Divergent (novel)

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.

Chapter Two

 * 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

 * 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
dog turds

Chapter Seventeen

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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

 * 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

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

Bonus Materials

 * 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

 * “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.
 * 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.