1. Do you think there is anything wrong with Divergents? Why do you think this society fears them so much? What is your opinion of divergents and the way in which this society categorizes people into five factions? Is this a utopian society or a dystopian society to you?
Beatrice’s aptitude test results were ‘Divergent’. Tori, her test administrator, explains what a divergent is and warns her by telling her how divergents are extremely dangerous. In this world, divergents are considered a threat. But I think there is nothing wrong with divergents and there are a couple of things to think about: why society fears them, whether the factions are good, and whether the society is utopian or dystopian.
Firstly, the reason why they get so much hate. It doesn’t say in the book, but I think the reason is that they might not do well in the faction. Since they fit in several factions, they might not be loyal and betray the factions. Also, they would cause trouble because they are hard to control. This might even create conflicts and fights.
Secondly, my opinion about the factions. I don’t think 5 factions are the best way to eliminate conflict and war. It is impossible to divide people into 5 attributes. For example, these days, there is the MBTI test that categorizes people into 16 personalities, which isn’t enough either. There are millions of attributes someone can have. Many people have a mix of attributes. In fact, I think there will be more divergent people than non- divergent people in our world. I even think non- divergence could be a threat!
Finally, this society is both utopian and dystopian. It is utopian since there are no fights between factions (If not including Abnegation and Erudite). Still, people can live without worrying about war and danger. Compared to our world, I think their lives are happy and peaceful. Even though this society might be very utopian, it also has some dystopian aspects. For example, people have to stay in the same faction forever. People can change often. People might not be happy like Beatrice. When she was in Abnegation, she wasn’t always good at being selfless. This also connects to how people have many different personalities. Overall, I think it is more of a dystopian society as there are more negative sides.
In conclusion, there is nothing wrong with divergence for 3 reasons: the reason why they get hate, the negative parts of society with factions, and that it is a dystopian society. For me, divergence is something very normal. Even though some characteristics of divergents show why people don’t like them, however, from my perspective, I think there is nothing threatening or dangerous about them.
2. Much of what we have read indicates there is a clear power struggle between Abnegation and Erudite. Abnegation is control over the government and they believe that the selfless ones are the most suitable for running the government. However, Erudite appears to believe that there needs to be more representation for all the factions in government and plans to launch a military attack using the Dauntless to overthrow the Abnegation faction. Jeanine, moreover, continues to hunt for Divergents for reasons that still remain ambiguous. Discuss whether you agree with Jeanine’s version of government. Should there be more representation for all the factions? Or do you think, as many people in Abnegation believe, some factions such as Erudite should not be in power for it may corrupt them? Also, discuss whether you agree with Jeanine’s plot to use Dauntless to forcefully remove Abnegation from power. Would this be justified in the name of democracy?
In Divergent, Abnegation controls the government because of their selflessness. However, Erudite believes that Abnegation shouldn’t be the only ones controlling and that they are not suitable for running the government. Instead, they think their knowledge can help the people the best. To earn power, Jeanine, the leader of Erudite cruelly plans to attack Abnegation using the Dauntless. I disagree with Erudite overtaking the government and there are three reasons to support my opinion.
A reason why Erudite shouldn’t control the government is that they are evil, especially to Abnegation. For example, they made false articles about them, and even planned on attacking them. These actions of Erudite clearly show how they are evil and it is very likely that they will do the same thing to their people, too. Thus, they would probably be a government that the citizens can’t trust: a bad government.
Another reason is that Abnegation has better intentions and values than Erudite. Although Erudite can develop the country with their knowledge and advanced technology, this isn’t as important as life. As mentioned in the book, Abnegation helps the Factionless by providing them with food, water, and other necessities. While people can live without cars, computers, or robots, we can’t survive without food. Since life is a very important thing, clearly, Abnegation has a better purpose.
Erudite would give a negative impact on the citizens. Firstly, taking over the government is not democracy. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, democracy is a ‘government by people‘ where the citizens elect their leaders and make choices. However, if Erudite simply attacks Abnegation and controls without other factions’ agreement, this would not fit into the definition of democracy because others didn’t ask for it. Also, citizens might become like Erudite. Most people follow their leaders because they look up to them. As a result, a lot of the people will attack and hurt each other for power, just like Erudite. Like these examples, Erudite controlling would negatively influence others in many ways.
In conclusion, Erudite overtaking the government would have many negative effects for 3 reasons: they have an evil mindset, their values are less reasonable, and they influence the citizens negatively. Although I agree with Erudite that different factions should control, too but clearly, Erudite isn’t suitable for the government. However, If the other factions join their forces, the world would improve and become a much better place to live.
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