Divergent

After the fear landscape exercise, Eric injects Tris with a serum he says will allow her to be tracked should she leave the compound. This injection has been administered to all Dauntless members, and Eric claims that it is just a precautionary measure. In reality, though, Eric is lying, and this mass administration of the serum provides the driving force behind the following chapters.

Tris and Tobias become even closer in Chapter 31, with Tobias inviting Tris to join him in his room. Tris again displays uneasiness and a lack of confidence when she questions Tobias about his motivation in pursuing their relationship: she knows that she is not the prettiest girl in Dauntless and cannot see why he chose her. When she suggests that maybe he is only interested in sex, he says that he probably would not have chosen her first if that was the case. Tris’s confidence is bruised even further by this comment but Tobias clearly did not mean to insult her. As he reassures her, he meant that he knew what kind of person she was from the outset and his interest in her is not just sexual.

As Tris explains, her lack of confidence stems from inexperience, and she admits that Tobias featured in her fear landscape. To her surprise, though, Tobias reveals that he is similarly inexperienced. Tobias appears worldlier than Tris throughout the novel, and Tris sometimes has to remind herself that he is also a teenager. As Tris is the narrator, the reader is inclined to develop the same impression of Tobias, so his admission here is surprising. It also reiterates that he is not merely a stern training instructor who is old beyond his years, nor is he as confident and experienced as Tris assumes.

With Tobias having reassured Tris, the couple embrace, and Tris notices that Tobias has a tattoo of the Abnegation symbol. In fact, he has all the faction symbols tattooed on his back, and his explanation is significant in that it questions the faction system. Tobias does not believe in splitting up personality traits in this way, nor does he approve of the way in which factions criticizes the values of the others. He does not just want to be brave but to be selfless, smart, honest, and kind.

When the final rankings are announced in Chapter 32, Tris is at number one and she is so happy that she allows herself to embrace Tobias publicly. However, when she feels his hand brush against the injection site in her neck, she experiences a sudden realization. She does not say what it is, as she can barely think straight due to the shock, but she now knows how Erudite plan to control the Dauntless. She cannot talk about it with Tobias publicly, but says she will meet him later in private.

Chapter 33 takes place later that night, when Tris, who has not yet spoken with Tobias, is startled by the sight of the other initiates filing out of the dormitory as though they are sleepwalking. She tries to replicate their movements and lack of expression, following them as they board a train. Tris is perturbed for a moment when she sees Tobias looking similarly expressionless, but he squeezes her hand to show that he is just acting. At this point, the reader comes to the same realization as Tris in the previous chapter: the serum that Eric administered is not merely a precautionary measure that serves a tracking function; it was administered to turn the members of Dauntless into mindless, obedient, killing machines.

As the initiates file into the city, we encounter scenes of violence and horror, with Abnegation members being shot by the brainwashed Dauntless soldiers, including Tori. The scene becomes even more dramatic when Eric points a gun at Tobias, wondering if anyone would notice if he were to die. This is clearly a personal vendetta, and Eric voices his bitterness about Tobias having been ranked above him in training. He relishes being in this position of power but is thwarted by Tris, who shoots him in the foot. However, when she and Tobias flee, she is shot in the shoulder and they are apprehended. By referring to them as Divergent rebels, Eric shows that there are no longer any doubts regarding their status.

It is at this point that Tris and the readers finally grasp why being able to manipulate simulations is so dangerous: unlike the other members of Dauntless, Tris and Tobias cannot be controlled. Jeanine states this outright when they are taken to her office in Chapter 34, though she hopes that further experimentation will result in a serum that also works on Divergents. That Tobias is immune to the serum is also notable, in that it approves that he too is Divergent. Jeanine had already suspected Tris, but Tobias’s results gave no indication of Divergence. She concludes that his Divergence is weaker and that he genuinely belongs in Abnegation. Whether this is the case, we do not know, as Tobias’s status and test results are vague compared to those of Tris. Still, Tobias’s immunity to the serum indicates that he is Divergent.

Tris makes a relevant point in asking Jeanine why she does not just have Divergents killed. As she is Erudite, however, Jeanine is focused on knowledge and wants to know why most Divergents hail from Abnegation. If one regards this faction as weak willed, as Jeanine does, then this does not make sense. However, Tobias does not believe that the Abnegation trait of selflessness is a form of weakness—quite the opposite. He consequently defends his former faction, adding that brainwashing an army to do one’s bidding is hardly an example of bravery.

Jeanine remains composed during this exchange, as emotional outbursts and attacks are not the Erudite way. Instead, she clarifies the motive behind recruiting Dauntless: she is well aware that Erudite could not overthrow Abnegation without help, and Dauntless were happy to get involved in exchange for a place in government. Thus, we learn that Erudite is not only the faction that is unhappy with Abnegation’s monopoly government. We also see that the faction system has had dire consequences that stand in stark contrast to its original aims.

Building on Will’s earlier criticisms of Abnegation, Jeanine argues that the new government will lead to comfort and prosperity, rather than the frugality associated with the current arrangement. The plan is to assimilate the factionless and the remaining Abnegation member into the Dauntless army which will prompt Candor to cooperate. Then, there will be no further division or resistance.

While Jeanine appears rational and collected, Tobias cannot control his temper and denounces her for killing innocent people. Her retort is that some of these people—such as Tobias’s father—are not innocent. It is indeed the case that not all Abnegation members are model citizens, and Tobias acknowledges his father’s cruelty. Still, even Marcus never resorted to mass murder.

Rather than enter into a debate with Tobias, Jeanine retains her composure and explains what will happen next. In fact, Tris remarks that Jeanine thinks in a logical manner that focuses on problems and solutions. She may not have found a way to control Divergents yet, but she can control what Divergents see and hear, and this enables her to control them in an indirect way. For instance, she can cause a person to see their friend as an enemy—as she demonstrates when she forcibly injects Tobias with a serum. Sure enough, Tobias attacks Tris, though the Erudite guards quickly pull him away.

Tobias is now under Erudite control and Jeanine orders the guards to take him to the control room where he will monitor what is going on. As Tris is injured, however, Jeanine deems her useless. This is another “problem,” and killing Tris is its solution.

In Chapter 35, Tris wakes in room that is filling up with water, harking back to the scenario in her fear landscape. This time, though, a figure breaks the wall from the outside, and Tris sees that it is her mother. In contrast to the woman she grew up with, Tris now witnesses her mother brandishing a gun and wearing a determined expression. Tris’s mother proceeds to shoot several guards as they make their getaway, and Tris notices that she has a Dauntless tattoo. Tris had already suspected that her mother was from this faction, but these Dauntless credentials are in full display in this chapter.

Though they have little time to talk, Tris’s mother reveals that she is Divergent and that her Dauntless mother had instructed her to transfer to a safer faction on her day of choosing—indeed, despite the positive experiences that Tris has had in her chosen faction, Abnegation seems a far better choice for a Divergent who fears being discovered. She also reveals that Tris’s father and Caleb are in hiding, along with some fellow Abnegation escapees.

When more guards approach, Tris’s mother says that she will distract them so that Tris can make a run for it. Tris does as instructed but is horrified to see her mother being killed by return fire. She feels like collapsing but is pushed onward by her mother’s and Tobias’s encouragement to be brave.