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Plot Summary
In Divergent there are five factions, or social and governmental groups that each are working towards eliminating a different fault of human nature: Candor (which strives to tell the the truth), Abnegation (which strives to be selfless), Dauntless (which tries to be brave), Amity (which works towards kindness), and Erudite (which battles against ignorance). There is also a group in poverty called the factionless, who have been kicked out of their factions. Beatrice Prior, the main character, lives in Abnegation, but she doesn't feel that she belongs. Every year in this society, all the 16-year-olds take an aptitude test, a test that tells them which faction they are fit for, before choosing the section they will stay with for the rest of their lives. The test tells Beatrice that she is Divergent, which means that she shows equal aptitude for several different factions. She is told that being Divergent is dangerous, and that she should tell no one. At the choosing ceremony, she chooses Dauntless, surprising her family. After the 16-year-olds join their new faction, they must complete an initiation. After Beatrice begins her training by jumping off of a building, she changes her name to Tris to represent her new self. The first stage of Dauntless initiation involves learning to use weapons and winning fights of hand-to-hand combat against other initiates. Tris makes it through the first stage just barely, but one of her friends is kicked out because they didn't make it to the top ten. The second stage of initiation involves tests where a serum is used to induce realistic visions of a character's fears, and they have to calm themselves down before the vision will go away. Because Tris is Divergent, she can fight off these visions with surprising ease, but her excellence puts her in danger of being discovered. Tris passes the second stage in first, which causes one of the other initiates to attack her out of jealousy. She escapes the attack because she is rescued by Four, one of her instructors, which causes the tentative romance between them to take shape. During the third stage, Tris passes in first as well, and is injected along with all the other Dauntless with a serum tht she is told is supposed to help find her if she goes missing. That night, the serum causes all the Dauntless who are not Divergent to sleepwalk to the Abnegation and kill them under the control of the Erudite. Tris, Four, and Tris's family then have to shut down the computers that control the Dauntless.

Major Themes
According to scholars, Divergent has a family theme. The New York Times stated that Divergent "movingly explores a more common adolescent anxiety--the painful realization that coming into one's own sometimes means leaving family behind, both ideologically and physically." The Voice of Youth Advocates agrees, writing that Divergent shows the pressure of "having to choose between following in you parents' footsteps or doing something new."

Awards and Nominations
Divergent won Favorite book of 2011 in 2011's Goodreads Choice Awards. Also, Divergent was number one in the Teens' Top Ten Vote, sponsored by YALSA.

Style
Divergent is described as having a fast pace by many reviewers. Publishers Weekly described Roth's descriptions of the initiation process as being "as spellbinding as they are violent" and complimented the romance between Tris and Four, calling it "tremulous" and full of "heart-stopping tenderness." Kirkus Reviews agrees, saying that "the plot clips along at an addictive pace, with steady jolts of brutal violence and swoony romance." The New York Times described Roth's writing as having "brisk pacing, lavish flights of imagination and writing that occasionally startles with fine detail," however, they also noticed that while "terrible things happen to the people Tris loves . . . the characters absorb these events with disquieting ease. . . . the novel's flights from reality distance the reader from . . . emotional impact." The Voice of Youth Advocates described Roth's writing as having "nonstop action, excellent voice, and [a] simple yet accessible writing style." Nolan, from the American Prospect, noted that Divergent follows patterns that are present in both The Hunger Games and Blood Red Road.

