Divergent Thinking (29 page)

Tris recognizes the unfairness of the situation even before she knows the reason for it, just as she recognizes that the fringe occupies the marginal position in outside-the-fence society that the factionless occupied inside-the-fence. Tris has an eye for spotting society's dispossessed. She's shocked by the torn clothes and desperate sleeping conditions of those living outside government society, worries about how the fringe copes during winter weather, and is amazed and proud to discover that her mother's background is so rooted in the very life she finds so appalling.

There are some important differences between the fringe and the factionless, however. For one thing, the fringe's territory is huge, stretching between Chicago and Milwaukee. But the truly significant difference is that while the factionless are society's outcasts, many of those who inhabit the fringe have
chosen
to live outside society. The fringe have actively rejected the system; the factionless were rejected
by
it. By their very nature the people of the fringe are revolutionaries. It is a slower and more subtle revolution than the armed resistance of the factionless, and one that continues to thrive despite occasional doses of memory serum administered by the government when they attempt raids outside their territory.

Tris' mother, in her journey from fringe vagrant to government mole in Dauntless to Abnegation charity worker, is a shining example of how quiet persistence can also be a form of revolution. In fact, the fringe, like the factionless, could also be described as
emergent
, as its members rise from obscurity and inferiority to become key players in the reform of society.

In the final showdown in factionless headquarters—formerly Erudite headquarters—when Tobias goes to confront Evelyn, the gun-toting, unreasonable, faceless factionless are given a face and voice in Grace, a former Abnegation member Tobias recognizes from his childhood. It is Grace who leads Tobias to meet Evelyn. She carries a gun now, unthinkable for Abnegation. But she is not using it for mindless violence. She is defending herself. Seeing her, Tobias recognizes that the Abnegation were “just as broken as the other factions.” Grace, who in defending herself has broken away from her Abnegation roots, reminds the reader through her personal growth of what Tris and her companions are really trying to achieve: a peaceful solution in which individuals are able to live in harmony on their own terms.

The world of the Divergent trilogy is often a world of stark contrasts: the black and white of Candor; the jump-or-die lifestyle of the Dauntless; the irrevocable choice at the age of sixteen to leave your family forever. There is no room here for hesitation, no room for
diversity.
The factionless, who embrace the Divergent and wear the colors of all factions, bring about the beginnings of revolution. But as a group they're only able to see the violent side of revolution. You can't change a society just by holding it at gunpoint. Reflection, tolerance, organization, and patience are also necessary ingredients for change.

This is where the role of the individual comes into play: Natalie, devoting her life to change from within; Tris, whose act of sacrifice makes it possible for a new society to emerge; Tobias, willing to negotiate with the mother who allowed him to be abused and then abandoned him; and ultimately, the heroic and tragic Evelyn, who nobly backs down in the end. She disbands her army of factionless, but she also suggests—indeed,
demands
—as part of her final terms that those who stay on in the city should
vote
on their leaders and social system. Through Evelyn, the factionless arrive at a democratic new society. The changes we see in the factionless of the Divergent trilogy seem to tell us that true revolution can only be brought about through the actions of clear-sighted individual leaders who are willing to take into account the voice of the people—emergent.

       
Elizabeth Wein
is the author of
Rose Under Fire
and
Code Name Verity,
which was voted number one by teen readers in the Young Adult Library Services Association Teens Top Ten list for 2013. Thirty-two thousand teen readers took part in the voting. She'd say she was Abnegation, but she's proud of that! Elizabeth is also the author of The Lion Hunters cycle, set in Arthurian Britain and sixth-century Ethiopia. Originally from Pennsylvania, she has lived in Scotland for over fourteen years. She is married and has two teenage children. Her daughter Sara suggested the topic for this essay.

For their assistance with the manuscript, the publisher would like to thank the following:

Soetkin Charlier and Faiza Zainab Khan at The Divergent (
thedivergent.net
)

Megan Caristi at The Divergent Lexicon (
divergentlexicon.com
)

Jessi Iuraduri and Adam Spunberg at
TheFandom.Net

       
Leah Wilson
is Editor-in-Chief of Smart Pop Books and the editor of
The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games Trilogy,
among other titles. She has a BA in Culture and Modern Fiction from Duke University, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

           
Her aptitude quizzes keep coming back Abnegation, despite her deep appreciation for bright colors, laughter, learning, and cake.

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