Divergent Chapter 21 Quotes
Divergent Chapter 21 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
No, I was wrong; I didn't jump off the roof because I wanted to be like the Dauntless. I jumped off because I already was like them, and I wanted to show myself to them. I wanted to acknowledge a part of myself that Abnegation demanded that I hide. (21.11)
Tris here considers the idea that the Dauntless initiation didn't change her identity; it just allowed her to bring out a part of her identity that she had to hide before. She hasn't changed, she's just been given room to show her true identity. (But if you think this issue is settled, keep reading, because things are about to get confusing.)
Quote 2
In the past four days, I faced four fears. In one I was tied to a stake and Peter set a fire beneath my feet. In another I was drowning again, this time in the middle of an ocean as the water raged around me. In the third, I watched as my family slowly bled to death. And in the fourth, I was held at gunpoint and forced to shoot them. I know what fear is now. (21.9)
The Dauntless initiation is about 1/3 fighting and 2/3 psychological torture. But note how symbolic all these fears are for Tris: she's not really afraid of fire or drowning. (There's not even a lake anymore in this "setting.") Why does she get these symbolic fears? Why isn't she just afraid of spiders like the rest of us?
Quote 3
The articles troubled me, but I had friends to cheer me up, and that is something. When the first one was released, Christina charmed one of the cooks in the Dauntless kitchens, and he let us try some cake batter. After the second article, Uriah and Marlene taught me a card game, and we played for two hours in the dining hall. (21.6)
Since Tris isn't used to having friends, she makes some statements like this that make it pretty easy to see where the theme of friendship pops up. When something bothers Tris, she has friends to help her. So we could say that, in Divergent, friends are people who cheer you up.