Divergent

Tobias is a training instructor in Dauntless and emerges as Tris’s love interest over the course of the novel. He initially comes across as an aloof, guarded figure, and Tris is intrigued about his identity and background. His nickname is Four but, as he and Tris grow more intimate, he lowers his guard by letting her learn the truth about his name. Rather than telling her directly, he lets her experience his fear landscape. He does not need to go through this landscape any more, as he is already a fully-fledged member of Dauntless; in fact, he was first-ranked when he completed initiation, though he did not seek out a leadership role and is not ambitious in this respect. Still, he says that there are some fears that he has not managed to overcome.

Tobias revealed a fear of heights when ascending the Ferris wheel during the capture-the-flag task and this manifests itself in his fear landscape. He also suffers with claustrophobia, which is associated with being locked in a closet as a child. His childhood is then addressed more directly when a simulation of his father appears, brandishing a leather belt with which he plans to beat Tobias. It is only Tris’s intervention that prevents him from doing so. This particular simulation harks back to a piece of information mentioned early in the novel: Erudite have been reporting that the son of one of the Abnegation officials—Marcus Eaton—transferred factions on account of his father’s brutality. We now realize that “Four” is Tobias Eaton—Marcus’s son. He adopted the nickname “Four” because he experiences four fears in his fear landscape.

As Tobias informs Tris, Dauntless changed significantly six years ago when its new leaders ushered in a regime of competitiveness and brutality. This is not in Tobias’s nature, and, were it not for his father, he believes that he could have been happy in Abnegation. His own aptitude test results are hazy: officially, his result was Abnegation, but he proves able to manipulate simulations. Only Divergents are capable of this, so it would seem that his Abnegation result does not constitute the full story. Still, unlike Tris, who has attracted suspicion, Tobias appears to have been successful in concealing his true status. On this note, he cautions Tris when he realizes that she is Divergent, emphasizing that she needs to conceal this from the other members and leaders of the faction.

Tobias tries to guide and help Tris, though Tris does not always see it that way. Tobias can be hard to read and sometimes comes across as cruel or uncaring, and he admits that he has to work on his kindness. On this note, Tobias does not believe in splitting up personality traits into different factions or criticizing the values of another faction. He wants to be brave, selfless, honest, intelligent, and kind, and he recognizes that achieving this outcome requires work. He also tells Tris that he sees her as a strong person and is liable to forget that she can be hurt—this is why he sometimes treats her in a way that she finds cruel.

Tobias’s definition of bravery is particularly interesting, as he associates this quality with selflessness. Tris has always seen herself as a selfish person, and she thought that Dauntless would associate selfishness with bravery. This is indeed the case in Dauntless as it currently stands, but Tobias believes that the faction’s values have been warped. He believes that being brave and being selfless can be the same thing, and he also believes that Tris is not as selfish as she imagines. He therefore prompts Tris to reassess herself and her definition of bravery.

Because Tobias seems so mature and worldly, Tris often forgets that he is only 18 years old. She assumes that he must be more experienced than her in terms of relationships, but, surprisingly, he reveals that he is not. He allows himself to show more vulnerability as the novel progresses, and he is touched by Tris’s attempt to protect him in his fear landscape. By the end of the novel, he is a much less cryptic figure than he appeared to be in the novel’s earlier chapters, and this culminates in his confessing to Tris that he loves her.

Jeanine is the sole Erudite representative on the city council and is a vague figure throughout much of the book, appearing indirectly though Erudite’s reports. However, when Tris visits Erudite and is intercepted by guards, she finally meets Jeanine in person.

Jeanine seems to epitomize Erudite values, as she is composed and logical. As Tris observes, Jeanine sees things in terms of problems and solutions, and Divergence is just another problem she needs to solve. Tris does not perceive anger or spite in Jeanine’s manner. The reason Divergence is a problem is that it disrupts the smooth running of Erudite’s plans, and, for a faction that likes everything to be in order, this is unacceptable. The same applies when Jeanine orders Tris’s execution. She does not see this as a personal vendetta: Tris is injured and therefore useless, which is why Jeanine orders that she be killed.

Jeanine states that curiosity is another Erudite quality, and her curiosity has been raised by the observation that Divergents typically emerge from Abnegation. So, in addition to the practical issues that are hampering her plans, Jeanine’s own nature is to be curious and seek out knowledge. This also applies to the serums that she has been developing: for both personal and professional reasons, she has continued experimenting with these serums in the hope of finding a way of controlling Divergents. She has not yet succeeded but has found a way to control what Divergents see and hear, thus affording her a degree of control.

Though she remains composed during their first meeting, Tris is aware that Jeanine is lying and that she is suspicious about Tris’s test results. Erudites are capable of telling lies. Jeanine may be correct in her belief that the other factions should play a role in government and that Abnegation is not all that it makes itself out to be. However, she demonstrates a cold nature and need for control. Tobias summarizes this effectively by stating that, for all his father’s faults, he is not the orchestrator of mass murder. Jeanine therefore shows herself to be lacking in humanity, and, in this sense, Erudite stands in stark contrast to Abnegation: a faction that values selflessness and empathy.

