Divergent: which faction would you choose?

Has anyone read Divergent and taken the test in the back to discover which faction you belong with? I did and not surprisingly ended up erudite.

I took the zimbio version and landed divergent - multiple times while trying to manipulate it.

Then I found another one on the web. I took it and received divergent again - but at least this one told me which one I'm closest to, which just happens to be erudite.

The faction symbols, courtesy of Reader's Wonderland

Anyone who knows me would think that this makes sense. I'm in college with just kind of... a craving for knowledge, particularly books. I'll read practically anything, and someday I want to be able to share all of this knowledge that I've accumulated with others in some way.

But at the same time, it seems like the erudite prize more of the scientific knowledge over my preference for the arts/English (or was that just me)? So, I don't think I'd do well there at all. Besides, it seems like you almost have to be maniacally motivated to be in that faction, which I'm usually... not.

If I wouldn't do well with erudite, then where would I land, especially if I'm "divergent?" I usually say that I would willingly pick candor, as if I wasn't crazy. I'd like to think that I'm a pretty opinionated person, and that I often say thoughts without thinking twice. I'd like to think that this would be a pretty great fit. Never mind that I'd have to tell the truth all the time, no matter if I wanted to or not. I'm pretty sure I could live with that.

But what about the other factions? Why wouldn't I choose them? Let me try to explain.

*I couldn't be abnegation. I don't always feel selfless enough. In this particular faction, I'd feel a lot like Tris - awkward and out of place because it doesn't always come naturally to me.

*I couldn't be amity. I'm one of the least peaceful people I know because arguing/debating is pretty much one of my favorite things. This would no doubt not end well for me.

*There is a definite no for me on the dauntless doorway. I'm not a big fan of trying new things, let alone death defying stunts. I don't wish for that adrenaline rush like some people. It's not built into me. I would pass without blinking. Otherwise, I'd probably end up like Al, and that was not a pretty ending.

However, I hold Four's quote of "I don't want to be just one thing. I want to be brave and selfless and intelligent and honest and kind" in high esteem, because he had it right. It's better to be more than one thing than just one thing - because then life would be pretty boring.

All this being said, Veronica Roth's wonderful world of Divergent is not real. It leaves me with the question: if you lived in this world, what would you choose? Would you stay with your family or would you take the plunge to become who you want to be? What faction would you choose for yourself, based on either the test or your own preferences? let me know in the comments below!

Thoughtful Thursdays: Labyrinth of suffering

Well, I'm sorry for taking last Thursday off, but it was spring break and I was "shunning" my laptop. In other words, I was trying to stay away from it and do other more productive things... like reading! It worked, too. Now I'm back and am reading to delve back into the worlds of my favorite dystopias.

Quote:

"The only way of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive." -- Looking for Alaska by John Green 

Courtesy of  3decor

 

 I said that I'd be using a lot of John Green quotes... and now I'm planning to collect on it.

Today I think I'll spend most of my time towards the end of Allegiant, which is book three in the Divergent series. Unfortunately, I plan on spoilers.Normally, I tried to avoid them, but today's quote goes so aptly with the book.  If you don't care, read on! And if you do, feel free to stop reading whenever needed.

Hmmmm... where to start. A little background information: somewhere in the middle of book two (Insurgnet) a rift was brought between Tris and her brother Caleb. I won't say why and let you read that part of the book for yourself. However, that rift carries over to book three. Even though Caleb apologized profusely, Tris refused to accept that apology.

Which brings me to the end of the book. Something was going to go down, which required someone to be willing to die to do it. Caleb, knowing that his life was going nowhere fast due to his betrayals, decided to be the victim. At the last minute, Tris decided to take his place, knowing that since she was divergent she had a chance of surviving. It was her way of saying that she accepted Caleb's apology, and saying that she had things that she needed to atone for as well.

I won't say what happened next and leave the ending at that.

I believe that book three is all about redemption. Everyone has things that they've done in the past two books. They have to forgive each other, and make their ways out of the twisted lies they've made for themselves. Hence, Alaska's mysterious quote that the characters spend most of their time pondering (in Looking for Alaska).

