171 pages • 5 hours read
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Divergent is the first installment in a science-fiction trilogy, and is narrated by a 16 year old girl called Beatrice Prior. The setting is a futuristic city which, though not specified in the novel, closely resembles Chicago. The city has been split into five factions: Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Amity, and Candor. The idea behind this split is that human conflict has not been caused by political ideology, race, religion, or nationalism but by differences between personality types. This prompted people to form factions in an attempt to focus on more positive values. For example, Candor sees dishonesty as the source of conflict and therefore prioritizes telling the truth.
Beatrice has spent her whole life living with her parents and brother in Abnegation, but she has never felt as though she fits in. She recognizes that this faction must look ideal from the outside, as it offers a peaceful existence and everyone helps one another. However, she finds its uniformity confining and does not believe that she is sufficiently selfless to belong in this faction.
At the start of the novel, Beatrice, like other people her age, is due to undergo an aptitude test which is supposed to indicate the faction to which she is best suited.
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By Veronica Roth