Divergent Chapter 6 Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote 1
I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave. I walk toward the ledge and hear snickers behind me. (6.66)
Tris has lots of "I am" moments in the book. Usually she's saying she's not selfless enough to be Abnegation or she's so brave she should be Dauntless. But check out here, when she identifies as proud. But there's no faction for pride. Or is there? Notice that the Dauntless get called proud a bunch (13.9, 24.50).
Quote 2
"Um..." I don't know why I hesitate. But "Beatrice" just doesn't sound right anymore.
"Think about it," he says, a faint smile curling his lips. "You don't get to pick again."
A new place, a new name. I can be remade here.
"Tris," I say firmly. (6.82-5)
This is a big moment, which Tris helps us recognize with that little thought in the middle: this isn't just "I can pick a new name." This is "I can be remade." That's an awful lot of work for a nickname. (And are Tris and Four the only peeps with nicknames?)
Quote 3
I hear a shout and look over my shoulder. A short Erudite boy with red hair pumps his arms as he tries to catch up to the train. An Erudite girl by the door reaches out to grab the boy's hand, straining, but he is too far behind. He falls to his knees next to the tracks as we sail away, and puts his head in his hands.
I feel uneasy. He just failed Dauntless initiation. He is factionless now. It could happen at any moment. (6.15-6)
Tris narrates just about every step of this event, which is very quick (boy fails to get on moving train) but also very serious (boy is now factionless forever and ever). It's a nice reminder of the dangers of Dauntless initiation to Tris (who really doesn't want to be factionless), like when a movie/TV show kills off a minor character so you know that the major ones are never safe. Well, at least this scary moment answers the question of where factionless come from. They're people who failed the initiations.
Quote 4
But I have to see my parents one more time. I look over my shoulder at the last second before I pass them, and immediately wish I hadn't. My father's eyes burn into mine with a look of accusation. At first, when I feel the heat behind my eyes, I think he's found a way to set me on fire, to punish me for what I've done, but no—I'm about to cry. (6.2)
Tris's feelings of guilt might be punishment enough. Here she is, feeling all kinds of bad about abandoning her parents, to the point that she feels like she's being set on fire. The way it's phrased we know she's not: "At first[…] I think" are indicators that her first thoughts were incorrect. But still, her feeling of guilt does seem like its own punishment here.
Quote 5
What a good actor he was. The thought makes me sick to my stomach, because even though I left them too, at least I was no good at pretending. At least they all knew that I wasn't selfless. (6.30)
Tris deals with her brother's secret in a classic, sisterly fashion: by feeling sick to her stomach. It's interesting that what really bothers Tris isn't the betrayal of the family—both kids left, after all. What really bothers her is how good he was at keeping that secret for so long.