Reception
Divergent recieved mixed reviews. De Lint wrote that while the "factions aspect" was a problem for him, Divergent was a "compelling thriller that . . . [is] one of the better examples of [dystopian fiction]." Kirkus Reviews agreed that the premise was "preposterous" and complained that "despite the constant assurance that Tris is courageous, clever and king, her own first-person narration displays a blank personality." The New York Times noted that "though Divergent is rich in plot and imaginative details, it suffers by comparison with Collins' opus. The shortcoming would no be so noticeable were there less blatant overlap between the two." Booklist agreed that "The simplistic, color-coded world stretched credibility on occasion" but predicted that "readers will respond to the gutsy action and romance of the umpteenth spin on Brave New World." Despite shortcomings Divergent is widely acknowleged as a great book. Jessica Donaghy, an editor of Goodreads.com commented that "Veronica Roth join the ranks of YA authors like Suzanne Collins and Stephanie Meyer who have successfully attracted readers across all age groups . . . Fifty percent of Goodreads members who read Divergent were 25 and older." Devin Burrit from The Voice of Youth Advocates was one of these people, and descibed Divergent as a "fast-paced and fun read." De Lint noted that "Most of Divergent is basically Tris's initiation process-- it isn't until the last pages or so that the canvas grows larger" but he claimed that Divergent wasn't a dull book because "There's action thoughout this coming-of-age story, and while the pace rarely lets up, there's still time for characterization and some telling introspection." The Dominion Post wrote that Divergent deserves to be "the next "Harry Potter" or "Hunger Games.""

Beatrice "Tris" Prior
Beatrice is the main character and narrator of Divergent. She is described as being short and youthful looking, with blue-grey eyes and dull blonde hair that falls to the small of her back. She is considered moderately attractive, though she is self-conscious about her long nose. Tris is called "childlike". Tris is sixteen years old and is the child of Andrew and Natalie Prior. She has an older brother named Caleb Prior.

Tris comes from Abnegation, which is the selfless and giving faction. When she is sixteen, she decides to leave that faction, and join the brave, daring Dauntless. When she joins, she gives herself a new name, "Tris" (short for Beatrice), as a symbol of starting fresh in a new faction. Tris has to get through the initiation process before becoming a real Dauntless. If she fails, she will be factionless. So, she fights, shoots, throws knives, and must battle her way out of her worst fears imaginable, and if she succeeds, she will be a Dauntless forever. As she is determined to remain Dauntless she also seeks to discover the truth about her concealed "divergent" nature.

While in training, Tris gets three tattoos: three ravens above her collar bone, representing the three family members she has left behind; the Abnegation symbol on one shoulder; and the Dauntless symbol on the other. Tris is stubborn and tough. Thin and weak at first, she becomes muscular during training as a Dauntless initiate. During her third initiation stage she learnes she only has seven fears: getting eaten alive by crows, being drowned while standing in a glass tank, drowning in the ocean, being burned alive by Peter, being kidnapped, intimacy (with Four), and being forced to shoot her family (all of the fears are symbolic for: being trapped, losing control over herself and her life, losing her loved ones, and so on). She and Four soon fall in love but decide to keep their relationship secret.

Shailene Woodley plays Tris in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Caleb Prior
Caleb is Tris's older brother and is extremely intelligent. He has dark hair, a hooked nose, and dimples. Since they are close in age, they have their choosing ceremonies on the same day. He surprises her by choosing to become one of the Erudite rather than remaining in Abnegation. This change of factions is very surprising due to the fact that the tension between Erudite and Abnegation is very high.

Ansel Elgort plays Caleb in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Natalie Prior
Natalie is Beatrice and Caleb's mother. She is warmer than her husband, and she visits Tris on Visiting Day in her Dauntless faction. She warns Tris to lay low and not to attract attention to herself. Tris notices that her mother seems familiar with the Dauntless compound, but does not ask questions. Later, Tris is captured by Jeanine Matthews and is locked in a glass tank to drown. Her mother saves her, and she reveals a tattoo of the Dauntless faction, which she was once a member of. She reveals herself to also be Divergent. She tells Tris to meet her father and brother at a safe house. On the way to the safe house, Natalie dies to protect Tris. While Tris is trying to get to the Safe House, her mom runs firing her gun in the air to distract the guards allowing Tris to reach her father, brother Caleb and other Abnegation survivors.

Ashley Judd plays Natalie in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Andrew Prior
Andrew Prior is Beatrice and Caleb's father and a faction leader in Abnegation. He comes under fire for his actions along with the other Abnegation leaders. The Erudite believe that Abnegation's decision to provide for the Factionless causes the Erudite faction to not receive the resources they deserve. Many believe that Caleb and Tris' transfer to other factions was staged. At the end of the novel, Andrew accompanies Tris and Caleb to the Dauntless faction in order to destroy the simulation that is controlling all other Dauntless members. In order for Tris to advance to the control room, Andrew dies in the line of fire, leaving Caleb and Tris without either of their parents.

