In the novel “Divergent”, Veronica Roth utilizes the concept of a faction house in order to symbolize their values within that faction, ultimately illustrating within society people tend to collectively assimilate with the people they surround them self with. 

Roth uses the Dauntless faction’s living quarters to represent their values of courage and recklessness and how they fit in within the dystopian setting. For example, Roth introduces 5 factions. One being Dauntless which the main character, Tris, is a part of. They have characteristics of being thrill-seekers, being courageous, and willingness to face danger head-on. These characteristics are seen by them having to throw themselves onto a moving train to travel from one area to another. Because of the factions having varying beliefs from others it allows them to collectively come together and do their part. Consequently, the main character came from another faction and had to learn all new beliefs. It was easy for Tris to adapt to these characteristics after spending so much time with Dauntless. Their house carries the symbol of a growing flame to embody their recklessness. The symbols shows that their house has similar values. Therefore, the people one shares a house with tend to leave an everlasting effect on one and another due to the concept of assimilation. Roth uses the characteristics of Dauntless heavily throughout the book to portray the lives of their faction. Similarly, a part of their initiation was to jump off the Sears Tower in Chicago and glide down by a zip line. Although many people died in front of one and another on the zip line every single person continued trying to prove them self. Because the Dauntless faction had such hardcore values they enforced a hard set of activities that one must do to belong within their house. Since these were so extraordinary it allowed the new initiates to prove that one day they could fully become a part of Dauntless and bleed courage. Thus, the house of Dauntless truly embodied the symbol of an out of control flame due to their courage and bravery. 

Likewise, another faction within their system was Erudite. While on the opposite spectrum they had the same sense of belonging within their home. Roth utilizes Erudite’s faction and home to symbolize their technological and critical thinking. Erudite is the smartest faction of them all and are biased towards their own faction due to their intellectual superiority. Their house symbol is a blue eye to symbolize their intelligence and wisdom. Due to all the people within the house being so similar it allows them to bounce ideas off of each other but also become cocky due to their intelligence. Because of the smartest people being amongst each other within the Erudite house it enforces them to all think the same due to assimilation. Consequently, the symbol of the blue eye portrays those within Erudite thinking they are the best compared to everyone else. Therefore, the house of Erudite is the collective works of the smartest of the smartest, due to them living with each other  it enforces them to have similar ideologies and values which can lead to a corrupt system. Additionally, Tris’ brother, Caleb, chose to take a different route and join Erudite due to his intelligence. Later on in the novel, Tris sets out to go see Caleb because she thinks something is wrong with the system. When she approaches him, Roth writes that Caleb is distant and not his typical self. From a distance it is realized that he has been brainwashed by their ideologies and has adopted the way they think. The Erudite house pushes their values hard onto the people within because they don’t want someone to be a cancer from the system within. Since their symbol of the blue eye symbolizes enlightenment and intelligence it isn’t surprising that Caleb becomes a new person after belonging to Erudite for a while. Thus, every person leaves a piece of them on another. While living amongst each other it is seen that that influence exponentially grows and people within society tend to assimilate. 

Within “Divergent” by Veronica Roth, she utilizes the symbols of each specific faction house to represent their values and beliefs. The houses within factions are representation that embodies the ideology that in a society people tend to become like one another due to whom they surround themselves with and share different ideas. 

FRQ #3 Part 2

In the novel “Insurgent”, Veronica Roth employs scenes of violence in order to convey the role of violence in a political environment and moral dilemmas within characters, ultimately illustrating that power hungry can lead to conflict and these moral dilemmas can cause personal conflicts. 

Roth moreover utilizes these scenes of violence in order to demonstrate the rebellion within the dystopian setting, and the effects of resorting to violence when it comes to government control. The factions when working together typically symbolize stability and peace. In “Insurgent” the factions are heavily shattered and working against each other. The attack on the Dauntless is not an act of rebellion for the sake of freedom; in this case it is  revenge for years of suffering. Roth utilizes this to portray when individuals get pushed past their boundaries this will typically result in violence. Because of Roth’s utilization of the factionless attacking the Dauntless it provides an example of power versus the powerless. Consequently, the factionless began to resort to attacking their faction due to their mistreatment after many many years. Therefore, Roth employs this power struggle to create a postcolonial lens. Similarly, there is a power struggle for control of all factions between Erudite, Dauntless, and the factions.  All three of those factions are fighting for the control that comes with being the top faction. Jeanine Matthews, leader of the factionless rebellion, resorts to violence and manipulation to beat Dauntless. They utilize the simulation to control them completely, and win the battle. Because Roth uses these scenes of violence it forces the reader to confront the cost of a rebellion. It begs the question: Is a rebellion truly worth it if it's just going to result in violence and death? These characters are battling an internal conflict between loyalty and sacrifice. Thus, Roth creates a novel that is about emotional consequences of violence rather than focusing strictly on the physical battles. This all ties back to how power hungry people within a society get. Once they have a taste of it they want more, and this is seen by the factions fighting for their sliver of power. 

As mentioned prior, these characters are fighting an inner battle and not just the rebellion.  Roth moreover utilizes scenes of violence in order to demonstrate the moral dilemmas faced by characters in the novel, “Insurgent”. The main character, Tris, is faced with the decision to participate in the war effort or retreat from it. At multiple points throughout the novel she struggles with sacrificing her personal beliefs for the greater good of fighting against the opposing force. At one point she had to kill a member of Dauntless because they were being controlled by the simulation. Because they were being controlled by the simulation it wasn’t truly them acting as themself. Consequently, it was difficult for Tris to put her judgement aside and take out the Dauntless member anyway for the good of the rebellion. Therefore, while most of the time Tris does the right thing, it does allow for the question of her integrity and if she is doing it for the greater good or her own good.  Similarly, the main character, Tris, is in another internal battle between right and wrong. Tris is faced with the decision to use violence against an innocent person to gain control over a powerful weapon. This is when they invade the Erudite headquarters to stop Jeanine Matthews from using a weapon that similarly would control the minds of factionless people like the Dauntless. Tris doesn’t want to kill any of these Dauntless soldiers because they technically aren’t doing anything wrong. They are just bystanders that are being controlled by the simulation. Since they are still a threat Tris and Four must take them out for the sake of the rebellion. Thus Tris once again has to overcome her beliefs and channel her desire to protect the greater good of the factions. By making this decision it is one stop closer to stopping the tyrannical system that is overpowering the factions.

Within the second book of the Divergent Trilogy, “Insurgent”, Veronica Roth utilizes scenes of violence for a bigger purpose. She utilizes these to portray the role of violence within rebellion and moral dilemmas faced by characters, ultimately illustrating that if one reaches for power it can lead to conflict and the affect of putting something above oneself.