Summary
The Divergent Seriesbegan in 2011 when Veronica Roth released the first book,Divergent, but now, eleven years after the series ended, there are some harsh realities of reading the novels.The books and the following film series came at the height of the popularity of young adult dystopian fictionlikeThe Hunger Games,The Maze Runner, and many more.Divergentcaptured the hearts and minds of young readers because of how well it blended the best elements of this genre of books. However, that doesn’t mean the execution and writing were always perfect.
However, when Tris takes the test her result is Divergent, meaning she doesn’t fit into the boxes laid out by the government.
The novels follow the story of Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a young member of the Abnegation factionwithin her society. There arefive factions inDivergent; Abnegation, Dauntless, Candor, Erudite, and Amity. Each faction uplifts its trait above all others, and when the residents are 16, they are tested for what faction best suits them and then get to choose what group they wish to belong to. However, when Tris takes the test her result is Divergent, meaning she doesn’t fit into the boxes laid out by the government. From there, her life unfolds into an adventure she never dreamed of.
The Divergent Trilogy Ended 11 Years Ago, And I Still Can’t Bring Myself To Hate Allegiant
Veronica Roth’s Divergent trilogy came to a close more than a decade ago, and the tragic ending of Allegiant has only grown on me with time.
10Why Would The Government Let People Choose Factions?
Within the story’s context, this seems out of character for the dystopian regime.
Book one,Divergent, begins on the eve of Tris' aptitude test and the following Choosing Ceremony. The young people living in what’s later revealed to be Chicago are raised in their parents' faction and then get to break out on their own as adults. However,the point of having both an aptitude test and a choosing ceremony seems counterintuitive.For a government with strict rules and regulations, it would be in its best interest to have the citizens simply fed into whatever the result of the aptitude test is instead of leaving it up to them.
This is whereDivergentfalls flat more often than not, as worldbuilding is frequently sacrificed for the sake of moving the plot forward.
Of course,Tris needed to have a choice so that she could join Dauntlessand kick off the events of the story, but this inconsistency is an essential flaw in the story’s logic. This is whereDivergentfalls flat more often than not, as worldbuilding is frequently sacrificed for the sake of moving the plot forward. Additionally, if the aptitude test works to root out the Divergents in the population, it would be much more strictly categorized and managed, as Tris slips through the cracks relatively easily.
9The Concept Of Being Divergent Makes No Sense
From the number of people who are Divergent to testing for it, Divergence isn’t comprehensible.
Being Divergent in the moviesis slightly different than in the books, but they follow the same general rules. However, these rules fall apart when put under a microscope. The central reason thatTris is considered so special in the books is because she’s Divergent,meaning she looks at the world through multiple perspectives and doesn’t fall into a particular faction category. Her aptitude test says she’s equipped to be in Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite, which influences her choice to train with Dauntless as her faction.
When Tris is told she’s Divergent it’s framed as a rarity and something to keep secret or risk imprisonment. However, if Divergence is the ability to process multiple frames of reference at once, thenpractically everyone in the story should be considered Divergent.They all prove themselves to be smart, kind, brave, and selfless at times, not just Tris. Additionally, it’s thrown in that Divergents can control and manipulate the serums used by the government. Still, this fact is barely justified by the text.
8Allegiant Didn’t Need Four’s Perspective
Cutting away from Tris' POV added nothing to the story.
Tobias and Tris start to take opposite sides of the conflict as they learn their city was an experiment created by those living outside its walls to create more Divergents.
The final book in the series,Allegiant, is considered the worstof the series. It lacks the excitement of the first two and throws what little worldbuilding there was out the window once Tris, Tobias, and their allies reach the outside world. It’s there that Tobias and Tris start to take opposite sides of the conflict as they learn their city was an experiment created by those living outside its walls to create more Divergents. It’s an enormous amount of information to process for the audience.
Additionally, it isn’t helped by the fact thatAllegiantis the first book to feature a perspective other than Tris'.It switches between her and her boyfriend and most trusted ally, Tobias, AKA Four. Unfortunately, Roth doesn’t differentiate strongly enough between these two perspectives, making it unclear why she chose to include Tobias in the first place. Having Tobias available to wrap up the story after the final twist is helpful, but it isn’t necessary.
7The Outside World Wasn’t Well Developed
The story wasn’t capable of handling the change in such a short amount of time.
It takes a little while for the plot ofAllegiantto finally allow its characters to venture into the outside world when the book should have spent its entirety acclimating the reader to the new environment.Everything the audience knew and assumed about the outside world was proved wrong,and the same goes for the characters. However, Tris, Tobias, and the others are all more than willing to jump into their new world order without a second thought.
These changes and developments are poorly paced and feel anticlimactic after the battle for the city in the second book,Insurgent. By the third installment, the audience knows the characters intimately, and it’s not difficult to predict how they’ll react to their new environments.There is a deluge of new characters to introduce and political intricacies to deal with,and these aspects must be addressed when essentially creating a second world within a story. However,Allegiantfails on both these counts.
6Divergent Borrowed A Lot From Other YA Series
While all great artists steal, Divergent didn’t add anything original of its own.
There are several books andYA dystopian movies likeThe Hunger Games, and theDivergentseries is merely one in a long list that tried to capitalize on the success of Suzanne Collins' smash hit. It’s not only the recentHunger Gamesnovels that Roth mined for material.Inspiration was also clearly found in books likeHarry Potter,1984, andThe Giver,among other famous YA and dystopian works. While there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by past works, and it’s a fact that no piece of art exists in a vacuum,Divergentcould have worked harder to be different.
Tris is similar to Katniss, but she lacks the compelling backstory and will to survive which makes Katniss a character to root for.
