Hannah Rayner Blog Post 2

       1.      ‘“People don’t do that.   Not anymore.  That’s the point of all this…all the factions”’ (Roth 258).

In this passage, the main character, Tris, is discussing the dangers of being discovered as Divergent with her confidant named Tori. Tori explains that if the Dauntless leaders discover that Tris is Divergent they will kill her; however, Tris refuses to believe that the authority figures that created the factions to stop murders would be capable of killing someone. 

2.

(A.)  QUESTION:

What does this statement from Tris imply?

ANSWER: Tris was taught her whole life that the factions were to keep harmony in her society.  She learned that every faction contains people who are trying to eradicate a certain negative personality trait and a faction is more important than even family.  She believed that the factions were the factor that kept their society from falling apart.  However, when Tori revealed that the faction leaders kill people who they cannot control, Tris begins to question her society.  One can imply from Tris’ thoughts that her leaders are trying to cover something up.  The leaders want to be in control and one person not under their control could destroy their whole system.  One can imply that Tris is beginning to question whether the factions actually keep violence from happening or if they are perpetuating violence. 

(B.)   QUESTION:

Why is this statement important to the story?

ANSWER: This statement from Tris is important to the story; because it is one of the first times, she begins to question the structures of her society.  Tris begins to realize that maybe the factions are not what they claim to be.  The phrase “faction before blood” acts as one of the controlling aspects of the society.  The people are forced to give themselves fully to one society without interaction from others with different viewpoints.  This causes the people to be easily controlled by the leader of their faction.  Tris after learning that the leaders want control and will kill for it no longer trusts the Dauntless authority figures. This is an important fact to the story because without fostering this distrust of the leaders of Dauntless, Tris would have likely joined the leaders and supported their plans.

(C.)  QUESTION:  What does this passage explain about people who are Divergent?

ANSWER:  From this passage, the reader is able to gather that those who are Divergent are special. They have special abilities and could possibly overtake the people who are in charge.  This is an important aspect of dystopian novels, as a hero will often try to overtake the ruthless leaders.  This foreshadows that Tris will try to go against the authority figures and possibly the factions.  Also from this passage, the reader is able to understand that those who are Divergent are rare.  They are not talked about in society and if one shows indicators of being Divergent they are killed.  The reader now knows that those who are Divergent must try to hide their distinct tendencies so they fit into society.  This causes the reader to question who else in the book may possibly be Divergent.