How Does the Novel Divergent Represent a Dystopian Society

663 Words3 Pages
Dissecting Brave New Worlds Dystopias Imagine family’s no longer exist, nor individuals. Imagine being manipulated into soulless monsters that will do what society thinks is best for you before thinking for yourself or others. In the novel Divergent, a futuristic setting of Chicago Illinois, you will experience what it really feels like to live in a dystopian society. Dystopia is a society that is undesirable or frightening, they are often characterized by dehumanization. This novel can be categorized as dystopian through setting, conflict, and characters. The natural world is banished and distrusted in a dystopian setting, citizens live in fear of the outside world (Jonstone, 1), this is clearly represented throughout the setting of Divergent. The Dauntless protect the city from the outside world, the citizens are not informed of what lies on the outside and the Dauntless do not let anybody out pass the fences that border Chicago. “’What do you think is out there?’ […] ‘I mean, beyond the fences.’ […] ‘A bunch of farms, I guess.’ […] ‘Yeah but I mean . . . past the farms. What are we guarding the city from?’ She wiggles her fingers at me. ‘Monsters!’” (Roth, 122), they live in a fear of the outside world from isolation and simply ponder on what really is beyond the fences. The citizens of society worship a figurehead or concept, citizens are perceived to be under constant control or surveillance (Jonstone, 1), the two main conflicts of this novel involve a person versus person, as well as a person versus society. Tris, the protagonist of the novel is forced to battle to the death in some cases against other initiates who have chosen the same faction as her “You chose us, now we have to chose you” stated Eric one of the Dauntless leaders when conducting the initiation (Roth, 73). She helps us recognize the negative aspects of the dystopian world trough

More about How Does the Novel Divergent Represent a Dystopian Society

Open Document