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Adrienne Angell

Mrs. Cramer

College Composition 1

15 November 2019

The Imperfections of Society: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Take a minute and think about the essential human characteristics that make you

successful and set you apart from others. Now think about the characteristics and skills of the

people in your community. Finally, pick one characteristic that you believe is the driving factor

in the success of humans. The reason you couldn’t pick one is because humans are complex and

diverse. This complexity and diversity are the driving factors in the success of humans.

Divergent is a novel that challenges this fact. The author, Veronica Roth, created a society

centered around five traits that the original leaders deemed as integral to the continuation of

humans. The population is split into five groups: Candor who value honesty, Erudite who value

intelligence, Abnegation who value selflessness, Amity who value peace, and Dauntless who

value bravery. Teenagers choose a faction and are forced to follow these values. Tris has a

unique characteristic. She is Divergent, which means she fits into multiple factions. Divergence

is dangerous because it increases mental strength. An uprising of people with unique

characteristics and abilities could destroy the structure in Chicago. Divergent is an extreme

reflection of society today. Veronica Roth’s Divergent challenges the reader’s beliefs about

human characteristics that are important in society and establishes that diversity among humans

strengthens society.
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Firstly, every human has specific characteristics that define their identity, so Roth wanted

to express how significant these differences are by dividing a society into certain traits. Erudite,

Dauntless, and Candor can be compared to political parties around the world. They are

opinionated and unwilling to waiver from their ideal models of society. Abnegation and Amity

are pacifistic. The members of the Divergent population are hidden, but they can be compared to

the outspoken people today who are working to create a society without ideal models. They are

the ones who can see the flaws in the system and that the factions need to work together. Tris

was hidden under the gray cloaks of Abnegation, who promoted neutralism. Tris’ elite nature

showed when she chose to become Dauntless. Due to all these factors, Tris was put in a place

where she could conform to society or be unique, but for her own well-being, she went the safe

route. Tris tried to focus on being brave during her initiation in order to show no signs of

Divergence (Roth 87). The second stage of the initiation tests fears, and Tris finished the

stimulation four times faster than the average initiate. Tris can use all five characteristics, and

more, to efficiently fight her fears (Roth 232-238). Additionally, she realizes that the simulation

is fake, and she can defeat the challenges without experiencing her fears (Roth 254-255). This

shows Divergent can alter the technology and see the flaws in the system. The unique traits that

the Divergent have are present in today’s activists for a diverse society. Roth is trying to

demonstrate that the members of society using all their abilities to accomplish tasks are more

efficient. Throughout the book, Tris attempts to express that society needs revised and the world

isn't as balanced as it was designed to be. Therefore, Roth is implying that today’s society needs

productive change in terms of holding up the oppressed, the Divergent, and teaching humans that

the world will never fit into any model.

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Additionally, the concept that diversity among humans is essential to existence is still a

heavy message to express to the majority. Roth shows the power and influence of the majority

when she illustrates the war Erudite and Dauntless are planning on Abnegation. Erudite has

access to all the technology, and Dauntless has a large trained army. Both factions knew

Divergent would plot against them and some members wouldn’t agree to fight, so they had to

design a way to control these factors and filter out Divergent. Roth illustrates the beginning of

the war in the following excerpt:

I start to hear popping sounds. I can't look around to see where they're coming from, but
the farther I walk, the louder and sharper they get, until I recognize the man-he is a
council member. The soldier takes her gun out of her holster and, with sightless eyes,
fires a bullet into the back of the council member’s skull. (Roth 422)
Erudite designed technology that controlled the minds of non-Divergent people. The Divergent

were meant to stand out, but Tris hides and outsmarts the leaders and, eventually, stops the

simulation. Tris ends the war. She shows the capacity of one Divergent person and the extensive

abilities they have. This exert illustrates the perilousness of one characteristic, or rather one

group of people, controlling everything. Peter was one of Tris’ competitors in the initiation, and

he was willing to do anything to have control. He wanted to throw Tris into the chasm (Roth

277-281). Tris escapes, but Peter exemplifies the necessity for diversity. He was driven by

jealousy and was blinded of any other reasoning about the consequences of his actions. Tris

challenged him by having a superior mental ability. Overall, Chicago fell apart when dominated

by single-minded people, so in order to be triumphant, diversity is needed.

In conclusion, Divergent is an extreme reflection of society today. Veronica Roth’s

Divergent challenges the reader’s beliefs about human characteristics that are important in

society and establishes that diversity among humans strengthens society. Fortunately, as new

generations mature, the idea of diversity spreads. Roth targeted the young adult audience in order
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to instill that message in them. We need to consider everyone, the planet, and our morals when

making any decision that determines the fate of society. Tris had help along the way from people

who thought differently than her. Roth developed a noteworthy novel with an abundance of

influential messages. Altogether, Divergent by Veronica Roth supports the message of accepting

diversity among humans to promote sustainability and prosperity.

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Work Cited

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. London: Harper Collins, 2011. Print.