Equality…or NOT?!

As a reader, when you continue reading the Divergent series, you are able to start to piece together all that had happened in the past.  

This picture demonstrates how all of the books have finally come together!

You can then understand the present and see where the future may go. You can also see why things were happening the way they were in the series.   

I do not necessarily agree with what is happening, but the reasonings are a lot more justified in my mind.  

  

Faction before blood was a motto that the society lived by, and the faction system is what shaped their society. It was not gender based which typically is how our society is shaped. 

Factions use to be so important to the people of this utopian world. It was the way that they were able to classify themselves. Classification of who you are and how you acted was completely centered around what faction you belonged to. 

When Evelyn Eaton (Tobias’s mother) the former Factionless leader took over,she wanted to demolish the faction system. She wanted what she thought was EQUALITY between the people of this utopian world. 

“Death to the Factions,Death to the Factions!”

This quote from the book is a very powerful one.  The Factionless began chanting this in the beginning of the last book Allegiant, from the Divergent series.  

  

The Factionless believe without the faction system everyone would be treated equally, and there would be not one person or faction who is more important than another. 

This ideology that the Factionless have in their minds is all a lie that has been drilled into them by Evelyn Eaton. 

There is always someone more powerful and “more important” in society. Equality between everyone is nearly impossible. 

Evelyn Eaton is just as infatuated with power as Jeanine Matthews was. She is just presenting herself as more of a carasmatic leader who is allowing for outside opinions. When in reality she is just becoming a dictator controlling how the individuals in the utopian world are living, and having to abide by completely new rules put in place by HER. 

Jeanine Matthews, Downfall as a Leader!

There had been so much turmoil, violence, and distraction occurring in the utopian world because of Jeanine Matthews, leader of Erudite.  She was out of control. She allowed her hunger of knowledge and power to consume her.   

 Typically when thinking about gender in power you would think of the leader being male,and secondly you would assume that they are able to keep their emotions in check for the better good of the society they are in charge of. 

Most of the time you wouldn’t think that a woman could be capable of such violence or be in such a powerful position.  The reason for this is because as a society we are taught at a young age about how things use to be. We are not taught as much about how things are becoming.  The world is more open to equality for females and males.  Yes, there are still many hardships women much go through, but topics and situations are being discussed a lot more freely and openly.     

 

 Jeanine Matthews should have been able to control her emotions, she should have been able to look at the situation in a realistic manner, but that was not the case.  She was irrational and was not able to take direction from anyone, even once the truth about what is beyond the walls was released! 

As I was writing the paragraph above, it made me think…. Is this really how I view women who become out or control with power…or is this my view regardless of gender. 

Something I found interesting was that the utopian world went from one crazy leader/dictator to another one,within a matter of minutes from the death of Jeanine Matthews. 

I thought it was also fascinating that it went from one female leader to the next. 

Coincidence I think not….

  

Elimination of Gender Expectations

In the Divergent series expectations and norms are very different then in our world. Our world is so focused on the perception people have of you; then who you actually are on the inside.  When it comes to the utopian world Tris lives in, it is more about how well  you can follow rules and expectations that the faction and the faction leaders have created and passed down. There is a lot of follow by example, and fall in line with everyone else regardless of your thoughts and opinions or gender. Free thinking is also not promoted….it is typically shut down right away. These rules and expectations are also not classified by gender.  

Gender is biological it is a factor that the members of the utopian world can not control, and this is not a problem for them, because gender is no hindrance to how their world runs. 

  

Leaders are also a combination of males and females, which I think is very powerful. The women who are in charge are presented as very strong willed take no crap kind of women, but that is a necessary trait throughout the series.  To me it was also a view many may have of women who are in higher job positions in our world. 

To some they would say that a leader must be strong and a male figure, but in divergent there are almost more female leaders then males,which I find intriguing. I am not sure if that was intentional by the author, but I think it is subliminally sends a great message to the young readers who have started reading the series.

  

No matter your gender,YOU can be in a successful position, and create change when necessary!

Covering Up Your True Identity To Stay Safe!

