How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
People who get this kind of result are..." She looks over her shoulder like she expects someone to appear behind her. "...are called...Divergent." She says the last word so quietly that I almost don't hear it, and her tense, worried look returns. She walks around the side of the chair and leans in close to me. (3.20)
The book sure takes its time to get to the word Divergent: here we are, waiting ever since we read the title for the word to show up and it takes three whole chapters. But it doesn't disappoint since what it means is huge—that Tris has to make her own decision about who she'll become. Every sentence here reminds us that this is important stuff: Tori's nervousness, her whispering, the pauses.
Quote #2
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 #3
"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 #4
I look at my reflection in the small mirror on the back wall and see a stranger. She is blond like me, with a narrow face like mine, but that's where the similarities stop. I do not have a black eye, and a split lip, and a bruised jaw. I am not as pale as a sheet. She can't possibly be me, though she moves when I move. (11.9)
If you wanted to do a paper on identity and material goods, you might want to look at mirrors in this book, mostly because Tris doesn't have Facebook. After some time with the Dauntless, Tris doesn't recognize herself, probably because she's still holding on to her old self-image as meek Abnegation girl.
Quote #5
I step to the side so I stand in front of the mirror. I see muscles that I couldn't see before in my arms, legs, and stomach. I pinch my side, where a layer of fat used to hint at curves to come. Nothing. Dauntless initiation has stolen whatever softness my body had. Is that good, or bad? (14.3)
Yet another mirror scene. Notice that Tris is still a little conflicted about this new identity thing. Now she recognizes this girl as her, but she's not sure that she likes the changes. Although, when you read this, did you have any confusion about whether you thought this was a good thing or not?
Quote #6
No, I was wrong; I didn't jump off the roof because I wanted to be like the Dauntless. I jumped off because I already was like them, and I wanted to show myself to them. I wanted to acknowledge a part of myself that Abnegation demanded that I hide. (21.11)
Tris here considers the idea that the Dauntless initiation didn't change her identity; it just allowed her to bring out a part of her identity that she had to hide before. She hasn't changed, she's just been given room to show her true identity. (But if you think this issue is settled, keep reading, because things are about to get confusing.)
Quote #7
Tori was the only one in the tattoo place, so I felt safe getting the symbol of Abnegation—a pair of hands, palms up as if to help someone stand, bounded by a circle—on my right shoulder. I know it was a risk, especially after all that's happened. But that symbol is a part of my identity, and it felt important to me that I wear it on my skin. (25.2)
Oh, geez, really? After all that "I'm Dauntless now, I always was," now Tris is back to saying "well, I'm a little Abnegation, too." Also, check out that her acceptance of her Abnegation identity comes in the form of… a tattoo, which isn't very Abnegation of her.
Quote #8
I stare at my plate of food. I just grabbed what looked good to me at the time, and now that I take a closer look, I realize that I chose a plain chicken breast, a scoop of peas, and a piece of brown bread. Abnegation food.
I sigh. Abnegation is what I am. It is what I am when I'm not thinking about what I'm doing. It is what I am when I am put to the test. It is what I am even when I appear to be brave. Am I in the wrong faction? (29.4-5)
Does it seem like the first half of the book is statements about how Dauntless Tris is; and the second half is full of quotes like this that point out how Abnegation she is? We like this quote because a) we're hungry and b) she thinks through a lot of important issues about identity: is identity what you do when you're under pressure? Does it come out in your actions? Or is it something that's true even when your actions say something else?
Quote #9
She presses her palms together. I see no vicious glee in her eyes, and not a hint of the sadism I expect. She is more machine than maniac. She sees problems and forms solutions based on the data she collects. Abnegation stood in the way of her desire for power, so she found a way to eliminate it. She didn't have an army, so she found one in Dauntless. She knew that she would need to control large groups of people in order to stay secure, so she developed a way to do it with serums and transmitters. Divergence is just another problem for her to solve, and that is what makes her so terrifying—because she is smart enough to solve anything, even the problem of our existence. (34.38)
"Enough with Tris already" (you're probably saying), "what about other people's identities?" Well, since we see everyone else through Tris's eyes, we get less info on their identities. It's possible that everyone is as conflicted as Tris and she just doesn't know it. When Tris talks about her own identity, there's lots of "maybe"s and "I am X—no, I am Y. Wait, I am Z." But when Tris is looking at Jeanine Matthews, Tris knows exactly what her identity is—evil computer lady.
Quote #10
"People tend to overestimate my character," I say quietly. "They think that because I'm small, or a girl, or a Stiff, I can't possibly be cruel. But they're wrong."
I shift the gun three inches to the left and fire at his arm.
His screams fill the hallway. 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. (37.73-5)
To nicely tie up things, here we have Tris acting in one way and feeling another way. She says she'll be cruel but even here she feels bad about it. Notice how that comes at the end: she lets us think that her identity is "I am cruel" but then reminds us at the end that she's really not a mean person. Or is she? How many cruel things can she do before she starts being a cruel person?