Hannah Winne - Blog Post 2

In her novel Divergent, Veronica Roth writes, “I traded cowardice for cruelty; I traded weakness for ferocity.” (p405)

Summary: In this passage, Tris is thinking to herself how one bad thing is traded for another, and how that has affected her through her change from Abnegation to Dauntless.

So What 1:

·      QUESTION: What are the implications of comparing “weakness” to “cruelty?”

o   ANSWER: These are the negatives associated with the values of both of these factions; values that Roth writes to seem mutually exclusive.

So What 2:

·      QUESTION: What is the importance of Roth’s word choice? “Cowardice” versus “cruelty,” “weakness” versus “ferocity?”

o   ANSWER: These words related to each other are polarized opposites, extremes on a spectrum. There is little to no middle ground in the identification of these traits.

So What 3:

·      QUESTION: What do the extremes in this passage represent about dystopia?

o   ANSWER: The negative tone in this passage, as well as Roth’s word choice, is reflective of dystopia as a genre. Dystopias are commonly the absolute extreme scenario of corruption or society gone wrong. This passage, providing two opposite extremes rather than the spectrum between, is a perfect example of the extreme themes in dystopia.