The downfall of borrowing so much without establishing a clear set of rules and boundaries for the world is that readers are prone to comparison.The factions operate like the sorting hat,but they’re more rigid and pigeonhole the characters into only acting a certain way. Tris is similar to Katniss, but she lacks the compelling backstory and will to survive which makes Katniss a character to root for. Though some parts of Divergent are entirely original, they’re swallowed by the shadow of books with better reputations.
5Tris Is A Weak Protagonist
Despite being told over and over again that Tris is special, it’s hard for the audience to believe it.
The famous phrase, “show don’t tell,” rings just as true for novels as it does for film and television, and Tris' amazing abilities and fantastic mind are something the audience is told about a lot. She whizzes through the simulations, but until then, she falls short of every physical and mental test thrown at her. A protagonist shouldn’t be automatically good at everything, butif being Divergent is incredible, why is it that Tris nearly washes out of Dauntlessand lacks true leadership skills? People clamor to follow her into battle, but she’s not even sure what she’s fighting for.
A great lead character needs an amazing backstory and reason for their fight,but Tris' experience is more similar to a regular teenager than a revolutionary. This encourages the reader to see themselves in her character, but it doesn’t further the plot, or make the audience compelled to root for her. Some of her most irredeemable choices could have been avoided if Tris had more foresight. However, seeing her fail herself and her friends quickly grows boring throughout the books.
4Why Would The Younger Faction Members Be Educated Together?
It would make sense for them to be educated with their own faction.
Before Tris chooses Dauntless and leaves Abnegation forever, she’s drawn to the faction of bravery because of the freedom the Dauntless kids at her school seem to possess.
Before Tris chooses Dauntless and leaves Abnegation forever, she’s drawn to the faction of bravery because of the freedom the Dauntless kids at her school seem to possess.Her longing to join another group was elevated through her exposure to them,and it seems that if the government wanted to keep the peace, they would have children only educated alongside others of their faction. Tris still had to dress, act, and think like an Abnegation when she was at school, and it’s stated that defecting from a faction is rare.
This falls into a similar category of questioning why people would get to choose their factions at all. The government wants to maintain order at all costs andallowing people to stray from the path they were born into doesn’t make sense for a totalitarian regime.Additionally, if the government wants to prevent Divergents from existing, then allowing the children to learn behaviors and ideas from people of other factions would serve the opposite purpose.
3The Action Sequences Aren’t Engaging
These sequences pop more in the movies, but the books leave much to the imagination.
Part of the appeal of the first book is that Tris goes through a series of tests and must train to become stronger. This structure is similar to an origin story and has demarcations of Tris' emotional and physical. It’s in these moments that Roth shines as a writer, as she’s good at getting inside Tris' head and communicating the fears, hopes, and anxieties that consume her. However, evenas Tris improves as a fighter, the fight scenes don’t become clearer or more interesting.
Some of the most climatic moments of the series are fought through shoot-outs, and Tris is continuously taken away from the heart of the action. Though it’s not the most violent series out there, and doesn’t have to be, scenes that could be exciting and fought in close contact don’t live up to their potential.Some of this is made up for in the intricately described simulationsthat Tris enters throughout the series, especially inDivergent.
2The Factionless Are Treated Terribly
Despite being a series that unpacks political issues, it doesn’t take a strong stance with Factionless.
Most YA dystopian novels can be boiled down to their basic assertions about politics, and though they support individual freedom and choice, they’re not particularly partisan outside this.Divergentis no exception, as taking a stance against a totalitarian government isn’t shocking to contemporary readers. However, one of the biggest oversights of the series is the existence of the Factionless and how they’re treated. Easily compared to unhoused residents in cities all across the world,Factionless characters are ostracized from society and overlooked.
The punishment for washing out of faction initiation is becoming Factionless, and this threat hangs over Tris' head throughout the first book, but little else is said about the community.
The punishment for washing out of faction initiation is becoming Factionless, and this threat hangs over Tris' head throughout the first book, but little else is said about the community. InInsurgent, Tris and Tobias turn to the Factionless for help. However, instead of closely examining what it means to be disregarded by a government ostensibly for the people, they’re characterized as just another faction. Matters are made worse whenthe Factionless help Tris overthrow the current regime and are immediately framed as another power-hungry group.
How To Watch Divergent Movies In Order
The Divergent movie franchise is based on Veronica Roth’s book series of the same name – in what order should fans watch all three films?
1Tobias & Tris’ Relationship Is Centered Too Heavily
Though romance can be an exciting part of a series, theirs falls flat.
Love triangles aren’t necessary to build tension and make a romantic relationship interesting,but the blossoming romance between Tris and Tobias needed something to make it worthwhile. Starting at the beginning ofThe Divergent Series, Tris and Tobias are instantly attracted to each other, and there’s little question that their relationship is endgame. This isn’t an issue, but it does make it harder to maintain stakes surrounding the fate of their relationship. Even if they fight, there’s no question that the pair will quickly reconcile.
Though Tris could be a better lead character, her arc is interesting enough to stand on its own and doesn’t require the amount of interjections from her relationship with Tobias. More often than not factoring him into her decisions and goals takes away from what she truly wants and believes.For a YA book romance, theirs is one of the better ones,and romance can be an amazing part of a series, but the novels could have focused more closely on Tris’ development, especially in the final book.
The Divergent Series
Based on the young adult novel series by Veronica Roth, The Divergent Series is a multimedia franchise that eventually launched into a film trilogy adaptation starting in 2014. Set in a dystopian future, The Divergent Series follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior, a teenager who learns she is Divergent after taking a placement test for a faction, where people with particular virtues are sorted into. As a Divergent, she discovers that darkness lies beyond the veil of their utopian society and that nothing is as it seems. The fourth and final film of the franchise was canceled before release, leaving the adaptation incomplete.