Tony Goldwyn plays Andrew in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Christina
Christina is a fellow initiate originally from Candor, but transfers to Dauntless. She quickly becomes friends with Tris and Al, and love interest to Will. Christina is known for her blunt honesty and is a fierce competitor during Dauntless initiation. She is from Candor and has a mother, father and sister.

Zoe Kravitz plays Christina in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Will
Will is a fellow initiate that originally came from Erudite and transferred to Dauntless at the choosing ceremony. He is a love interest of Christina who was from Candor. He has a sister called Cara who doesn't like Tris and accuses Tris' mother of hoarding goods. He became very protective of Tris after she was attacked by Peter, Drew and Al. He was killed by Tris while he was a mindless soldier under the simulation.

Ben Lloyd-Hughes plays Will in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Al
Al was a fellow initiate transfer from Candor to Dauntless. He admits early on his hesitancy about the way Dauntless works as a faction and only joined to please his father. Al is described as a large, joyful boy who smells like lemongrass and sage. He quickly falls for Tris, but recoils after she rejects him. His strength serves him well during the beginning of his initiation, but the guilt of hurting someone gets to him and he begins to lose on purpose. After Tris takes the number one slot during the 2nd stage of initiation, Al joins Peter and Drew in attacking her. Tris's unwillingness to forgive him causes Al to throw himself into a chasm, ending his life. Dauntless leader, Eric, describes him as the bravest of them all, as he willingly went to face his death.

Christian Madsen plays Al in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Peter
Peter is Christina's fellow transfer initiate from Candor. He is ruthless, beating Tris to a pulp in the second round of fighting during the initiation process. The fight only ends when Four tells Peter to stop. When Peter is ranked second to Edward after the first round, he attacks Edward in the middle of the night and stabs him in the eye with a butter knife, forcing him out of the initiation. Peter and his friends, Drew and Molly, enjoy harassing Tris. When Tris is ranked first after the second round of initiation, Peter, Drew, and Al attack her and hang her over the edge of the chasm. In the end, Peter is ranked fifth and becomes a member of Dauntless. The Dauntless leaders decide to turn off Peter's mind simulation and leave him to guard the control room of the Dauntless compound while the rest of Dauntless attacks Abnegation while under mind control. Peter was shot by Tris when she needs to pass him in order to get to the control room. He is then taken with Tris and Four to Amity where he can recover and seek refuge.

Miles Teller plays Peter in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Molly
Molly is also a transfer initiate from Candor. She is particularly cruel to Christina during their fight in the first round of initiation. She then feeds lies to a reporter about Tris' father, a faction leader. Molly faces Tris' wrath during the final round of fighting, where Tris beats her mercilessly. Molly ranks fifth at the end of round one, just ahead of Tris. She continues to taunt Tris, watching as Peter pulled Tris's towel off her after she showers and making fun of her body type. After the third round of initiation during the fear landscapes, Molly is eliminated from the initiation along with Drew because her rank is too low, and she becomes Factionless.

Amy Newbold plays Molly in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Drew
Along with Molly and Peter, Drew is a Candor-born transfer initiate. He stays relatively quiet, following Molly and Peter's more tyrant lead. After the second round of initiation, Drew attacks Tris along with Peter and Al. He is beaten badly by Four, who steps in to save Tris. At the end of initiation, Drew's rank is too low, and he is forced to become Factionless along with Molly.

Uriah
Uriah is a Dauntless-born initiate. He takes Tris under his wing when Edward is attacked by Peter after the first round of initiation. He introduces her to his fellow Dauntless-born initiates, Marlene and Lynn. He lets Tris come with him and the other Dauntless-borns to an initiation process held by their older siblings. Uriah's older brother, Zeke, leads the group in an initiation right - ziplining down from the 100th story roof of the Hancock building. Uriah is a good friend to Tris who ranks second to her in the end of the initiation process.