So... What did you think? As always, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Hunger Games vs. Divergent

Courtesy of Deviant Art

Has anyone seen the "war" between The Hunger Games and Divergent? Well, I have. If one searches Google with "tris vs katniss" a whole slew of things pop up, mostly about who would win  in a fight. And it makes me mad enough to make a whole blog post about it, so hold on while I enjoy myself.

It all started on Goodreads (a website all about books) when I was looking up Divergent as a possible book to read. It sounded good, but a ton of people were trying to compare the two. After reading Divergent, I went back and took a second look at several reviews, who desperately tried to compare them. It irked me more than just a little.

Then I found this article (which is definitely worth the read by the way) on who would you rather face in a fight. I was a bit surprised on who won and why. Who am I kidding? There are tons of articles on this. Sometimes Katniss wins, sometimes Tris. But there is never a draw. Go figure.

While I enjoy the fun and games (no pun intended) of it all, I just really want to call a huge freaking B.S. People can compare the two series all they want. I think that I won't. Not to be contrary, but just because... there are so many reasons. 

It actually got to the point where I went on a huge Facebook rant, mad at myself because I didn't know how to express myself adequately. Thankfully, I manged to get it all out with the help of my cousin, who felt similarly about what I was trying to say.

So, here goes:

1. People seem to think that Tris and Katiniss are comparable because they are both sixteen year old females who don't take crap. Sorry, but no. It's true. They don't take crap. Katniss seems to come by that naturally, while Tris has to learn to come by it. And lets talk about motivations. Anything that Katniss does is pretty much done by force, and that might even include volunteering for tribute. Almost anything that Tris does is done willingly, even to the bitter end.

2. The dystopias come from two very different places. I'm a believer that futuristic societies are social commentaries. But these two are two very different social commentaries. The Hunger Games takes on societies' love of reality TV with a capitalistic society, while Divergent clearly takes on Critical Race Theory.  **How the societies were created are different too. The Hunger Games was a civil war, while Divergent ended up being a World War III. It seems like a Civil War, but Allegiant (book 3) throws too many wrenches into the plot for it not to have been. (and I'm so so sorry for spoilers).

Courtesy of Living for the Books

3. I don't think I will ever be able to express enough how grateful I am that Veronica Roth didn't include a love triangle. It's one of those things that just seems to paramount to literature (or anything entertainment wise these days). A lot of my love for the Hunger Games was lost when Gale tried to win Katniss over and it was just like "but she belongs with Peeta!!!!!"

Personally, I'm a Divergent fan. Besides the no love triangle, I would much rather cut my hand and choose a faction, possibly leaving my family behind, than fight to the death on live TV. Also, I would much rather have four over Peeta or goodness forbid Gale as a love interest. Shallow, I know, but it's often a turning point for me.

This is just me being me. So, what do you think on the "war" over the two series? Are they comparable? Am I off my Rocker? Or did I actually make some sense? Feel free to let me know in the comments!!

New Book: The Maze Runner

Here is what my weekend consisted of: Work, The Veronica Mars Movie, and The Maze Runner. What is The Maze Runner, you ask? Well, I don't know myself. All I know so far from the first book is it's lining up to be the next dystopia of dystopias (supposedly, but I'm not banking on it) and the movie is slated to come out this fall, with the trailer being released in the next few days, if it hasn't been already. & I'm not trusting any of the "trailers" on youtube just yet.

Courtesy of  Lytherus 

The new world created by  James Dashner is filled with slang terms that have taken the place of swear words, which was kinda nice, freakishly annoying, and highly inventive. He used the word bloody as a swear so much I could have sworn he was British, which he surprisingly never has been. Similar to Veronica Roth, he had no trouble randomly killing off main characters just because he could. 

The plot with all of it's inventiveness left me feeling a bit bereft. A mostly male cast, which was nice to see with the waves of strong female characters coming out lately, just wasn't my style, possibly because I'm a female. I've become used to those female characters, and surprisingly missed them. There was only one female in this cast of males, and they thought she was useless, which left little room to actually get to know her.