Eric is another training instructor in the Dauntless compound, and he quickly shows himself to be much more brutal than Tobias. The relationship between the two is antagonistic, but Tris observes that Eric seems to occupy a higher position than Tobias and is the one who issues the orders.

While Tobias prefers how Dauntless used to be, Eric symbolizes Dauntless as it is now. He insists that initiates fight each other until one of the competitors is unconscious or unable to continue. He exerts his authority by punishing those who do not meet his standards: he forces Christina to hang over the chasm in the Pit for five minutes after she has failed to endure one of the fighting tasks. He also orders Al to stand in front of a target during a knife throwing exercise, again, as form of punishment, though Tris steps in and takes his place.

Eric shows himself to be a sore loser, as he becomes especially angry and ruthless after Tobias’s team win the capture-the-flag task. As Tris observes, the two instructors take a different approach to this task: Eric chooses initiates who seem the most physically strong while Tobias chooses those who are smaller and likely to be quicker. This prompts Tris to conclude that Eric may be ruthless but he is not as smart as Tobias.

Tobias also reveals to Tris that Eric was not ranked first upon completing initiation: Tobias was first and Eric was second. This consequently reveals the source of Eric’s intense dislike of Tobias. Still, the Dauntless leaders changed six years ago, and the new leaders sought to establish a more brutal, competitive regime. Eric was an ideal candidate for putting this into practice, and the leaders trained him to be vicious.

It later emerges that Eric originally transferred from Erudite, and Tris can tell this from Eric’s cold, calculating manner during one of their encounters. It also emerges that he is working with Jeanine to brainwash the members of Dauntless and uncover any Divergents. Eric’s hatred of Tobias comes to a head once this plan has been put into effect: With Tobias pretending to be brainwashed, Eric wonders if anyone would notice if Tobias “accidentally” got shot. However, before he can kill Tobias, Tris shoots him in the foot. She and Tobias flee but are apprehended, and Eric brands them “Divergent rebels” before they are escorted to Jeanine’s office.

As with Jeanine, we are not informed what happens to Eric once the Dauntless are deprogrammed, as Tris does not yet know this and we rely upon her narration.

Caleb is Tris’s brother, whom Tris has always regarded as a perfect Abnegation citizen. He seems so at home in his native faction that Tris sometimes finds herself annoyed by him, especially since she feels the opposite. Following the aptitude test, Caleb notices that Tris looks unwell and remains suspicious despite her excuses. That night, he makes an unusual statement when he tells her that they must think not only of their parents but also themselves. Tris suspects that she has not fooled Caleb—he knows that she is thinking about transferring factions.

During the choosing ceremony, Tris is shocked when Caleb switches from Abnegation to Erudite. She had always imagined him living a happy life in Abnegation, and this makes her even more conscious that she needs to transfer. After all, if someone who seemed so well suited to Abnegation no longer wishes to live there, a person who feels that they have never fit in has all the more reason to do likewise. She is annoyed at Caleb, though, as she believes that he has been dishonest with her. She had assumed that his comment the previous night was directed at her but she now realizes he was also referring to himself.

Despite her annoyance with Caleb, Tris visits him later on and passes on their mother’s message. Their relationship proves to be strained during the visit, as Tris feels that Caleb has bought into some of Erudite’s claims about Abnegation. However, when Erudite and Dauntless launch their attack, Tris and Caleb are reunited and Caleb reveals that he left Erudite when he heard about what they were planning. The horror of war and the personal loss that it has entailed consequently reunite Tris and Caleb, and Tris shows that she would rather risk her life than put her brother in danger. 

As with Caleb, Tris’s mother and father seem like perfect Dauntless citizens to Tris, though they display differing reactions during the choosing ceremony. Her father has no doubt that his children will choose to remain in Abnegation, but her mother tells Tris that she will love her no matter what. These different reactions are again evident when Tris’s mother visits her at Dauntless while her father remains in Abnegation. It is also during this visit that Tris’s mother reveals a surprising amount of knowledge about the Dauntless compound and initiation process. This prompts Tris to realize that her mother—who she always assumed to be Abnegation-born—is Dauntless.

Tris’s mother later comes to her rescue when the Erudites try to kill her by trapping her in a tank that is filling up with water. Having escaped, Tris’s mother confirms that she was Dauntless-born but her aptitude test showed that she was Divergent. Her mother consequently encouraged her to transfer to a safer faction.

Shortly after this reunion, Tris’s mother sacrifices herself so that Tris can escape from the Erudite guards and join her father and brother. This leads to Tris’s reunion with her father, in which war and shared grief bridge the gap between them.

When they embark on their mission in the Dauntless compound, Tris’s father again displays his Abnegation tendencies by questioning Tris’s use of guns. However, when they face a group of Dauntless soldiers, Tris’s father is the one who shoots them, allowing Tris to make her way to the control room. Tragically, though, he is also shot during this episode, with Tris now having lost both parents. Still, their self-sacrifice and bravery motivate her to succeed in her mission.

