In Beatrice’s world, all sixteen-year-olds must choose from among five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Born into Abnegation, Beatrice learns from infancy to be selfless in her actions, always putting others ahead of herself. But when Beatrice turns sixteen, she renounces her family’s faction to join Dauntless - a faction that values bravery above all else. So begins Beatrice’s transformation into Tris, a journey that forces her to explore the true meaning of the word bravery.
Dauntless - Bravery as Fearlessness
Dauntless means fearless, but is it truly brave when there is no fear? This is an age-old question that resurfaces in Roth’s Divergent. Doesn’t one need to feel the fear and overcome it to be considered brave? It is a question that remains unanswered, or rather remains a question that each person must answer for himself.
For Tris, her fears are fewer than others which makes her appear brave, but she also overcomes many of the fears she does have which helps her feel even braver. Whether it is only the perception of others or whether it is truly felt in the heart, actions denote bravery in the Dauntless faction. With her Abnegation upbringing, Tris sometimes questions that tenet.
Abnegation - Bravery as Self-Sacrifice
The definition of abnegation is to renounce or reject something. In Divergent, the Abnegation faction believes in serving others. Because of this, they serve as the government officials and leaders. The other factions sometimes refer to members of Abnegation as “stiffs”, mocking their humble ways. Initially, Tris sees nothing brave in being from Abnegation and adhering to its ways, although she still values its way of life.
As Tris progresses through her initiation into Dauntless, she discovers that her upbringing in Abnegation helps her to perform some of the more daunting tasks within her new faction. For example, her willingness to take the place of another in a dangerous situation has as much to do with self-sacrifice as fearlessness. Before long, she realizes (in a personal and heart-wrenching way) that self-sacrifice for the benefit of others is perhaps the truest form of bravery.
About the Author
Published by HarperCollins, Divergent is Veronica Roth’s debut novel. Represented by Joanna Stampfel-Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary, Roth is currently penning Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. A resident of Evanston, Illinois, Veronica Roth also contributes to YA Highway, a blog by YA writers on YA fiction, and her own blog.
Jennifer Groepl - Living the good life in beautiful Cape Coral, Florida, Jennifer Groepl is currently working on her YA fiction projects. An intrinsically ...
Join the Conversation