Character Symbols and Animals

  A symbol that would represent the main character Tris would be a chimpanzee.  Chimps are very unpredictable, strong and intelligent like Tris is in the book.  Tris might appear small and weak but she is smart and knows how to fight.  She can be unpredictable in the way she fights whether she ruthlessly destroys her opponent without mercy or fights her enemies physiologically.  A chimp is not very big but they are very intelligent and they are incredibly strong and have the ability to rip your limbs off over your body and this is why they are so unpredictable like Tris.

  A symbol that would represent Four is a lion.  Lions are the kings of the jungles and are leaders, strong, vicious and also unpredictable like Four.  Four is one of the instructors over seeing the training of the initiates.  Four is leader and mentor to the initiates, he is also strong and can be vicious if he is in a fight, like when Tris was being beat up he came in and beat up the attackers.  Lion's are also big and are leaders to other lions just like Four.

Tris is like a chimp.

Four is like a lion.

Krista Ramsey Introduction Activity

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/03/15/krista-ramsey-third-grade-reading-guarantee/6475723/

My article is about a 3rd grade teacher Jeni Ernsthausen who wants to help her students pass the OAA.  She doesn't want to be bore them with too much reading and writing but wants to get kids to like to read and be ready for the next grade and even in a job one day.

The line I think is best written is, "It has taken two years of legislating and countless hours of hammering out rules and time lines, but Ohio’s Third Grade Reading Guarantee is fully in place this year."(Ramsey)  The impact of this quote on the reader is that the reader feels like this is a very fancy and important sentence because Ramsey uses elegant diction like 'legislating' and 'hammering'.  The use of these words makes the reader picture Ernsthausen almost literally hammering time lines and knowledge into her student's heads.  The sentence is also a good form of elegant syntax.

Krista Ramsey's writing style is a elaborate and well organized style.  An example of this from the article above is, "She also has a very good handle on something the state’s not measuring at all: not just if her students can read, but if they will read." (Ramsey)

Some questions I have for Ramsey are:

1: Where do you go or what do you see to get ideas to write about?
2: What kind of education did you receive and where did you go to college?
3: Would you have ever considered being a writing teacher or language arts teacher?

Character Development

  I am about half way done with my book now but the main character Tris has already changed a lot throughout the book.  At the beginning of the book, Beatrice Prior was a normal 16 year old girl part of the Abnegation faction.  After her aptitude test showed she was divergent and after she chose Dauntless at the choosing ceremony, Tris has undergone many changes.  The first change is that before the choosing ceremony Tris really didn't know where she belonged and after all her training and time spent with the Dauntless, she finally found out that she loved the Dauntless.  Tris feels more free and has the ability to do more things than she could in the Abnegation Faction.

 
  The second change Tris has gone through is that she is now a better fighter and she is much tougher now.  At the beginning of initiation Tris was a terrible fighter and didn't want to hurt anyone, but after other initiates bullied her Tris became tough and when she fought she fought without mercy.  When she was fighting Molly (one of the bullies), Tris beat her to the ground and kept kicking her until Four the trainer pulled her away.  The third change is that Tris is now becoming one of the Dauntless.  At the beginning of the book, Tris was a selfless Abnegation girl but after doing things like jumping from a moving train to zip lining off of the top of the highest building in the city has transformed her and made her brave.  Tris feels like she can relate and fit in with other Dauntless members and really trusts them.

This is the main character Tris.

Future Predictions and Questions

  So far in my book a lot has happened.  I am only on page 179 out of 487 but I still have lots of questions and predictions.  So my first question is, why does the Dauntless faction have to get so many piercings and tattoos to show their bravery?  Eric who is one of the Dauntless leaders has many piercings covering his face and head and I feel like this doesn't show bravery at all it just makes him look ugly and scary.  My next question is, what is beyond the fences around the city that the Dauntless patrol?  In the book Tris and other initiates take a field trip to the fence that surrounds the city and Tris noticed that when they closed the gates, the lock was on the outside which makes me wander if they are keeping something out or in.