Uriah won't be in the film adaptation of Divergent.

Tobias "Four" Eaton
Tobias Eaton is the 18-year old son of an Abnegation leader, Marcus Eaton. Tobias was physically abused by his father as a child. On his Choosing Day, Tobias shocks the Abnegation faction by choosing Dauntless.

Tris meets Tobias under his nickname, Four. He is the initiation instructor for the Dauntless initiates. He has a tense relationship with Eric, who he outranked during their initiation year. The two constantly fight for the upper hand. Tobias develops an attachment to Tris when they first meet. His feelings for Tris become clear when he walks out of the room after Tris is unfairly paired with Peter to fight. He is also very protective of her throughout the novel. He saves her from an attack by her fellow initiates. He trusts her enough to bring her into his fear landscape, where she learns that he only has four fears and how he got his nickname. Tobias is stern but gentle, and he believes in the true core of the Dauntless faction, "in the ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another." He has tattoos of all five factions on his back, with Dauntless and Abnegation being bigger than the others. He believes that the values of all five factions are important, and he wants to live his life by all of their beliefs. His eyes are described as being a peculiar dark blue.

Tobias and Tris take their relationship public when Tris is ranked first at the end of the initiation process. Tris learns that Tobias is also Divergent when he is awake during the mind simulation that affects the rest of their faction. They travel to the Abnegation faction to take down the Dauntless leaders. Tobias is put under a special simulation by Jeanine, but Tris is able to lure him out of it before he kills her. Tobias' computer skills allow him to deactivate the simulation and take the hard drive containing the mind control program.

Eric
Eric is an 18-year old Dauntless leader. He and Four have a tense relationship because Eric is jealous that Four was top-ranked in their initiation year. In the end, Eric got the "more desirable" job that Four turned down. He is a transfer initiate from Erudite, and Tris discovers that he still works with the Erudite leader, Jeanine Matthews, in her plot to take down the Abnegation faction. Eric is a particularly brutal leader, forcing the initiates to do insane feats in order to please him. He hangs Christina from the railing of the chasm for five minutes because she no longer wants to fight. He also tries to force Al to become a human target during knife throwing, but Tris takes Al's place. While the entire Dauntless faction is under mind control, Eric takes advantage of the situation by attempting to kill a "sleepwalking" Four. In reality, Four is not under the simulation. Eric is shot in the foot by Tris, but manages to escape and plot his revenge.

Tori
Tori is Tris' aptitude test instructor. She erases Tris' inconclusive results to make it seem as though Tris belonged in the Abnegation faction. Tris later finds Tori working as a tattoo artist in the Dauntless compound. Tori later reveals to Tris that her brother, Georgie, was also Divergent. He was killed during his initiation process because the Dauntless leaders found out about him. She warns Tris to lay low and not draw attention to herself to save her life.

Marcus Eaton
Marcus is a faction leader and a member of Abnegation. His wife and child died during the child's birth, leaving him to raise his older son, Tobias. Marcus beat Tobias as a child, which causes him to transfer factions on his Choosing Day. Marcus works with Andrew Prior, and the two come under fire when the Erudite are angered by their actions. Marcus is led to a safe house with the Prior family when the Dauntless attack Abnegation. He reunites with his son upon entering the Dauntless compound. Tris warns Marcus to stay away from Tobias or she will hurt him. At the end of the novel, Marcus travels with Tris, Tobias and Caleb to Amity to seek refuge.

Jeanine Matthews
Jeanine is the leader of Erudite. She is responsible for the development of the aptitude test and the simulation serums that Dauntless uses during their initiation process. She develops a serum to control the minds of Dauntless in order to use them as her army to attack Abnegation. She works with Eric, an Erudite transfer and current Dauntless leader, to complete her plan. She is aware that Tris is Divergent and wants her dead at all costs. She also discovers that Tobias is Divergent when she captures them trying to revolt. She puts Tobias under a special mind simulation and attempts to drown Tris to death. After Tris and Tobias deactivate her mind control program, she is left to plot her revenge. Kate Winslet will play the character of Jeanine Matthews in the film adaptation of Divergent.