Divergent Chapters 1 - 9
A young girl named Beatrice Prior, living in a society divided into five factions, is about to take an aptitude test that will determine her future faction. She receives a haircut from her mother and proceeds to breakfast. She feels guilty about her desire to leave her family’s faction, Abnegation, all of whose members lead an unselfish lifestyle like her family’s. She goes to school with her brother, Caleb, who is also sixteen and about to appear for the same test. They ask each other whether they are nervous, but neither of them admits their true feelings. Beatrice has a run-in with a boy from Erudite, and she explains that the enmity between her faction, Abnegation, and Erudite has deepened in recent times. She admiringly watches the tattooed students from the Dauntless faction as all of them jump off a moving train.
After her classes, Beatrice takes the test administered by a Dauntless woman named Tori. Caleb takes the test before her, but he isn’t allowed to tell her about his results, although she is certain that he would have chosen Abnegation. In her nervousness, Beatrice asks the woman about the hawk that she has tattooed on her body. Tori reveals that the hawk is a symbol of the sun, and she got the tattoo when she overcame her fear of darkness. Beatrice is connected to a machine with wires, and given a substance to drink. The test involves a series of simulations where Beatrice has to make choices. Her results are inconclusive since she is discovered to have traits of Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless, making her “Divergent.” Tori warns her about the danger of this label and advises her to keep it a secret. She sends her back home and asks her to pick a faction from the ones she has found suitable for, the ceremony where the selection occurs is going to take place the following day.
Worried about her future and the upcoming choosing ceremony, Beatrice plans to hide her early return from the test from her parents. On her way home, she encounters a beggar in the factionless sector. He asks her for food and she gives him some apples. He thanks her and mysteriously advises her to choose wisely in the faction selection. She returns home early from her aptitude test and lies about feeling sick. Her brother Caleb and their parents discuss the test and faction politics over dinner. Their father is upset about accusations against a fellow Abnegation leader, Marcus, by the Erudite faction. They released a report claiming that Marus’s son, Tobias, left Abnegation and joined Erudite because Marcus was a violent and abusive parent. Beatrice’s father doesn’t believe in the report. After dinner, Caleb advises Beatrice to think about herself when choosing a faction and not just their family. Beatrice wants to ask him for help but she can’t bring herself to do it.
They make their way to the ceremony, but the family climbs sixteen floors of stairs because they give up their position on the elevators to the others. At the Choosing Ceremony, each sixteen-year-old must choose a faction by cutting their hand and sprinkling blood into a bowl representing their chosen faction. There are five bowls containing different materials. There is a bowl of stones for Abnegation, a bowl of water for Erudite, a bowl of coal for Dauntless, a bowl of soil for Amity, and a bowl of glass for Candor. Her father is certain that his children will choose Abnegation, but her mother promises to love them both no matter where they choose to go. Both Beatrice and her parents are shocked when Caleb chooses Erudite, especially because of the enmity that has been growing between the two factions. After much deliberation, Beatrice chooses Dauntless although she nearly chooses Abnegation to appease her family.
Leaving the ceremony, Beatrice joins the other Dauntless initiates and experiences the thrill of jumping onto a moving train. She meets Christina, a girl who had been raised in Candor during the train ride. At the Dauntless headquarters, the initiates must jump from the train onto the roof. One girl falls to her death, while the others manage the jump. The initiates are told to jump into a hole that is supposed to bring them to the compound entrance. The dark hole appears to be several stories deep, and Beatrice decides to be the first to jump into the compound entrance. She lands safely in a net and is helped onto a platform by a young man with dark blue eyes called Four, and a young woman called Lauren. Beatrice decides to adopt a new name as she introduces herself to the dauntless members. She names herself Triss.
In the Dauntless faction, initiates are divided into two groups. Those who were born in the faction are led away by Lauren, while those who were transferred from other factions are taken over by Four. He becomes their instructor and introduces them to the Pit and the Chasm, the underground cavern that serves as the Dauntless headquarters. He takes them to a big dining hall, where they are welcomed by the Dauntless members who are present. During dinner, Eric, a Dauntless leader who transferred from Erudite, talks to the group and he seems to make Four uncomfortable. Eric informs the new initiates that their performance will be monitored and they will be ranked. Out of all the initiates, only 10 will be allowed to remain at Dauntless while the rest of them will become factionless. Triss is determined to succeed irrespective of the challenges that appear before her.
On the first day of training, they learn about shooting and fighting from Four. They also learn that their assessment will involve tests of emotional, physical, and mental strength. Tris quickly adapts to the training and forms a close friendship with Christina. At lunch, she sees two other initiates kissing each other, and the other initiates make fun of her for her visible discomfort. After lunch, Four guides her in the training, and she becomes nervous when his hands linger on her stomach as he explains something to her. After training, Triss gets a makeover from her friend Christina, and they go to a tattoo parlor with the other initiates. Triss finds Tori, the woman who took her aptitude test, working there and she tries to talk to her about the test, but Tori refuses to talk about it. Finally, Triss gets a tattoo of three birds on her collarbone as a representation of her family.
Christina and Triss become fast friends, and Christina tells her about the initiates from Candor: Peter, Drew, and Molly. She’s known them since her childhood and hates all of them for being evil, particularly Peter. During a one-on-one fighting session, Al knocks out Will with a hard punch after Eric forces them to fight until one of them is unable to continue. Christina concedes tearfully after being beaten by Molly. Eric punishes Christina by making her hang over the chasm’s railing. With Tris and Al’s encouragement, Christina manages to hold on until the end of the punishment.
Analysis
“Divergent” is a story set in a futuristic version of Chicago, where society is divided into five factions. Beatrice, the protagonist, lives in a world that seems familiar yet different. For instance, she can only look at her reflection once every three months due to the rules of Abnegation, her faction. This dystopian society is controlled by an unseen authority, and Beatrice, like many dystopian heroes, must challenge this authority.
In their society, everyone must choose a faction at the age of sixteen based on an aptitude test. Each faction has its roles; for example, Beatrice’s mother works for a volunteer organization in their faction, Abnegation. Once in a faction, individuals must conform to its values, suppressing their personal preferences.
Beatrice is anxious about her upcoming test. She’s torn between her childhood and impending adulthood, as she begins feeling like an outsider in her own family due to the differences in her morals and values. She’s curious and drawn to the Dauntless faction, known for their adventurous lifestyle. Tori, a Dauntless woman, becomes a role model for Beatrice, showing her a glimpse of a different life, and eventually leading her to choose Dauntless as her faction instead of following her brother’s footsteps.
