to her isn’t actually happening. In short, she is aware and
alert during simulation. If she will tell her friends – or anyone for
that matter – that she is Divergent, she will be in more danger.
But I think it would greatly changed the way the Dauntless are
treating Tris. I think she will be admired and be given more respect as a
transfer from Abnegation.
All in all, I can tell that Tris’ success would not bode well for her
in terms of her safety. But I could also say that it will become a test
of friendship for the four of them, a challenge to their trust of each
other, and a whole new transformation of the Dauntless views of Tris the
Stiff.
