Dear Jerry,
This is the first blog of a 3 part series that I, along with my three other high school classmates, am doing on Dystopian worlds, their breakdowns, and the outcome of those breakdowns. I am excited about doing this series and I can’t wait to break down Dystopia with you.
In Veronica Roth’s book titled Divergent, she puts you into a seemingly perfect world with a flawless system of balance. In this world, they are dedicated to pursuing and cultivating your most prominent virtue. Therefore, pretty much squelching the other virtues.
This system is separated into five factions. They are: Amity, Erudite, Abnegation, Candor and Dauntless.
Amity: The Peaceful. They value peace and seek in everything they do.
Erudite: The Intelligent. They believe ignorance is just a lack of knowledge.
Abnegation: The Selfless. They value selflessness and the service of others.
Candor: The Honest. They are very truthful and frankly and tactlessly say what they feel.
Dauntless: The Brave. They strive to become fearless and indestructible.
These are the five factions that separate this balanced society. On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-old’s must select the faction in which they will live for the rest of their lives after taking a placement test. Before that, they live in the faction their parents chose at age sixteen. On this day, all the factions come together to watch the Choosing ceremony. The ceremony takes place only after each eligible child has taken Aptitude test, which tests them and tells them what Faction matches their proficiency. But ultimately, the child still makes the choice, though it is rare for them to go against their test results. They are called up one by one to make their selection. At the end of the day they then go to their new home which is whatever faction they chose, to stay there for the rest of their lives. Then it is all balanced again until the next choosing ceremony.
Beatrice Prior is Abnegation born and there is no doubt in anyones mind that she will pick Abnegation as her faction at her Choosing ceremony. That is, in everyones minds, except hers. All her life she has been instructed in the Abnegation ways of selflessness. But she isn’t sure it is the faction for her. And when her test comes back inclusive, she is even more terrified and confused. That is where I will pick next week. What is it that threw off this perfectly balanced world?
Hannah