Demitrius Hilerio Class 810 Divergent Book Club Reading Response 11/6/14

        When reading books there are lots of things the author hides for the reader to find out. The author does this to make the reader figure out the meaning of something that seems simple, but is really complex and expresses a theme or a change. What the author usually does is includes a symbol. For example in the book "Divergent" by Veronica Roth the main character Tris changes throughout the book. Tris goes from being polite and scared of doing something like jumping off a building to being a rebel and a risktaker. The main charcter is forced into joining a new faction, which in the book requires you to have the same characteristics as the people in that faction.  In Divergent there are symbols that represent this change throughout Tris's journey.
        One example of a symbol that expressed character change is Tris's Tatoos. At the beginning of the book she would never be aloud to get a tatoo or even want a tatoo because of the faction she was in. She was taught to care about others and not herself. Later in the book she gets a tatoo,which shows she has changed from when she was in her old faction. A good part that showed this change was when she visited her brother and he is suprised that she has Tatoo's. "....I run at him as fast as I can and throw my arms around his shoulders. 'You have a tatoo,' he says, his voice muffled." This part is important because her tatoos are meant to show the reader how much Tris has changed and the author hints this in this part by making Tris's brother realize how much Tris has changed since the beginning of the book. Of course there are many more symbols that express Tris's character change like the Abnegation faction and the Dauntless faction.
        Another symbol that expressed Tris's character change is the Abnegation faction and the Dauntless faction. In  Divergent the Dauntless faction and the Abnegation faction are described to be factions with a opposite set of characteristics in each. Tris goes from Abnegation to Dauntless, which really shows a important change. "My father calls the Dauntless 'hellions.' They are pierced, tatooed, and black-clothed. Their primary purpose is to guard the fence that surrounds our city. From what, I don't know." This part is important because it is a symbol of what she initially was and what she turned into, which was something she never thought she would be. In Divergent even people are symbols of Tris's character change.
      Another symbol that expresses Tris's character change is Tris's parents. Tris's parents tell Tris things and do things that that influence her change and the new characteristics she picks up. For instance Tris's mother turns into a very brave person throughout the book. This influences Tris to be brave as well. "She smiles. 'Be brave, Beatrice. I love you.' I feel her lips on my forehead and then she runs into the middle of the street. She holds her gun above her head and fires three times into the air. The Dauntless start running." This quote shows that Trsi's mom gives her advice to follow even though she dies.
       In Divergent most of the time there were symbols that influenced Tris's character by the end of the book. This book shows that many things can influence a persons behavior. In this book people factions and small things like tatoos influenced Tris's character. This book could have been banned because some parts were a little graphic, but besides that the book was normal. This book could also teach that a person can be motivated to overcome the hardest goals.