Chapters Ten Through Twelve

I continue to have questions about the process for selecting initiates. Since girls are physically not as burly as boys yet are still expected to compete with them, there must be fewer females in the abnegation faction. However, now that I give it some thought, there might be an advantage giver to the girls in the mental and emotional side.

As Tris and Peter fight one another, I notice that Peter seems to be very snide. Tris tries not to think about his remarks, but she can't forget them, which causes her to falter and fail. Perhaps Peter is more mental than physical and Tris must learn to disregard him, or it may be that Peter is mostly physical and Tris hasn't yet learned to be mentally strong. 

I also am anticipating the "Visiting Day." Al and Tris discuss this, Tris explains that she "'[doesn't] know it it will be good or bad'" to see them again. Al thinks that it would be bad to see them again. By this, I think that Al is nervous that he will become more upset and find the transition to Dauntless more lengthened. For Tris, I think that she wishes to see her mother, who she so loved, but she is frightened to visit with her father, whom she has betrayed.

Moving forward to the field trip to the fence, I was hoping to learn more about what lays in the outside world. What I was able to find out was that interestingly enough, the Dauntless didn't have to guard the fence until just five years prior. I believe that someone had tried to escape the compound, as evidenced by the way the wall is locked on the outside. Tris herself, on page 122, asks, "'what do you think is out there?'", adding "'I mean, beyond the fence.'" Christina's answer is only of course what average member of the factions knows lies beyond: farms. 

The Amity control the farms, where they spend time picking produce (apparently by traditional methods) and singing songs as well as traditional instruments. Despite the lack of true intellectual activity, life in Amity seems beautiful and extremely enjoyable. 

Upon being woken up at a late hour by Four and Eric, it was my last thought that a game would be taking place. This, however, is precisely what happens. At Navy Pier, I take notice of some interesting setting descriptions provided buy Tris. The Great Lakes now have, it seems, become largely marshland. I wonder what sort of dramatic change could cause this phenomena. Additionally, the number of abandoned buildings that Tris can see makes me wonder what sort of population the factions have. Certainly, there cannot be many. If there are such few members at the time of this book, then how many people were there when the factions were established?

One sentence in particular irks me: "Whoever left these places left them by choice and at their leisure. Some places in the city are not like that." I wonder what sort of sinister event forced these people to leave their homes in a hurry, and how many of these people survived. Speaking of that, I am dying to know where the ancestors of the faction members originated: were they government leaders? Average Chicagoans?

Finally, I am see an oddity in the family units of the factions: everyone seems to have exactly one sibling who is exactly their age. Robert and Susan both were 16 and attended the choosing ceremony, while both Caleb and Beatrice left their families in the same year. I also now have found out that Rita, who fell to her death in the initiation, was a sibling to another initiate. Are all of these children truly biological siblings? Who are their birth parents? Are their parents forced to give birth to twins? 

Chapters Seven Through Nine

I am now noticing that Tris, as she is now known, still is holding onto her Abnegation-like thoughts, but she loves the idea of this new life among the dauntless. As she begins trying to fit in, I wonder what her first tattoo will be? All Dauntless seem to have one, so I imagine that it must be a requirement.

On page 65, I also picked up on my first bit of symbolism, and I imagine that there is much more that has escaped me. As Tris and the fellow outsider initiates cross the Pit, to their left the water is calm, which I suppose represents a calm yet serious side of the Dauntless. Moreover, to the right, the water below is thrashing-- "it is white, battling with rock." To me, this would represent a fierce side of the Dauntless, yet the white I believe represents purity. Perhaps the fierceness is for a just cause.

Often times, I notice that Tris is faced with those who judge her purely based on her faction. She has already been called a "stiff" multiple times by members of various factions, and it seems that other factions do not have a pejorative names that label them. I have also picked up on rivalries amongst those within dauntless. The way Four became tense around Eric makes it appear that Four fears Eric, who maybe rules with an iron fist over all members of Dauntless. In addition, Four's stern warning to Tris-- "Careful, Tris"-- might reveal the reason for divergent being dangerous. Her inability to contain actions that are not encouraged in either her birth faction or her initiate faction seem to anger Four.

At the beginning of initiation, the nine newcomers are told that "'preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear.'" I suppose that this means that backing down is not an option, and this is why it must be important to eliminate as many as half of the initiates who simply aren't prepared. It also makes me wonder if the other factions eliminate as many as half of the new initiates. If so, the population of the factionless must equal the population of the city... but I could understand the Dauntless doing this since it takes a certain level of fearlessness to be factionless.

When all of the newcomer initiates gather for dinner, I notice how their communication is much like that of a multicultural collection of individuals. They are all shocked by the various oddities within each faction and develop new ideas with one another. For example, Tris is the only one who is disrupted by public display of affection, and therefore she claims that she will try to become accustomed to it. The relationship between Tris and Christina is growing to be very strong. The way that they make eye contact in the mirror is in my opinion rather symbolic as Tris and her mother did it the day of her aptitude test. Speaking of her family, I was very touched by the tattoo selection Tris made; I do not believe that she could have picked anything more meaningful as three falcons flying to her heart to represent the family she left behind.

On page 94, I see that Tris still is tied to her old faction rather strongly. She says, "I shouldn't be gossiping anyway. Gossiping is self-indulgent." This is just one instance where she has reverted to the rules of her birth faction and allowing them to dictate her feelings. This also provides further evidence as to why being divergent is a danger.

