Divergent (novel)

2011 novel by Veronica Roth

Divergent is a young adult science fiction novel by Veronica Roth. It was first published in 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books. It is the first novel in a trilogy of the same name, followed by Insurgent. It has been made into a movie, which was released on March 21, 2014.

Divergent is narrated by Beatrice Prior, a sixteen-year old girl who lives in a dystopian society where the people are split into five factions according to certain characteristics: Abnegation the selfless, Amity the peaceful, Candor the honest, Dauntless the brave, and Erudite the intelligent. Beatrice has an aptitude for multiple factions, a trait called Divergence.

Quotes from Divergent

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Chapter Two

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  • Faction customs dictate even idle behavior and supersede individual preference. I doubt all the Erudite want to study all the time, or that every Candor enjoys a lively debate, but they can't defy the norms of their factions any more than I can.
    • p. 9

Chapter Five

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  • The uniform pounding of feet in my ears and the homogeneity of the people around me makes me believe that I could choose this. I could be subsumed into Abnegation's hive mind, projecting always outward.
    • p. 39

Chapter Sixteen

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dog turds


Chapter Seventeen

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  • The Dauntless-born initiates are like a pack of dogs. If I act the wrong way, they won't let me run with them.
    • p. 211
  • My heart beats so hard it hurts, and I can't scream and I can't breathe, but I also feel everything, every vein and every fiber, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in my body as if charged with electricity. I am pure adrenaline.
    • p. 221

Chapter Eighteen

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  • I used to think the Dauntless were fearless. That is how they seemed, anyway. But maybe what I saw as fearless was actually fear under control.
    • p. 239
  • I sniff, wipe my face one more time, and smooth down my hair.
    "Do I look like I've been crying?" I say.
    "Hmm." He leans in close, narrowing his eyes like he's inspecting my face. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. Even closer, so we would be breathing the same air—if I could remember how to breathe.
    "No, Tris," he says. A more serious look replaces his smile as he adds, "You look tough as nails."
    • p. 241

Chapter Twenty-Two

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  • His straight eyebrows are drawn low over his eyes. My stomach writhes, partly because I know he makes a good point but I don't want to admit it, and partly because I want something I don't know how to express; I want to press against the space between us until it disappears.
    I nod.
    "But please, when you see an opportunity…" He presses his hand to my cheek, cold and strong, and tilts my head up so I have to look at him. His eyes glint. They look almost predatory. "Ruin them."
    I laugh shakily. "You're a little scary, Four."
    "Do me a favor," he says, "and don't call me that."
    "What should I call you, then?"
    "Nothing." He takes his hand from my face. "Yet."
    • p. 287

Chapter Twenty-Three

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  • Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined, I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me.
But if I saw her, I wouldn't recognize her.
  • p. 299-300

Chapter Twenty-Four

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  • Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.
    • p. 313, spoken by Four

Bonus Materials

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  • I will be my undoing
    If I become my obsession.
    • p. 35, Abnegation faction manifesto
  • Dishonesty is a veil that shields one person from another.
    • p. 40, Candor faction manifesto
  • Intelligence is a gift, not a right. It must be wielded not as a weapon but as a tool for the betterment of others.
    • p. 46, Erudite faction manifesto
  • We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.
    • p. 47, Dauntless faction manifesto
    • quoted by Will on p. 206 of main text

Quotes about Divergent

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  • “Divergent” clearly has thrills, but it also movingly explores a more common adolescent anxiety — the painful realization that coming into one’s own sometimes means leaving family behind, both ideologically and physically.
  • Tris is not your usual Mary Sue. She’s selfish. She’s manipulative. She’s vindictive as hell – and I LOVED that about this book.

References

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Wikipedia
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Divergent series by Veronica Roth
Divergent book film
Insurgent book film
Allegiant book