Divergence Novel

[Gabby Dreher]

Divergentthe debut novel of American novelist Veronica Roth, was published by HarperCollins Children's Books in 2011. The novel is the first in the Divergent series, a trilogy of young adult dystopian novels (plus a book of short stories)[1] set in a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago. The society defines its citizens by their social and personality-related affiliation with one of five factions. This rigid system has removed the threat of anyone exercising independent will and re-threatening the population's safety. In the story, Beatrice Prior joins the ranks of the Dauntless and explores her new identity as "Tris". Underlying the action- and dystopian-focused main plot is a romantic subplot between Tris and "Four", one of her instructors in the Dauntless faction.

The novel has been compared to other dystopian young adult books of the 21st century such as The Hunger Games (2008) and The Maze Runner (2009) because of its similar themes and target audience. In particular, the novel explores themes common to young adult fiction such as adult authority and the transition from childhood to maturity. Motifs considered within the post-apocalyptic society include the place of violence and social structure. Its major plot device, the division of society into personality types, is one used in other science fiction works. Beyond its literary context, Roth's open declaration of her religion as a Christian has brought commentary from Christian communities both endorsing and challenging the novel.

Roth wrote Divergent while working on a creative writing degree at Northwestern University, and it was quickly purchased for publication alongside the subsequent books in the trilogy (published 2012 and 2013).[1] Summit Entertainment purchased the media rights to the book in 2011 and subsequently produced a film adaptation, released March 21, 2014. The film generated nearly $290 million at the box office on a $88 million budget, but received mixed reviews from critics.

The novel is Roth's debut novel and was published a little over a year after Roth graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Creative Writing program at Northwestern University.[3] Roth wrote the novel during her senior year winter break[4] and sold movie rights to the novel before she had graduated.[3][5] She had been working on the series from Four's point of view but decided that he was not the character she wanted for her series. Years later, she decided to pick up the novel from a different point of view. Roth wrote the series from Beatrice's point of view.

I wrote the rough draft and I felt like it needed a more grounded sense of place, and I looked at the city I had described, which is all these trains constantly moving, and this lake marsh, and these rivers. And I realized that it was Chicago already, and it was just because that's the city I've known and loved the longest.[6]

In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, people have been divided into five factions: Abnegation, who were the selfless; Amity, who were the peaceful; Candor, who were the honest; Dauntless, who were the brave; and Erudite, who were the intelligent. All sixteen-year-olds are tested to determine the faction that suits them best, but most end up selecting their own faction at the annual Choosing Ceremony. Those who do not complete initiation become "Factionless" and live on the streets as outcasts.

Sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior cannot choose before taking the test. Her inconclusive test results- Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite- mark her as "Divergent," and the test administrator, Tori, warns her never to tell anyone. Agonizing over her future, Beatrice decides to leave Abnegation, her original faction, and join Dauntless. Her brother, Caleb, chooses Erudite, much to her and their family's shock.

The new Dauntless initiates jump onto a moving train to Dauntless headquarters and are instructed to jump onto the roof. Most make it, but one initiate falls to her death, and another is too afraid to jump. When they are later ordered to jump into the compound entrance, Beatrice jumps first. Reaching the bottom, she tells the instructor, Four, that her name is Tris.

Four explains that only the top ten Dauntless initiates will stay, and the rest become Factionless. Tris befriends fellow initiates Christina, Will, and Al but comes into conflict with others like Peter, Drew, and Molly.

In the first stage of initiation, they are trained in guns, knives, and hand-to-hand combat. Despite her lack of physical strength, Tris finishes in sixth place. A relationship emerges between Tris and Four, and Tris is pummeled by Peter in a fight. After the first-stage rankings are announced, the second-place Peter stabs the first-place Edward in the eye. Edward leaves to become Factionless, followed by his girlfriend Myra, which allows Peter to take Edward's place as the first-place initiate.

Erudite stirs dissent against the city's Abnegation leadership and accuses its leader, Marcus, of abusing his son. The rumors are fueled by the fact that Marcus's son, as well as Tris and Caleb, have all left Abnegation, which is also alleged to be hoarding supplies.

