Chapter Eleven

Tris is constantly having dreams about being Divergent and having Peter like scare her into admitting it and then she ends up dying. Most of the time dreams are your subconscious trying to tell you something, but hers seem pretty straight forward...

The Dauntless initiates are taking a field trip to scope out the jobs that they could choose in the future. While she's there Tris runs into Robert from Abnegation and talks to him for a few minutes. It seems really weird because they chose completely new lives and if they had both chosen Abnegation then they would have probably gotten married and had children together. It just seems crazy how one decision completely changed  the whole events of their lives... Could that possibly happen in our lives?

Four tells Tris that she could be a really good fighter as long as she attacked them first. He also told her earlier to use her elbows and knees for extra strength and power. She brings up the last time she fought and how he walked out because it was "boring." He tells her that's not the truth and she asks why. He responds by saying, "It's not something I wanted to see." He totally likes her!<3

"Maybe there's a little Abnegation in everybody, even if they don't know it."

Chapter Ten

Tris keeps having strange dreams and I can relate completely. I have weird dreams all the time that I vividly remember. Like just last night I had a dream that I became really good friends with this girl that represented I think a puppy because she had like really deep brown hair and super blue eyes, but it's just amazing how some people remember their dreams so clearly like Tris and I do, while others don't ever remember.

This represents dreams and how crazy and unknown they can be.

Tris is constantly getting picked on, but I don't understand why. It took the most bravery for her to switch factions. People from Candor switch all the time so no one should give her crap for picking who she really is.

Tris has to go against Peter for the fight. Peter is the other enemy from Candor that s best friends with Molly and Drew. Tris is losing badly and that's when Four leaves the room. Tris gets beat so bad that she winds up in a hospital. Al comes to visit Tris and I'm starting to wonder if Al kinda likes her? And I feel that he's using her as an outlet to the pain he's feeling because he's having a hard time adjusting to the Dauntless way of life.

"Maybe they take turns throwing knives at each others heads- it wouldn't surprise me."

Chapter Nine

"It's impossible to have a friendship when no one feels like they can accept help or even talk about themselves." 

Tris lucks out and doesn't have to fight anyone on the first day. Tris doesn't like how Al and Will have to fight each other, even though they are in a way friends. Al ends up winning but it takes a very long time. Then Cristina goes against Molly, their enemy from Candor. After a brutal beating Cristina says she's done and gets ready to get off the rink. Eric forces Cristina to hang over the ledge to excuse her cowardice. She stays strong except the last minute she almost gives out. She finally makes it and Al pulls her back over.

"Human reason can excuse any evil, that is why it's so important that we don't rely on it."

Chapter Eight

Tris started off in training as weak and is getting a little stronger. She completely loves the rush and the chaos of it all. To me personally, I love chaos but only in small amounts. After awhile I'd need to go back to the simple life because being chaotic all the time, doesn't give you any downtime to reflect on anything; which is something that I can't live without.

Candor usually just says whatever is on their mind and never hold anything back. This surprises me because I'm supposed to be Candor but I always over think everything I do; this includes about what I say. Candor and Amity are against each other because Candor values telling the truth no matter what, while Amity will keep their mouth shut in order to keep waters calm. This also surprises me because I know that in some aspects I act like Amity, yet I'm Candor so I feel like I'm at war with myself...

Four is totally flirting with Tris! He's talking about how she "looks good" and like putting his hand on her arm.(:

Cristina, Al, Will, and Tris are all going to get tattoo's and Tris decides to get something actually meaningful. She wants something that represents leaving her past behind, or leaving Abnegation behind. She decides to get a tattoo of ravens from her collarbone leading to her heart. Three ravens, one for each  family member she left behind.

" Politeness is deception in pretty packaging."

Chapter Seven

The Dauntless travel to their headquarters which happen to be underground, Tris feels really close to the earth; I understand where she's coming from because we all have that one place in our lives that we feel completely safe or one with the earth. Mine happens to be when I'm alone by a a lake or a stream. For some reason I believe this has to do with the fact that I'm Pisces and were supposed to be people that are very comfortable with water. Where's your "special" place?

"Special Place"

Tris begins to wonder why so many of the transfer initiates are from candor, but then she mentions that they're very curious, loud-mouths, that ask to many questions.

