2003, Form B. Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures -- national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character's sense of identity into question. Select a novel or play in which a character responds to such a cultural collison. Then write a well-organized essay in which you describe the character's response and explain its relevance to the work as a whole.
Tris, In the book Divergent, is caught between colliding cultures. She lives in a world that is composed of different factions, each representing a single thing they think the world needs to be perfect. For example, Dauntless is a faction that thinks being Brave is a main personality trait that would prevent chaos in the world. The problem comes in, however, when one faction thinks it is better than the rest. This is when regional cultures begin to collide. Tris is caught in the middle, having to choose between different factions; which is practically unheard of. Her response to the changes taking place sets up the work as a whole.
When the faction that recognizes intelligence wants to hide something from the world, they pair up with the Dauntless faction to gain support. Tris, someone who could fit in either category, is left to figure out what the problem is. Innocent people are dying left and right, which is something that should be avoided. Tris' response is to trust no one. She begins a quest in self-identity that leads to a larger question in life.
Tris sets out to learn more about everything so that she can fully understand who is in the right, and who is in the wrong. At one point, she begins to question her life's importance. Seemingly in a mission to kill herself, she tries to give herself up at any turn. It is when she actually faces death that she realizes she is wrong. This turn of events helps her find herself and helps her decide what she can do. Tris fights back, choosing to show the world the truth instead of pick sides. All of her decisions and reactions to every event show the point of the novel, that not everything is as it seems.
Tris' revelation shows that just because people are raised to believe something, doesn't mean it is right. Everybody should be able to discover the world for themselves and not trust everything they are taught; some things are meant to be fought.
This sounds like a complicated book so I'm glad you gave some background information at the beginning, but maybe start a little bit broader so the reader doesn't get bombarded with information right away. The first thing that I think you should do to is form a thesis statement so that the reader has an idea of where this essay is going to go. I also think there is a little bit of "tour guiding" going on because you are doing a lot of summary rather than analysis, and if possible you should insert some quotes as solid evidence. The essay seems to be talking about how Tris is questioning her life and decisions not her identity so maybe add some information that's more geared towards the essay prompt. Maybe extend on the second paragraph because the last sentence of the paragraph is promising but you need some more information and analysis to support it. I do like your last sentence because it does a nice job of summarizing the ideas in your essay.
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ReplyDeleteI don't think this book was a good choice to write about. The plot is rather confusing, which makes writing an essay about it really hard. This is evidenced by your first paragraph, where you have to cram in information to make the essay readable. In addition, I don't think this book was a good choice since the character doesn't seem to be having any identity issues based on the way you explained it. Also, this book sounds more like a YA book than a book of recognized literary merit. Even if this book were a bestseller, it's akin to analyzing Twilight. Try picking another book that you've analyzed before so you don't have to reach. The most flawed thing I saw was the lack of synthesis. That's one thing you need to work on: synthesizing, i.e., using evidence towards one main point. Overall, the essay is hard to read and doesn't make very much sense based on the prompt. You can do better, for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis book does seem very complicated and it was good that you gave some background information in the beginning, but i still feel like I needed a little bit more info, so I can grasp what is happening to Tris. I'm still very confused to what is happening to her and i think more information like what is happening in her life would make it more clear to the reader. I also think that your thesis statement is not really in the paper. I have to look for it myself in the essay and I still am a little confused on what point you are trying to get across. I think adding one in would also clear up things even more and make the essay a little less confusing. I also think adding more information to the body of your paragraphs would add more depth to your essay and help make your point more clear too. I think this a good start, but you have a little bit of work to do in your next prompt.
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