Divergent is the story of Beatrice Prior. She lives in a city divided amongst 5 factions, Abnegation, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor and Amity. Beatrice grew up through the Abnegation. The Abnegation values selflessness and charity above all else. Upon turning 16 all the teenagers of the city take part in a choosing ceremony where they have the opportunity to join a new faction. But to help to choose the faction that they’ll live in for the rest of their life they take an aptitude test. Pending on the results you receive the faction that they’ll most likely succeed in. Problem is Tris’s test results are inconclusive, meaning she is Divergent. Through Dauntless initiation, Tris battles through mental and physical tests that push her to the limit. Through her Divergence Tris has been able to control herself through simulations and tests which ultimately makes her dangerous. Then the reader sees Tris use her Divergence to stop an attack planned by the Erudite. By the end of the novel, the reader gets a sense of progression Tris goes through. First seeing her as this nice little girl from the Abnegation to a woman who defies society.
Setting
The story of Divergent takes place in a city. It is believed that the city is a futuristic, dystopian Chicago. The city is basically split up into zones for the five factions. The Abnegation sector is made up of small houses which are all the same interior and gray exterior. The Dauntless and the Erudite are made up of large headquarters where they train initiates and where the leaders of their factions congregate. The city is all fenced off from the outside and has a train system which is mainly used by Dauntless. Then there's the factionless who don’t belong to any faction that live on the streets and abandoned buildings throughout the city.