Monica Villanueva - Blog Post 2

1. Select a passage from Divergent (2-3 sentences maximum) with a significant concrete detail. Write it down here, and cite the page number. Summarize this passage in 1-2 sentences, including the context.
Passage: "It will be difficult to break the habits of thinking Abnegation instilled in me, like tugging a single thread from a complex work of embroidery. I will find new habits, new thoughts, new rules. I will become something else" (87).

Summary: In this passage, Tris is going through initiation at the dauntless headquarters. Her new friend, Christina, is helping her get dressed up and put makeup on. Tris looks at herself in the mirror and instantly feels nervous about doing so because in her old faction that was never allowed. But Tris has to change, to become a completely different person, no matter how hard it is, because she chose this new faction. The concrete detail in this is the simile when comparing changing her habits to "tugging a single thread from a complex work of embroidery".

2. Come up with a chain of at least three “So What’s,” following from this observation, linking them clearly to each other. Include a guiding question to direct your inquiry. Label all steps clearly. Here are some possible guiding questions: 

• What does the observation imply?
• Why does this observation matter?
• Where does this observation get us?
• What do we make of the significance of this observation?

So What Step 1: 

QUESTION: What does this observation imply?


ANSWER

This observation implies that Tris has something she needs to change about herself, to survive. It also implies that this change is going to be a difficult one.

So What Step 2: 

QUESTION: 

Why does this observation matter?

ANSWER:

This matters because this can be related back to society. It can be generalized. We could say this about all of society, the government, or even the ideas we follow. 

So What Step 3: 

QUESTION: Where does this observation bring us?

ANSWER:

This largely plays into what many dystopian narratives do. They try to say something about society, and point out something that is wrong in society. This passage is one from "Divergent" that does this. This passage is related to society and shows that we need to think about things in society that may need to be changed.