  Another question I had was, what happened to this future society that made the government turn to the faction system and why are divergents do dangerous to the system?  So the government says that the only way the society will survive is if the people know what faction they belong in.  Many people have different opinions on what led to the faction systems, like some say that people were to selfish and wanted power.  Some future predictions I have is that Four will find out that Tris is Divergent because Tris is intelligent, brave and selfless which means she is more than one type of faction.  Another prediction I have is that Tris will have to fight Peter and she will beat him because she recently just beat Molly and Tris is angry at what they did to her and tells herself that she will hurt them.  My final prediction is that Al and many other initiates will not pass and become factionless because they are to weak or not Dauntless material.

This is the main character Tris practicing on a punching bag.

Divergent Summary

  So far in my book "Divergent" by Veronica Roth we know that the setting takes place in a dystopian future in Chicago.  The people are split into 5 different factions to keep peace and balance.   There is a day every year in which all 16 year olds will choose the faction that they will live in for the rest of their lives.  Once they have selected by drawing blood and letting the blood fall into a bowl of their chosen faction, they are now a initiate of that faction and may never see their family again.  Once they have selected they must go through initiation into the faction and those who do not pass or do not choose a faction will live factionless and homeless for the rest of their lives.


  The 5 factions are Candor (Honest), Abnegation (Selfless), Amity (Peaceful), Erudite (Intelligent), and Dauntless (Brave).  The main story follows a girl named Beatrice who later changes her name to Tris, as she goes to school on the day of the aptitude test to help her make her choice on what faction to pick.  She drinks a blue liquid and goes through several simulations that are supposed to narrow down which faction she would fit the best into.  The tester Tori leaves the room then returns and says, "Beatrice, your results were inconclusive.  Typically, each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case only 2 have been ruled out… People who get this kind of result are… are called… Divergent."(Roth pg's 21-22)

  In this dystopian society people who are Divergent are considered dangerous to the system.  Why do you think Divergent's threaten the system and people's way of life in this world?
Also post what you got on your test and what faction you are best suited for.

The cover of the book.

Here is a link that will lead you to an aptitude test to find our which faction you would be best to live in.

http://assets.divergentthemovie.com/aptitudetest/


Here is a link to another test.

http://www.divergentfactions.com/divergent-faction-quiz.html

About The Author Veronica Roth

  The book I will be reading and blogging about this trimester is called "Divergent" by Veronica Roth.  Some information about the author Veronica Roth is that she is 22 years old and a graduate of Northwestern University.  Roth graduated with a degree in creative writing.  While she was a student there, she chose to work on the story that would soon become "Divergent", instead of doing her homework.  In my opinion, that was a very smart move by Roth because now she is very well known author because of the success the Divergent series has had.

  Roth is now a full time writer and lives near Chicago which is a coincidence because the book takes  place in Chicago.  "Divergent" is Roth's first novel and surely not the last, as she has 2 sequals to the book already and a movie that came out on March 21, 2014.  Veronica Roth is an amazing author and as I have started reading the book I can see that she really spent time writing and imagining the world that the book takes place in.

This is a picture of Veronica Roth.

About The Author

  Charlie Higson is an author, actor, comedian, and writer.  He wrote the very popular "Young Bond" series which has sold millions of copies worldwide.  He began his zombie adventure series for teenagers in 2009 with "The Enemy" and 1 year later came out with "The Dead."  Charlie is a huge fan of horror movies and books and studied gothic literature in college.  He has 3 teenagers and he says they are his inspiration for these teenager based novels.  He currently lives in London, England.

  He was born on July 3rd, 1958 in Somerset, England.  Charlie formed the band the band The Higsons where he was the lead singer and they released 2 singles.  He stared in many television programs on BBC as an extra.  Charlie Higson is still writing good books for teens even today and is  a world known author.















This is a picture of Charlie Higson.