Subversion/Push Back 101

By: Cheryl Gibbs Binkley 

Divergent is a popular book series and movie in which young people are categorized into factions they will live in for the rest of their lives. The protagonist is told repeatedly to "Trust the Test." After my College Composition 111-English 12 students finished their final research paper, I assigned them the movie and asked them to answer the following 5 questions

DIVERGENT Questions

1. Have you ever had to take a test that you felt defined who you were allowed to be? If so, what was it like; how did it affect you; and what did you think about it?

2. The Factions in Divergent are : Abnegation (the selfless) , Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the honest), and the Factionless (who live as outcasts).
Which one do you feel the most affinity with, and why? Is there any one of those traits that you feel you should cultivate in yourself? – why or why not?

3. In the movie Erudite (the intelligent) want to displace Abnegation (the selfless) as the ruling class. Do you feel that to be true in reality? If so, why or why not, and how so?

4. In the story, Beatrice renames herself Tris—as the expression of a transformation she is about to undergo. What are the changes she experiences, and how do they affect or change her?

5. You too are about to embark on an adventure that is likely to be transformative. In what ways are you looking to “reform” yourself or develop? What endeavors are you hoping to approach that might help you?