Christina is a former member of Candor and displays the straight talking nature that one would expect as a result. However, from her remark about how “fun” it was to leap from the train at the start of initiation, Tris can tell that she is also a good match for Dauntless. Tris feels closer to Christina within the space of a few days than she felt to any of her friends during sixteen years in Abnegation. Christina gives Tris a makeover so that she looks more “Dauntless” and the two engage in the kind of gossip expected of teenage friends. However, there are still plenty of things that Tris cannot reveal to Christina, such as her Divergent status and her relationship with Tobias.

Will is a former member of Erudite, and his friendship with Christina blossoms into romance. Will steps in to calm Tris down on several occasions, and the two have a conversation in which they debate Abnegation’s role in governing the city. While Tris is annoyed by Erudite’s reports and rightly believes that they are stirring up revolution, Will believes that Abnegation’s values do not always reflect those of other factions, and he suggests that other factions should have a say. Since Abnegation’s monopoly on government has caused such ill feeling, he makes a relevant point.

Tris’s last encounter with Will ends in tragedy, as he is now a brainwashed soldier. Tris is forced to shoot him before he can shoot her, but she is haunted by the knowledge that she has killed her former friend. She also dreads seeing Christina again after the Dauntless have been deprogrammed, as she cannot bear the idea of telling her about Will.

These three Dauntless initiates are Candor transfers and standard bullies, who taunt Tris throughout the initiation process. Peter is the ringleader and is especially unpleasant to Tris, even going so far as to kidnap her and hoist her over the chasm in the Pit. Had no one intervened in the situation, Tris believes that he would have killed her. She consequently experiences a recurring fear of being kidnapped, and this finds expression in her fear landscape. In one scenario, she imagines herself tied to a pole while Peter sets fire to some logs below. However, by imagining rain dousing the flames, Tris is able to take control of the situation.

Peter and his cohorts often ridicule and laugh at Tris. On another occasion, for example, Peter pulls away the bath towel that Tris is wearing, leaving her naked and vulnerable. Molly also relishes reading out Erudite’s damning reports about Tris’s family and has even contributed to the reports by spreading the lie that Tris’s upbringing was abusive.

These initiates enjoy laughing at Tris’s expense and causing her to lose her temper. However, they are also envious of her success in the initiation process, and their anger is plain to see. This is why Tobias suggests that Tris feign vulnerability. Peter and his friends see her as a threat, and this leaves her in a dangerous position. This is especially the case given that rules against attacking other initiates no longer seem to be enforced in Dauntless. The faction is now defined by ruthlessness and brutality, and, in this respect, Peter fits in well. Indeed, he does not need to be brainwashed to serve as a murderous soldier in the later chapters of the novel.

Despite all that he has done to her, Tris is forced to let Peter accompany her on her final mission into Dauntless headquarters, as he possesses vital information. Understandably, though, Tris is far from happy about this situation and laments the fact that someone as odious as Peter is by her side while someone as brave and selfless as her mother is dead.

Of all the Dauntless initiates, Al seems to struggle the most with the initiation process and Tris often hears him crying. He does not seem cut out for life in Dauntless but he makes it clear that joining was his own decision: though his father wanted him to join, he had wanted to be part of this faction and consequently transferred from Candor. If Dauntless still adhered to its original aims, then he would no doubt find the experience less arduous. As he explains to Tris, he believes that bravery lies in protecting other people; not beating them to a pulp.

Tris tries to comfort Al, though she feels awkward when she realizes that he has a crush on her. Ultimately, though, she is powerless to help. Al’s mood fails to improve as the novel progresses and his ranking in initiation is poor. After having won his first fight, he had hoped that he could lose to all his subsequent opponents by pretending to have been knocked out, even when he is capable of getting back up. However, in a faction as competitive as Dauntless, this tactic is a recipe for failure.

Despite all the kindness that Tris has shown him, Al’s emotional fragility and concern about his ranking prompts him to help Peter and his friends when they kidnap Tris. It is Al who halts the situation, as he cannot go through with it, but Tris cannot bring herself to forgive him. His mood continues to deteriorate to the point where he takes his own life by throwing himself off the precipice in the Pit.

Marcus is a high ranking member of the Abnegation council and Erudite have been targeting him in their reports. They claim that his son, Tobias, left Abnegation due to his father’s cruelty and it is later revealed that this particular claim is true. We learn this when Four goes through his fear landscape and is forced to confront Marcus, who has a leather belt wrapped around his fist and prepares to strike. At that moment, we realize that Four’s real name is Tobias, and Tobias goes on to admit that he left Abnegation because of his father.

When Jeanine refers to Marcus’s tyranny, Tobias admits that his father is cruel but points out that at least he is not a mass murderer. Tobias therefore makes a distinction here, recognizing that there are people who are much worse than his father. Even so, he is shocked to find himself face to face with Marcus after having destroyed the simulation that has been programmed into the Dauntless.

Trying to avoid an awkward situation, Tobias shifts focus to leaving the chaos of the city and boarding a train to Amity. There is no sense of resolution in terms of his relationship with his father, and readers can only speculate about how it will develop (if at all) in the subsequent novels in the trilogy. However, when Tris notices Marcus looking at the computer hard drive, she reiterates her impression that he is not trustworthy.