Hiding out in Amities faction headquarters was very difficult for Tris, Tobias, and all of the other Abnegation and Dauntless members who escaped.  These members were able to get out during the war that the Erudite stated in their utopian world.  

They found pretending to be so difficult, because Amity is so different from all their factions.  There really is no comparison when it comes to any of the factions.  The factions  are all so different, and this is a reason why they work so well in harmony with one another. 

 Amity is a faction that promotes peaceful, loving, understanding, caring, and kind.  This is the complete opposite emotion of the Dauntless faction that Tris is now apart of.  

Tris has always broken the mold of a “typical” girl in her faction.  This is why she had such a struggle trying to fit in so she could stay protected. 

  

 Tris states,

 “it’s amazing how pretending to be in a different faction changes everything – even the way I walk.  That must be why it’s so strange that I could easily belong in three of them.” 

 She is confused as to how she can fit into three other factions when she does not feel as if she can fit into any one of them.  

  

To me the reason for this is because she is Divergent.  In her world that is not something that is the norm.  People are suppose to be in one faction, and in that faction everyone is suppose to think and feel the same way.

Each faction requires a certain emotion from their members.  

I find it interesting that they do not assign different rules or emotions based on gender.  Gender roles are not a factor in the utopian world, but the leaders do expect complete and total compliance when it comes to individuals being in the faction.

Tris vs. Katniss

To me this picture demonstrates the similarities between the two novel ideas. 

Side by side a comparison of the two main characters are ironic.  They are both thin white attractive females who  are strong independent women.  They are able to stand on their own two feet,and protect themselves and the people they care about. 

Selflessness, strength, dedication, and determination are character traits that they both embody throughout the series. 

Similarities between the two main characters are evident.  Is this a coincidence….

The fact that they are similar in age, and that they have allegiances make both of them comparable. They are also both young women standing up and fighting for what they believe in and there families.

Discovery of Self

Tris formerly know as Beatris went through the aptitude test, like all of the other 16 year olds in the utopian world that she lives in.  This test Tris was hoping would give her the answer to what faction she should choose.  

Not only is it a title to them, in her world it is how they  identify themselves personally.

Tris struggles with her feelings on factions in general because she thinks and speaks what she wants.  This is not how you are suppose to be.  Having your own thoughts is not allowed.  She always knew she was a little different then others, but she didn’t know what that meant. 

 She finally discovered why she is so different compared to everyone else… she is DIVERGENT.  Being divergent is so secretive that many people do not even know what it is or that it even exists.  Tris was exactly like everyone else…  She was completely  in the dark when she received the news.  

Divergent is a topic that has never been brought up before, so now Tris feels even more confused and lost  then ever before. 

 Choosing a new faction was not an easy decision. In fact, in my opinion it was one of the more difficult decisions she had to make in the first book. 

Faction before blood is a phrase that is taken very seriously.  This was a topic I expanded upon in my previous post.  

This phrase kept her secluded from a person who could have helped her through this situation…Her Mother. Well at least from my observation I believe that her mom was also divergent.  As a reader we do find out that she was at least a faction transfer from dauntless.  Her mother could have given Tris strength through this difficult time, instead of a male love interest gave it to her…

Not only was she going through a difficult initiation into dauntless alone;she was trying to deal with what being divergent means to her wellbeing in this changing society.

Faction Before Blood…

Faction before blood is a phrase within the Divergent series that fascinated me.  To hold your status in the utopian world over your own family…  As individuals in this current society family is held almost above all.

The main character Tris is fighting against this “norm” in her community. She does this just by being Divergent, which means that she is not put into one specific faction.  She is a little bit of all of them, she is a free thinking who is not held down by her factions rules.  This upsets the balance of the wants for the new society.

The picture above shows all of the different factions that are within the world. Dauntless, Amity, Abnegation, Candor, and Erudite.

Tris does not want to get rid of her family, she still heavily relies on them when she is in trouble.  She is very independent and strong willed when she is going through the initiation period with dauntlessness.  I believe that because she is divergent and is such a strong woman she is not scared to defy what society wants.