Bruno Houtzager                                    12/18/14

Class 810

            Should “Divergent” be Banned?   

   

All teens have to go through some kind of difficult situation in their lives, yet these situations can sometimes be upsetting. “Divergent”, by Veronica Roth, is about how a weak girl that is different from everyone else has to live without being caught, she is a “Divergent”. In this story the girl, Tris has to train with the Dauntless, to serve their cause. Throughout this training period, there are many people that want to be the best, to be at the top of the rankings. These people will do anything to become first. In the book there is a lot of violence, bullying, and a suicide. But this book should stay in our libraries because it shows that bravery will always persevere.

Many people might think that the book should be banned because of the violent and corrupt leadership. They think that if teens are exposed to corruption, then those teens are going to take the path of corruption too. These teens could take the example and use their power incorrectly. For instance, this happened in Divergent, the leaders of the civilization were leading properly, and the leaders of two corrupt groups overthrew those leaders.“‘ Oh, they can see and hear. They just aren’t processing what they see and hear in the same way,’ says Eric. ‘They receive commands from our computers in the transmitters we injected them with...’” (Roth, loc. 4949) They had overthrown the Abnegation leaders, by controlling their more powerful soldiers to attack. But in the book Tris and Tobias show that the leaders don’t always control everyone, and they are going to fight for what they think is right. “‘Get on with things,’ Tobias repeats bitterly. He raises his voice. ‘ Make no mistake. You will be dead before the day is out, you-’” (Roth, loc. 5027) This shows that if you stand out and are willing to make a difference you can win. With motivation you can do a lot even compared to world leaders.

Actually, the book can inspire teens, Tris and many other characters show that with bravery and heroism you can overcome most problems. Tris perseveres in her belief that there should be peace in her city. Abnegation shouldn’t be under attack by people that just want more power. The only way to stop the attack was to hack the computers that are controlling the Dauntless soldiers. The one problem she had with getting into the building was with Peter, her nemesis. But she took care of him, “‘Now that you realize your mistake,’ I say, ‘I will give you another chance to tell me what I need to know before I shoot you somewhere worse.’” (Roth, loc. 5413) This shows that Tris will do anything to complete her mission of peace, even if it means attacking one of her fellow initiates. But the problems don’t end with the Dauntless soldiers being controlled by their leaders, but the leaders have to be dealt with too. Tris’s mother gives her life, so that her children have a chance at surviving, “She smiles. ‘Be brave, Beatrice. I love you.’” Tris has to continue pushing her limits to stay alive and stop the Dauntless attacks. She shows that with perseverance, achieving a goal becomes much more within reach.  

The violence and suicide played a big role in this story and could affect people in many different ways. Teens could be affected in two different ways: they could either be shocked and horrified by the harsh violence or they could start to think maybe I should take my anger out on someone by shooting them.  In the article, “Darkness Too Visible” the author wrote, “Books focusing on pathologies help normalize them and, in the case of self-harm, may even spread their plausibility and likelihood to young people who might otherwise never have imagined such extreme measures.” (Gurdon, 4) People reading about suicide might have such an effect on them that they start to contemplate their own lives. For example, “‘Same thing that happens every year, someone else replies. ‘He pitched himself over the ledge.’” (Roth, loc. 3550) But the most excruciating part of the book was the different parts of violence, the description made reading much more difficult.  “Blood spurts from the wound, and he screams again, pressing his forehead to the ground. I shift the gun back to his head, ignoring the pang of guilt in my chest.” (Roth, loc. 5414) But reading about violence is much easier to process than to watch videos of people being killed just to satisfy the need for violence. If someone had witnessed suicide or known someone that committed suicide, reading about more suicide will make the topic more normal, and someone might be less focused on it. “If a teen has been abused, the logic follows, reading about another teen in the same straits will be comforting.” (Gurdon 3) I think that banning “Divergent” is unnecessary because the book teaches many good life lessons.

All of the bravery in this book should inspire the people reading it, being teen or adults, from this book you will learn that even if you have big problems, you can survive. Perseverance can range from on the battlefield, to completing your homework, to dealing with an addiction. I think that “Divergent” shouldn’t be banned, even though it has some objectionable content, it teaches a good life lesson. A life lesson that doesn't only apply to some people, it applies to everyone.

Works Cited

"Darkness Too Visible." WSJ. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http:/

	/www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038>.

Ross, Veronica, and Veronica Ross. Divergent. Print.