A while back, I read Divergent and Insurgent, both in the Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth. Last weekend, I began the final installment of the series, Allegiant. Right now, I'm on page 120 and since it's been so long since I'd read the other books, I'm LOST. It's not that it's a difficult read at all... Roth just alludes to the first two books so frequently that it's mind-boggling! I think I'm just going to read the first two books again. Any-who, the concept of the series is that there is a dystopian society in which people are classified by their personalities and put into "factions". As children, people live in the same factions as their parents, but once a year, a "Choosing Ceremony" is held and those who are 16 and have completed their "aptitude tests" (essentially personality tests that determine which faction you should choose), are given the choice to either leave their factions or take up a new one.
Each of the factions represents a specific virtue that members value. They are, according to Veronica Roth's blog, "Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent)". Personally, I think it was a mistake for the "founders" to structure the society in this manner because it is in human nature to have a diverse range of judgement classes to base reactions and actions upon, so it would be unnatural to make a person behave in a specific manner based upon the faction they were born into, or even the one they choose. This made the series rather predictable to me because these tight restrictions are unreasonable, evolutionarily, so it would obviously give way to people who don't conform: the Divergents. And with non-conformers comes revolution.
I completely understand what you mean about being lost! I read all three books within the same month and I nearly overloaded myself! It was hard to keep everything straight about when and in what order everything was happening, but I still LOVED the trilogy. I find that I often lean toward dystopian novels, because of their confusion, and it really keeps you on your toes! All I have left to say is keep reading: The ending is unexpected and astounding!
ReplyDeleteLove this blog! Very well done. As to your statement about it being a mistake to put them in factions, I agree partially. Later on in the book you will find why they put them into factions and how it worked for them (founders). I won't tell you how, you'll have to continue reading! Anyway, great job!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great summary! I just finished the series, and I can't stop thinking about it. The plot and characters are so unique (maybe that's just because I love dystopian settings). The ending is very surprising. You are either going to love it or hate it. Enjoy the rest of the series!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your summary! I have heard a ton about this series and how amazing it is. I completly agree with your take on the society in the book, it's unnatural. I know the movie for Divergent is coming out in about a week so I probably should start reading this book!
ReplyDeleteI love how you said the series was a little predictable because human nature is to be divergent, not sorted neatly into factions. I also loved your line, "With non-conformers comes revolution." Truth, man.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the human nature thing. For me personally, I could see myself in more than one of those factions! I could definitely see a system like that going horribly wrong pretty quickly.
ReplyDeletei have heard a lot about this book and am considering reading it
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