Just as within The Hunger Games series, there is a group of antagonists. Likewise to The Hunger Games, this group is described as cold and ruthless. The way that Molly beats Christina without mercy is evident of this.

Also, I think that I have discovered a deeper meaning behind the water symbolism back in the top of my post! I believe that the cam side represents Four with his sternly calm and occasionally pleasant side. The violent side, however, is almost certainly meant to represent Eric. He is by far the more aggressive of the two, as evidenced by his punishment of Christina for her failure to fight to a K.O. The way the waves were crashing up and reaching for her as she dangled off the edge of the rail was almost like Eric trying to pull her down into the water. This is clearly a sort of symbolism that foreshadows the personalities of Four and Eric.

Chapters Four Through Six

Again, I start out today's entry by remarking on the new details I have found describing the setting. Firstly, I found it interesting that the food eaten by the community comes from "far away" farms-- who lives at these farms? Is this like other dystopian books I have read, in which those in the community have no contact with the outside world?

As for the cultural geography of the community, I have begun noticing that each faction resembles, in a way, a form of governmental ideology. Abnegation (the selflessness) in particular gave Marxist-Lenin vibes, in particular the way that all people are socioeconomically equal. Talking of the homes in Abnegation, on page 27 Beatrice states: "They are of grey cement, with few windows". This is the staple of buildings found in communistic societies-- no nonsense impracticalities to be found. Candor, with its truthfulness, reminded me of an ideological democracy, and Dauntless (the brave) reminds me of anarchism in their daring and downright irrational actions. Along with political behaviors, I was almost shocked to see the use of even a small amount of religion (apparently Christianity) by Beatrice's family. In all other dystopian books that I have read, I have seen virtually no references to higher powers

As Beatrice proceeds to the ceremony in which she will choose the faction that best suits her future, I noticed some of the interesting contrasts between her feelings for Dauntless and Abnegation. Beatrice, in previous chapters, has both criticized and defended the two factions. In regards to Dauntless, she felt that the strange piercing on the bodies of many of the Dauntless was of no purpose or any practical meaning. Towards her own faction, she hated the way which her family was constantly bent at the service of others and each other. Beatrice herself had a very curious mind; she was always asking questions. It is for this thirst of curiosity that I believe sparked her desire to join the Dauntless.

I learned further about the history of the factions through Marcus's speech at the faction selection ceremony at the "Hub" (Sears Tower). Marcus described how humanity realized that neither "'political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism'" are to blame for a "'warring world'", but the various human inclinations toward evil that caused it. Each of the factions was therefore designed to prevent the delicate balance of the world from being inclined toward evil. As a result, each faction has a job. Beatrice's faction, Abnegation, fulfills the roles of selfless governmental leaders. However, Beatrice chooses to leave behind her old life at the choosing ceremony. Her new faction, Dauntless, provides protection from "threats both within and from without. I thus speculate that Beatrice-- who has renamed herself "Tris"-- will work on something relating to the outside world, and I am certain that I will be learning more about how the factions operate, and what, if anything, lies outside of their community.

Finally, I found myself shocked when Caleb (Beatrice's brother) chose to leave his family and betray his father by joining the Erudite, a faction with distaste for Abnegation. It was unexpected for me, especially considering how selfless Caleb always seemed to act. The only reasonable explanation I have is that he sees a possible conflict arising amongst the factions, and he seeks to try to put an end to it by acting as a mediator. I also believe that Caleb's mother may believe the same thing, as she actually smiled following the defection of both of her children from Abnegation. While Beatrice's father seemed to rage with wrath, "behind him, my mother is smiling"-- a stark contrast between two people who appeared to always get along. It will be interesting If either parent chooses to say a final goodbye to their children, who have so abandoned them.

Chapters One Through Three

Initially, I observed that this book feels much like The Giver meets The Hunger Games. In the opening lines of the piece, Beatrice describes how her mother "pulls my hair away from my face and twists it into a knot", just as The Hunger Games feature the mother fixing her daughter's hair in the beginning. The cult-like ways of the various factions remind me of how all people in The Giver lived in a cult society, worshipping the organization of the community. Without a faction, there is no reason to live anymore. In addition, the ways in which characters are forced to make quick decisions and fight for themselves reminded me of The Hunger Games.

As for setting, I got the image of a city that is surreal-- one that can't possibly exist on Earth today. I am very curious about the society in which Beatrice lives: What year is it? What happened to the society of today? Are there other settlements existing? How many people live in the Chicago area?

In regards to the history of the factions, I strongly picked up on the fact that Beatrice had not seen the word "murderer" in quite some time. "It has been a long time since I last read that word, but even its shape fills me with dread", says Beatrice on page 17. I imagine that crime is practically nonexistent or very uncommon amongst the factions. On the other hand, the way that the factionless man grabbed Beatrice and said that she appeared to young to be out alone made me wonder if perhaps evildoing only exists among the factionless.

Other details which stuck out to me was the way that each building had glass walls. Where do such materials for construction come from? I find it highly unlikely that such odd buildings exist in today's Chicago.

The factions themselves are all very striking to me. The way that each has it's own culture and popular styles suggests that they are as the ethnic groups of today's world. Beatrice looks upon her own faction as an ethnicity of sorts, remarking that "when I look at the Abnegation lifestyle as an outsider, I think it's beautiful." However, they most certainly will not adopt bits of new "cultures" or mix. I noticed that the book hinted that there are perhaps punishments for betraying your faction and adopting another-- what type of punishments are they, though?