Divergent by Veronica Roth Utopian societies have always intrigued me. Books like the City of Ember, Uglies, and The Hunger Games. Teen books seem to have a knack for surprising me with different methods of achieving world peace. Of course there are some utopian based books that aren't limited to teens such as 1984 and Brave New World. Books that are post apocalyptic with a brand new version of a perfect society are creative and amusing. Before I continue I will have to apologize for I have been using the wrong word. All these books I have mentioned have a dystopian society. The main conflict in these book is man vs society. All of these worlds have been perfect until the protagonist finds the big secret that destroys the mirage of a "perfect world". In City of Ember the people live in a city that is dark and isolated. It functions well enough, but when the narrator discovers the reason why everything is dark and black, stuff hits the fan. In Uglies people are made pretty when they turn sixteen through a surgery. With everyone pretty there is no conflict and jealousy. Pretty=happy. However the narrator, Tally, finds an ugly truth. There is a significant number of books like this. What I think is the best attribute books like this have is the kind of society the author creates before their protagonist ruins it. Divergent had an especially appealing premise. In this utopian society everyone is divided into five factions.
Abnegation- the selfless
Candor- the honest
Amity- the peaceful
Erudite- the intelligent
Dauntless- the brave
These factions are divided based on traits. Beatrice, our protagonist, is born into Abnegation, but as she reaches adulthood she now has to choose which faction she will pledge her loyalty to. "Faction before family" is a popular saying and one does not choose lightly. First Beatrice is given an aptitude test that will tell her where she belongs, but the final choice will be hers. She has never seen herself as selfless enough so she doesn't expect to get Abnegation, but even she is taken aback when she is labeled as Divergent. This means she shows an aptitude for more than one faction. This is rare and dangerous. This is a secret Beatrice will carry with her because there are people who would kill her because of it even though Beatrice doesn't understand why. Now Beatrice has to choose which faction to join. She becomes a faction transfer when she chooses Dauntless, but now she has to survive initiation. If she fails she will become Factionless, a social pariah, homeless, meaningless. Initiation at Dauntless is perilous and not everybody will make it, but Tris is determined. In initiation she will learn to fight and face her fears, literally. In two of the three rounds of initiation initiates must face their fears in a simulation that targets the fear areas in their brain. Dauntless is all about bravery, but Tris thinks even they may be taking it too far.
This story is very captivating and fresh. As Beatrice chooses her Faction the reader will ponder what Faction they would choose. Don't worry because there are some faction personality quizzes out there. The society Veronica Roth developed is creative and strong, but like I said earlier; the protagonist is destined to find the flaw. When Beatrice discovers the flaw in her society she will have bigger things to worry about than surviving initiation.
