User:Bryanoates01/Divergent trilogy

Setting:
The Divergent trilogy takes place in a post-apocalyptic dystopian version of Chicago, with the exact time unspecified, however, it is known that the books take place after the American "Purity War". The city has been separated from the rest of the country via a wall as an experiment by the US government in an effort to rebuild what was lost during the war. Society is divided into 5 distinct factions that each dedicate themselves to a certain virtue: Abnegation values selflessness, Dauntless values braveness, Erudite values intelligence, Candor values honestness, and Amity values peacefulness (See Factions).

To add to Divergent (First Novel) section:
Beatris "Tris" Prior questions her place in her birth faction Abnegation and does not fully believe that she belongs there, however, is convinced that her brother Caleb does. She is nervous to take the aptitude test, which is a yearly test taken the day before the Choosing Ceremony administered to all 16 year olds who are considered adults at that point from every faction in order to help them determine which faction they belong to. The test is administered via a serum which is ingested by drinking it, which puts them into a state of altered reality in which they are put through a number of tests. The way they respond to these test help the person administering it to decide which faction they belong to. Through the test, Tris finds out that she could belong to three different factions: Dauntless, who act as the police of the city, Abnegation, her birth faction which values selflessness and controls the government, and Erudite, who act as the teachers, doctors, scientists, and are responsible for the majority of the technological advancements seen in the city. Her supervisor Tori informs her that she is Divergent, meaning that she can not be defined by one faction, and advises her to be cautious and keep it a secret as being Divergent is dangerous and could get her killed. On Choosing Day, Tris ends up choosing Dauntless, a choice that is extremely uncommon due to the differences between Abnegation and Dauntless, and her brother chooses Erudite, another uncommon choice due to the ongoing conflict between Abnegation and Erudite over who should control the government.

On her first day, the initiates learn of a new rule that only a small group of 10 initiates are allowed to fully join the faction which is decided through a ranking system, with the others becoming faction less and living as homeless in the city. During her first few days as a dauntless initiate, she has trouble adjusting to her new life, but through the help of her new friends (Christina and Will) and mentor "Four" who is another Abnegation transfer, she begins to learn the ways of their lifestyle. On visiting day she reunites with her mother, who informs her that she was in fact also Dauntless before transferring to Abnegation and warns Tris to be careful of the fact that she is divergent. She starts to form a strong romantic relationship with "Four", who she later learns is really Tobias Eaton the son of Abnegation leader Marcus Eaton, and who knows that she is Divergent being that he is himself. He teaches her how to avoid being discovered as Divergent through the tougher second round of training that involves more serums that put initiates into the 'Fear Landscape'. He eventually saves her from an attack organized by her fellow initiates, who try to kill her to gain a higher rank, and their relationship grows further.

She passes initiation by correctly overcoming the fear landscape, which is another simulation used by the Dauntless to help them overcome their fears, as a true Dauntless would and by hiding her Divergent identity, and is ranked first at the initiation ceremony. Afterwards, Tris is, along with the rest of the members of Dauntless, injected with a mind-control tracking system created by the Erudite and are then forced into an organized attack against Abnegation. Tris and Four, who are unaffected by serum due to their Divergence, then proceed to work together along with the help of her parents, who ultimately die in the process, to end the simulation and ultimately stop the attack. They succeed, however most of the Abnegation members die in the raid. The book ends with the surviving group on a train, seemingly heading somewhere for shelter from the Erudite who are no doubt going to be coming after them.

Background:
Veronica Roth came up with the first concept for Divergent while taking psychology in her first year of university. She learned about using the method of treating anxiety through exposure therapy where patients are exposed to fears in a controlled environment in an effort to get them to deal with them. This concept was later used within the fear landscapes and serums that the Dauntless use on the initiates in the first book. She wrote the first draft of the book years later, during her winter break her senior year at Northwestern University while she was studying creative writing. It was originally being written from Four's perspective, however four years later she decided to switch it to that of Beatris "Tris" Prior. She later published the book a little over a year out of University and sold the movie rights thereafter.