You have a choice. Go with blood or with destiny. Some may call it destiny, at least. Truth is the test will tell you where you belong. For Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) who grew up as part of the Abnegation faction, she felt it in her heart where she belonged. Like all things, though, things get complicated when others get involved.
Today I am proud to include Beatrice “Tris” Prior in my Women Who Wow Wednesday series. Spoilers may lie therein. Jump to the last paragraph if you do not want to know anything else about either the book or the movie Divergent.
Other than Shakespeare, who has provided me countless hours of entertainment, I haven’t really gushed about any other author on my site. Veronica Roth has proven to be the exception. With thirteen years of writing experience, the 25-year-old, who penned the Divergent series, has won my admiration. Her former blog reads like a fairytale/journal. Among her tidbits of life’s episodes, you can also read how Divergent progressed from its story’s infancy to becoming a worldwide blockbuster movie.
The story centers on a futuristic Chicago divided by five factions: Amity, Candor, Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless. The factions represent traits, respectively: peacefulness, honesty, selflessness, intelligence and bravery. Every year, sixteen-year-olds undergo a test to determine which of the five factions they belong. However, the ultimate decision rests with them. In Beatrice’s case, she has traits suited from more than one faction. In other words, she’s divergent.
In the Choosing Ceremony, instead of selecting Abnegation, her home faction, Beatrice chooses Dauntless. The Dauntless creed is never to give up—no matter what.
As part of her entry into the faction, Beatrice and the other initiates have to take a leap of faith from a tall building into a dark pit without knowing if they’d survive the fall. Not one to skirt around a challenge, Beatrice goes first. Her willingness to conquer her fears gains her a friend in Four (Theo James), the faction’s chiseled leader. Asked of her name, Beatrice simply says, Tris.
From that moment forward, Tris has to overcome a series of training exercises primed to show who will make the Dauntless cut. Beaten, scarred and exhausted, Tris resolves never to give up. In her enthusiasm to succeed, Tris wins an ally with Dauntless’ leader, Four. He notices her determination and quietly counsels her. Their friendship grows to become the catalyst for future victories on the battlefield.
In Tris, Veronica Roth has written a character unwavering in her principles and solid in her integrity. I’m eagerly anticipating to read this series and to watch the next movie, Insurgent.
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Have you seen Divergent? What did you think of the main character Tris?
Looking to God 
Greetings from the professor! This was thoroughly enjoyable!
The movie was really awesome but I have yet to read the book. It is on my list though. Shailene Woodley plays the part of Tris really well. She has come far from her days on The Secret Life of An American Teenager. She joins the elite few teenagers in Hollywood who have their head on straight. I look forward to great things from her.
Back to the movie, I loved the costumes, how everyone dressed the same pretty much. The style was almost primitive. There was nothing fancy nor designer about their dress. The class distinctions, though on a tier, weren’t separated by much of a rank. I think if I were to have been tested, I would been in the agricultural class.
All in all, it was a great movie. Great post, Jack. Thanks 🙂
Hope you and your family are well.
All’s well here. Thanks for asking, Heather! 🙂
This was a fabulous movie and one of the few times where I liked the movie better than the book. I’ve read the first two books in the series, but don’t want to read the last one. My students have told me the ending and I don’t like it so I’m skipping it!! Tris is a fabulous character and role model for girls. I love her strength, integrity, and work ethic. The cool thing about the Divergent series is that even though it features a female lead, boys read it too. This is fairly unusual. Hunger Games is similar in this way, too. At our house, we enjoy debating which faction we would most likely belong to. It’s a fun conversation. 🙂
Jack’s discussions are almost always pretty interesting !
Thanks very much for the compliment, Zathra. I really appreciated that!
I loved the movie!! Tris was great …..but I always like watching movies were the girl finds her strength from within and while doing so kicks some major ass! 🙂
My dear Lord, another movie that I shall have to look for on DVD ! I actually watch more more visual media than read books lately. I’ll probably stumble over the book series, too. 🙂
I really liked the first book in this series. Tris is very cool. Haven’t seen the movie, though. Ever want to not watch a movie because you’re afraid the adapted characters will overtake your idea of them and ruin everything? lol
Actually, I’ve never had that problem. I suppose because I’ve only recently just started reading, so there’s really no way I could compare!
*thud* This could be seen as a definite advantage. You come at this with an open mind. 🙂