Never Give Up On What You Want

Authors Note: This is a “Theme Analysis” that is about the book “Divergent” by Veronica Roth. I think the theme in this story is Determination. Readers should look for the hints of highlights in the book and a book outline in the beginning.

                                                                   

Can you imagine your whole childhood being raised not to ask questions or be curious? Then one day having the opportunity to explore a different culture, would you do it? This is the problem that “Tris” faces in the book Divergent. All her life Tris was a curious child. It went against her nature not to ask questions or be curious about the world. She knew early on that she wouldn’t make it far in Abnegation, she didn't want to be there. Tris tried running away multiple times, but the authorities brought her back. She had no choice but to wait until she was 16, for the annual “Choosing Ceremony”. There she could either choose to stay in her home faction, the county she lived in, or she could transfer to a different faction and go through initiation, the process when you have to prove to the faction leaders that you belong there. The Theme in the book Divergent is to never give up on what you want, no matter what you have to do to get it.

In the beginning of the story Tris is always expected to be better than what she is. Because of her family she is expected to be something that she isn’t. Her dad is one of the Government figures in Abnegation. He especially enforces the rules of Abnegation. Tris never really had a problem with her father she always listened to him, cared for him, helped him there was no reason for her to go away because of her dad.       

Growing up in the Abnegation faction wasn’t always as simple and peaceful as it might seen. As a child you weren’t allowed to talk at the dinner table, you were forced to do anything possible to help somebody even if that meant giving up your rights.  There were many rules that Tris didn’t like, and she knew that she would have to make a choice. Therefore she was very determined to do her very best to get out of Abnegation. When the day finally came to choose her new home she chose Dauntless the faction of Fearlessness. The first task that she faced was overcoming her fear of heights by jumping off of a train over a deep trench and then jumping off the side of a building. She had to be trained to be a fighter. She was trained in hand to hand combat by fighting her classmates. She was taught how to shoot a gun and throw a knife. All of these she was determined to finish at a high rank.

She knew that if she didn’t finish within the top ten she would be factionless and live on the streets. For example Adolf Hitler is like the Abnegation government because, he was determined to kill all of the “Jews” and control Europe. And like any famous leader they all wanted something, whether it be power, strength, or just to be in control of people: they all were determined to get what they wanted; just like the Abnegation government is. like in the Hunger Games, Katniss is determined to win the games so she could see her sister again. Like these examples Tris is determined to do something with her life and to have somewhere where she’s accepted and looked up to.

We all want something in our lives. But most people think that their dream is impractical and they think that it won’t happen, so they don’t even go out and try. To be determined is to have some sort of drive to do something and want something so badly that they will go and get what they want. For most people the thing that they are striving for isn’t something too big it’s sometimes something like getting better grades, or a promotion, just little things like that. You always want something you just have to figure out what it is.