Chapters Twenty-Two Through Twenty-Four

I am immediately drawn to the words written upon the wall as Tris regains her consciousness following the attack: "Fear God Alone." Classically, works of dystopian literature contain no religion, as the government has supreme power. Obviously, someone was religious enough to have such a blatant message be put upon a wall. Whether or not it was done after the founding of the factions I do not know. The statement is quite relevant to the Dauntless beliefs regarding fear. As many Christians believe, if anything in life must be feared, it is to be God.

Tris and Four are now clearly developing a close bond, and it is undeniable that the two like each other very much. Their friendship hasn't always been this way, however. After several months of warming up to each other, they both now share mutual admiration. I have a feeling that Tris's other friends like Christina won't make it through the final elimination, and Tris will be left alone with Four. In addition, I think that Four will protect her in the remaining months as her friendships crumble. Obviously, Al's friendship has crumbled, and her relationship with Will and Christina hasn't been at its best since she began bonding with the Dauntless born initiates.

Furthermore, Four is encouraging Tris to fight back against the book's protagonists. The way that they have tormented her to no end seems to give Four a pang of sympathy. At this, Four announced that he would have her stop calling her Four. Such a name change is symbolic in the changing ways of their relationship. Just like when Beatrice became Tris, this is a turning point in the story's progress.

Luckily for Tris, the attack may be used to her own advantage. Although her friendships with Christina and Will had been damaged, the attack forced sympathy from them. Christina finally apologizes for grasping the flag from Tris at capture the flag. Although her friendship with Al has been obliterated, her friendships with Christina and Will are stronger then ever. I predict that all three will certainly become officially accepted into Dauntless.

I feel sort of bad for how Al was not forgiven and how he has struggled harder than the other competitors. Even before things spiraled out of control, I had wondered if Al wouldn't give up or otherwise hurt himself before the selection process was even concluded. Interestingly Tris thought of her mothers words when it came to forgiving Christina and Will: "my mother would tell me that people were flawed and I should be lenient with them." Nonetheless, Tris found herself unable to forgive Al for his mistakes. Perhaps her Abnegation tendency to forgive had finally reached its limit as room was made to accommodate her new Dauntless feelings.    

After Al's suicide, Tris was thrown into a state of internal conflict. "'Is there something wrong with me?'" she asks herself as Four consoles her. All of her actions are either categorized as stereotypical Abnegation, Dauntless, or Divergent and she must not be detected and labeled as a Divergent. For Tris this is especially hard, since she is usually very open about her feelings and seeks someone who can help her through the difficult times. Luckily, Tori and Four are willing to offer their hand, but they don't know the answers to the majority of her questions.