The initiates enter the second stage and face hallucinations based on their deepest fears. Tris' Divergent abilities give her an advantage and earn her the top rank. Peter, Molly, Al, and Drew attack Tris, threaten sexual assault, and nearly throw her to her death, but Four intervenes. Al begs Tris's forgiveness, but she rejects him, and he later dies by suicide.

The final stage gathers the initiates' fears into a simulated "fear landscape" to test their acquired skills. Tris and Four grow closer, and he lets her into his own fear landscape. She discovers that he has only four fears, hence his nickname. In Four's final fear, Tris learns he is Marcus's son and the claims of abuse were true. Four uncovers Erudite's plans to use Dauntless to stage an attack on Abnegation.

The serum transforms the Dauntless into hypnotized soldiers to attack Abnegation. Tris and Four's Divergent abilities allow them to remain unaffected by the serum and escape to the Abnegation compound. Tris is shot, and they are captured. The Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews, the mastermind of the attack, injects Four with an experimental serum that overrides his Divergence. Under Jeanine's control, Tobias oversees the attack from the Dauntless control room. Tris is almost drowned in a tank but is rescued by her mother, who reveals that she is also Divergent while helping Tris escape. Tris is forced to kill Will, who attacks her under the influence of the simulation.

She finds her and Four's fathers and explains the truth behind the attack. They fight their way to Dauntless headquarters, where Tris's father sacrifices himself. Tris is attacked by the mind-controlled Tobias. Unable to kill him, Tris surrenders, which causes Four to break free of the serum's control. They shut down the Erudite simulation and free the Dauntless. They rejoin the initiates and board a train to the Amity sector to find the Abnegation survivors.

Many reviewers stated that the novel's writing style offers a distinctive, terse prose that creates a fast-paced reading experience. Susan Dominus, writing in The New York Times, described the style as "brisk pacing, lavish flights of imagination and writing that occasionally startles with fine detail."[3] Abby Nolan, from The American Prospect, noted that Divergent follows the structural and stylistic patterns of The Hunger Games and Blood Red Road.[7]

As in other children's and young adult fiction, the novel probes placement of authority and identity within the youths' relationship to parents and other social forces. The critic Antero Garcia describes the thematic similarity between the dystopian novels as an interest in the "grasp of power between youth and adult authority" and compared the novel to Unwind by Neal Shusterman.[8] In The New York Times, Susan Dominus stated that Divergent "explores a more common adolescent anxiety--the painful realization that coming into one's own sometimes means leaving family behind ideologically and physically."[3] The Voice of Youth Advocates agreed and wrote that Divergent shows the pressure of "having to choose between following in your parents' footsteps or doing something new."[9] The critic Antero Garcia compared the thematic interest in the characters being "forced into limiting constraints of identity and labor associated with their identity" to similar interest in forced identities and labor in the dystopian children's novels Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie and The Maze Runner by James Dashner.[8]

The basis of the social structure in Divergent is that each faction fulfils a role in society. Those who cannot contribute to society are cast aside to become "factionless" and are deprived of access to an identity and resources. In a journal article, Andrea Burgos-Mascarell compared the factionless to illegal immigrants, who do not have access to certain public services either. Both are marginalised from society because they are unable to contribute to it.[11]

Some reviews criticized the lack of depth and realism of the social structures in the novel. Kirkus Reviews called the social structure a "preposterous premise."[12] Booklist called the structure a "simplistic, color-coded world [that] stretches credibility on occasion."[13] In a review for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's student newspaper Royal Purple News, Abrielle Backhaus notes how the "entire system seems insubstantial" and asks rhetorically, "How could it be possible for any individual, with his or her infinite emotions and experiences, to be condensed to one single quality to tolerate for the rest of their lives and to choose at the mere age of 16?"[14] In an interview, Roth described the social structure to have expanded from her initial conception, and she added Candor to fill "a gap in the reasoning behind the world that needed to be filled."[6]

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