"It must require bravery to be honest all the time. I wouldn't know."

When they continue the tour, I learn that Dauntless is completely different from Abnegation. They all speak their minds and it's loud all the time, no one seems reserved ever. Tris really enjoys all the chaos around her. They soon arrive at The Pit and someone makes a joke. I laughed so hard because we have The Pit at our school!(:

The river is split between two areas. One side is the chaotic, thrashing side while the other, is calm and subtle. This is a big symbol in the Dauntless world, Eric explains that the two sides represent the difference between bravery and idiocy. I thought that it was put beautifully.

Tris describes Eric as terrifying and she doesn't ever want him to look at her. Eric is one of the five Dauntless leaders who is very young. But age doesn't matter to the Dauntless.

Initiation is very serious, after the tour, they lead them to their combined room and tell them that the rankings are for finding a job after initiation and that only the top ten initiates are made members. If you are not in the top 10 then you become factionless, a great fear of Tris's. 

"If you really are one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."

Almost all the initiates cry themselves to sleep that night... I'd have to say I would too.

Chapter Six

After the ceremony, the dauntless run from the building and Beatrice absolutely loves it. In Abnegation they were taught to be patient and never run because it was practically self-indulging. I believe she will have a much better time in Dauntless than she would ever have in Abnegation.

I thought it was pretty redundant that if the children chose Dauntless, but couldn't jump onto a

moving train that they became factionless. Also, the people in Dauntless are much more accepting of Beatrice's curiosity and they seem more like her.

They reach their destination and have to jump off a moving train to a building and one of the kids.... doesn't make it to the building. Beatrice makes all the jumps and it the first one to complete initiation by jumping off a skyscraper into a tiny hole in the bottom of the street. At that moment they ask Beatrice her name and she decides to rename herself Tris.

 

"Abnegation discourages anything done strictly for my own enjoyment, and that is what this is: my lungs burning, my muscles aching, the fierce pleasure of a flat-out sprint."

Chapter Five

(Background Information:) The choosing ceremony begins when the kids are lined up in alphabetical order and called up, one by one, in reverse alphabetical order. When your name is called, you walk to the center of the stage and cut your hand with a knife. On the stage, there are five circles, one for each faction; in order for you to be apart of a faction you have to sprinkle the blood from your hand into a specific circle. Then, you have to pass initiation to be officially that member.

There is a lot of weight on her decision as a faction. This one decision changes her life forever and I feel like I can connect to that. It seems like everything I do for school now is going to have an effect on which college I go to, and depending on which college I go to could potentially change my life completely. A lot of teachers are putting weight on the fact of knowing what you want to do and where you want to go for college, but I have zero clue about any one of those things. It's just scary that people around me have it all figured out, when I barely know a field that I would choose.

The factions were chosen long ago, to stop wars, and each faction has a different belief on what caused discord between people.

People who blamed Aggression became Amity.
People who blamed Ignorance became Erudite.
People who blamed Duplicity became Candor.
People who blamed Selfishness became Abnegation.
And finally, people who blamed Cowardice became Dauntless.

Beatrice is scared at the thought of leaving her family, only because family's become repulsed to the children who switch and, the family's have one chance to visit, but most don't because they are so disappointed.

First Beatrice's brother is called, Caleb, and he goes up to the stage and picks Erudite. What? Beatrice was always convinced that he was Abnegation, from the moment he was born. He was always selfless and never thought for himself. At this moment Beatrice is positive that she will pick Abnegation, just for her family's sake.

Beatrice is called and when she goes up to the stage and cuts her hand, her blood drips on the carpet. I thought that: that would make her factionless or Divergent, because technically she wouldn't have a specific faction. Maybe nobody saw her blood drip? But then she shoves her hand over to Dauntless. As she looks over at her family she sees that her dad is in disbelief and very sad, but she thinks she sees a slight smile on her mother's face.

One final thought I had was, If your family doesn't accept and let you be yourself than, they're not really your family at all, are they?

"My blood drips onto the carpet between the two bowls. Then, with a gasp I can't contain, I shift my hand forward, and my blood sizzles on the coals. I am selfish. I am brave."