my thoughts on divergent

Rating: 6/10 (1 May 2016)

In the movie "Divergent," the author writes about five factions, which represent how "you" think the world ended. They are Amity, Erudite, Dauntless, Candor, and Abnegation. The people in Amity believed the world ended because of violence; therefore they are the peaceful ones. The Erudite believe it ended because people weren't intelligent enough, they are considered the smart ones. Dauntless believe that it ended because we were not tough enough, they are the ones that are fearless and believe that violence can solve many problems. Candor believe in honesty and they think the world ended because of lying. Finally, Abnegation believes in selflessness, and therefore they are the charity workers and the selfless ones.
Violence is a key topic, there are two sides that will be present: people who think it is necessary to keep peace those who believe violence is not the answer. Author Steven Pinker shares his thoughts in his book called "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has declined." He discusses five different kinds of violent motives, including pure predation or exploitation, drive for dominance, revenge and sadism. He also writes about the parts of human nature that pull away from violence, such as empathy, self-control, a sense of fairness, reason, and rationality. For me, I believe that most problems can be solved without involving any sort of violent act. There are chances to be peaceful in certain situations because you never know the whole story behind everything and sometimes they can be taken out of context. In "Divergent", Amity is not as prominent, but they believe in peace and kindness. They believe that violence is never the answer and if you are not abiding to their rules, then you are not welcome to be associated with them. They abide by these rules and those who are not willing to cooperate will not be ostracized from those termed 'peacemakers.'
Intelligence is key in any certain situation, whether it be problem solving or it be a simple issue. Knowing more than your opponent can increase chances in victory. The Pinker article describes several types of intelligence: verbal-propositional, perceptual-organizational, speededness, and memory-retrieval. For example, why do people spend money to learn more about a chosen field? Knowing more about your surroundings greatly increases your chances of moving up in socio-economic status. One would not want a surgeon who failed to put hours in. Intelligence is an important quality and it is better to know more than to know nothing. For me, I aspire to complete an undergraduate education and do what is necessary to increase my knowledge in many different aspects of life. This includes being able to solve complicated situations that would be heretofore impossible if not for the ability to think about all of the possible solutions to the problem at hand. In Divergent, the main character's brother transferred from his home faction to Erudite.The main goal of this faction was to use their brains to develop a serum for injecting into everyone to determine if divergent. Those not 'controlled' were the ones that would be eliminated because they are a threat to the society. They are able to choose which one they wanted to be, instead of choosing one like the rest of everyone.
Fearless is not a characteristic to come easy. A person must let go of what makes one scared; moreover, believe in what one can do and let action take place. Fear makes a person weak. In order to be strong, let go of what is holding him back. Pinker states that there are six crucial lessons to help someone live fearless and free. First, fear is a feeling, not a fact. Second, state that your mafia mind is a bully. Third, states to be here now. Fourth, is about meditation. The fifth lesson is about exercising gratitude in motion. The sixth lesson states to get a check up from the neck up. These six lessons involve mental mind and how fear plays a role in how the mind can trick a person into thinking fearful, when in fact it is just the brain attempting to make one afraid. Dauntless is the main faction depicted in the movie as the protagonist, Tris transfers to this faction leaving family behind. She finds out later that she is divergent, meaning she does not belong in just one faction; she could belong in three of them. Throughout the process Tris' training, she becomes more and more fearless and she learns that her home faction may not have been who she is destined to become. She learns that her home faction may not have been where she is destined to become. Tris feels like she made the right decision by leaving her original faction and joining the new family. Ever since little, she would try to follow the fearless leaders of the community but could never go through with it as that was not what her faction was about.
It is possible that being honest can do more damage than not telling the truth. According to Pinker there are ten reasons why one should always tell the truth. The first one is trust, in order to be successful in life. A person must have a reputation of honesty. The second one is good health. People who tell the truth are healthier, they have less concern, less stress and feel better about them.