Veronica Roth's Divergent Review

The story that unravels in Veronica Roth’s dystopian fiction, Divergent, displays themes


of fear, conformity versus rebellion, will to survive, and self-discovery.   Published in 2011,


Beatrice, otherwise known as Tris, struggles to deal with life after her aptitude test when she is


forced to choose what faction she will live in   based on her personality.   In choosing her faction


Beatrice is forced to set aside her fear as she must do from that moment forward, not becoming


fearless but becoming capable of facing her fears.   Along the way she faces a constant struggle to


survive, the blooming of a relationship, and Tris must discover who she is.



Roth begins by setting the scene of Beatrice’s life in the Abnegation Faction, where her


family resides and it becomes evident how different she is from everyone there.   Regardless of


how hard she may try, Beatrice is incapable of fitting into this faction where everyone must


disregard themselves and put others first, always.   So after learning about her divergence,


Beatrice is forced to hide her individuality from her family and friends, leaving her old faction to


take a more dangerous route- Dauntless.   After an exhilarating jump off of a building, changing


her name to Tris, meeting the mysterious Four, and foregoing initiation, Tris must now struggle


to surpass the other initiatives but stay under the radar.   If her divergence is discovered, she will


end up a broken doll at the bottom of a mountain.   Even when it’s still a secret, an initiative


named Pete attacks her anyway once she makes the rankings as number one and as he is dangling


her life over a cliff, a knight in shining armor arrives.   By the end of the book a transformation


has overcome Tris and what was once a girl trying to fit in is now a woman who has accepted her


singularity.



The book intensifies emotions as it wraps the reader into its pages, pulling them...