Divergent

            When Veronica Roth created Divergent, she placed her main character, Tris, within a society that was very complex. There are basically five different groups, or factions, and each of them have their own set of rules and beliefs. First, there is Abnegation, which is the government authority and the faction that looks to help others. Then there is Erudite, which is the faction for all of the geniuses. There is also Candor, which is where all of the honest and truth tellers belong. Amity is the faction for the lighthearted, and Dauntless is for the brave protectors of the city.

            There are several differences between the book and the movie adaptation, but most of them were made in order to keep the film’s rating down and to make it appropriate for younger audiences.

 One of the main changes was that a character, Peter, which clashes with Tris, is less vicious. In the book, he is out to destroy Tris, but in the movie he is tamer and actually adds a sense of humor to some scenes. In the book, he is portrayed as a complete monster that uses violence and cheating to get and remain ahead in the group of new Dauntless. In the movie, he is still mean and tough, but he has more attitude and mysterious ways that make him a more complex “villain”.

Another big difference is the absence of excessive fighting in the movie as opposed to the book. In the movie, there are a couple of fights shown in “the pit”, but the audience doesn’t really get to see how Tris’ fellow Dauntless members fight. However, in the book, there are several fights and the reader is clued in more to what the others can actually do.

The movie was released in March 2014, and it was recently released on DVD. The novel was written and released in 2011. Both the book and movie can be purchased at stores like Walmart and Target.

Ashlee Holtzclaw