What Faction Do You Belong To?

     With all the hype about the new movie coming out this week, I decided to read Divergent, again (yes, it's that good). The storyline follows a dystopian society in which there are five different factions. There's Erudite (the super geniuses), Abnegation (the selfless people), Dauntless (the fearless fighters who like living on-edge), Amity (those who believe that kindness goes a long way), and Candor (honesty is the best policy).  At the age of 16, everyone takes a test to determine which faction they are best suited for.  Beatrice Prior, also called Tris, is divergent. This means that she fits into multiple factions, not just one like the society she lives in wants.  She has to keep this a secret because if the government were to find out, she will be killed.  

     If I were living in this society, I believe that I would be divergent, like Tris.  I wouldn't fit into just one faction, nor would one be perfect for me.  I try to be at least a little bit of all the five factions.  Most of the time I try to be honest, selfless, nice, smart, and brave.  But, if I had to chose one, I would pick Abnegation.  They don't have the best reputation in the book, but I still like the fact that they help people and put others first.  In this faction, I wouldn't be forced to be kind to everyone. I mean, we all know at least one person that needs to be told off at times.  I wouldn't be forced to tell the truth 100% of the time, and sometimes that's for other people's good.  Abnegation wouldn't force me to be constantly studying and have no life.  I wouldn't be forced to fight people for the fun and thrill of it in Dauntless.  

     As the great Marcus said, "In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life" (Roth 43).  If you lived in the world of Divergent, what faction would you choose to belong to and why?

     

Why I Dropped The Book Thief

     There are so many reviews on amazon that rave about how amazing this book is.  "My own words escape me as I try to recount the beauty of this book in a short review" (Tamela Mccann). "I will tell you that this is an astounding book, a beautiful book, and a book that I know I will read again and again" (N. Gargano). "If you only read one book this year, read this one" (B. L. Medford). Because of all these reviews and the movie that had just been released, I decided to pick up this book.  

     Don't get me wrong, this book is a really good book about the holocaust.  Its just not my taste.  I've never really been interested in history, no matter what the event was.  I get it, you have to know what happened so history doesn't repeat itself.  But it still doesn't interest me.  I can sit through one history class a day and be fine, but when I go home and read about it, it just doesn't happen.  I find myself thinking about other things, then not knowing what happened at all in the book.  I think I have fallen asleep reading this book three or four times.  

     When you think about the overall meaning and events that happen in the book, it's actually really good.  Like I said before, it's just not my style.  This book touches on a lot of the harsh conditions and a lot of the events that happened in Germany during the holocaust.  It has a good lesson, and is presented in a really unique way.  Instead of being in the point of view of a Jew, it is narrated by Death, which you don't see much even in fantasy or other kinds of books.  The beginning of the book is really slow, then it picks up a little, then it goes back to being slow.  The second time around of nothing exciting happening, I decided I just couldn't do it anymore.  Sorry, Markus Zusak.

     Historical fiction is just not my thing.  Who knows, it could be yours.  Don't let me stop you from reading this book.