Reilly Crabbs - Blog Post #2

1. “‘Yes’, I say. ‘Three of these flying birds.’ I touch my collarbone, marking the path of their flight - toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left behind” (90)

Summary: In this passage, Tris is memorializing her family and her fear with a tattoo. She had just finished talking to Tori, the Dauntless who performed her aptitude test, who warned her of the dangers of being Divergent. The tattoo is an homage to her family but it is also a reminder that she can’t and will never go back to them.  By doing this, Tris is truly breaking away from her Abnegation roots and forming her values to be Dauntless.

1. Why use birds to represent Tris’s family?

Earlier in the paragraph Tris tells the reader that getting this tattoo will represent her fears (leaving her family behind) so that even though she cannot avoid them she can embrace them. Birds are known to represent more positive aspects of life. They’re also a connection between land and air which could be a comparison to Abnegation and  Dauntless. Abnegation, land, always kept Tris grounded while Dauntless(air) has given her the freedom to explore who she is.

2. Why does Tris go specifically to Tori for her tattoo?

Tris specifically goes to Tori for two reasons. One, Tori is the only person that has talked to Tris about being Divergent and Two, Tris respected the reason Tori got her tattoo. Tori tattooed her fear onto her body because she knew if she couldn’t escape or overcome it she had to embrace it. Tris embraces her fear of divergence, leaving her family, and choosing Dauntless by tattooing her body.

3. What is dystopian about the tattoo?

The tattoo represents a dystopia because it is representing faction over family which an important theme in Divergent. Once one chooses their faction they must put all of their allegiance to it. Tris isn’t ready to completely disassociate with her family, but she knows if she wants to become Dauntless (and avoid the fate of Divergent) she has to cut ties. Her tattoo represents the family she is forced to leave behind for the faction she chose.