The ending is what did me over and put me on the fence, leaving me, as I typed, bereft. It ended as any good novel that has multiple parts to it does: leaving you wanting more. Wait! No it didn't. It just left me entirely confused, making sure I have to read the next novels to figure it out. If I can survive the writing style, which was also not something I'm a fan of. 

It departed from the first person, you know everything that a character is thinking, and what that character sees, to the third person where you see everything from an outside view. For me, that writing style is just hard to get into.

So I'm on the fence. I don't know if I want to finish the series or not. It'll take some time to work up the courage to foray back to this infuriating world that is taking too long to unfold, with characters that I dislike (and seem flat), and a writing style that makes the books harder to read. However, one of these days curiosity will get the best of me, guaranteed.

I could always look up the plots on wikipedia/online, but nothing bets actually reading the books firsthand will ensure that I get my hands on them. 

So, have you read this book, or have recommendations for what I can add to my repertoire? 

Books are Better

Courtesy of Beauty Gets the Attention

I agree with what this picture is saying. emphatically. If you'd like my full thoughts books VS. movies, please feel free to visit my catch all blog. However, for the purposes of this particular post, I shall stay within the limits of dystopias.

On one of my earlier posts, someone commented that by digging beneath the surface of books, I had brought out some characteristics of the characters that you wouldn't have been able to see otherwise, such as the things that motivate Tris, Katniss, and other characters throughout the novels of their respective worlds.

By watching a movie, it can only show you characters. what they do. how they act. With books you get that whole world of the brain underneath. the processes of how they get to where they're going. and  some people don't seem to realize how important that is.

But that's just me being me. Thoughts?

Reading Books?

Well... it's way way past Thursday! But I've spend a major part of this last week sick, and life has generally gotten in my way. So I hope you don't mind as I write my "thoughtful Thursday" quote out late on this lovely Saturday as it turns into Sunday. 

"Oh HONESTLY! Don't you two read." -- Harry Potter and the Scorer's Stone by J.K. Rowling 

As I looked through my tons of favorite quotes, and trying to not choose another by John Green, this one just kind of stuck out.  Try to stick with me for a moment, OK? this is going somewhere. I hope.

If you've read my favorite of the Hunger Games or Divergent books, this might make sense. Otherwise, I'll just have a weird connection thing going on.

Imagine the societies in which the characters live. In the Hunger Games, do the characters go to school? Well, yeah. But what about their free time? There isn't, really. Katniss is too busy trying to keep her family alive by hunting, while Peeta has to work in the bakery. You get the sense that there isn't a lot of reading done. And in the capitol, there are too many awesome things to even worry about it. Technology has replaced any semblance of books.

Now take yourself to the futuristic world of Divergent. The characters go to school. However, depending in which faction one lives depends on how great reading is. The only faction where reading is even really appreciated is the Erudite, mostly because they appreciate schooling more than the others. Although... the other factions might appreciate it, but not nearly as much.

As I let these ideas run through my mind, they sadden me just a little. I'm a lover of books. I can't imagine a society where books aren't a thing. And yet... yet here are these societies where books are anything but prized. And it brings me to Hermoine's comment.

As always, feel free to let me know what you think! This isn't nearly as applied as I normally go, and I'm super stretching it.

Pain in dystopia

Well... it's Thursday yet again. so be prepared for another quote that I happen to love. And I hope you find some inspiration in it as well.

Quote:

"That's the thing about Pain. It demands to be felt" -- The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Quotes from TFIOS, courtesy of Yasmin

 I am proudly admitting at this point that I am a huge freaking John Green fan. You'll probably be seeing his quotes often just because he's extra quotable (this quote ranks #13. However, you probably won't be seeing many more from this particular list). But I'll try to space the quotes out a little even though it won't be that easy for me.

But back to the quote and why I think I should be applying it dystopia's. As usual, I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum - but no promises.

I mean, how often does Katniss get a change to feel that pain for everything that happened in the first novel? she doesn't. In Catching Fire, the demands of being a victor are constantly reminding her that it happened. She's constantly freaked out. President show gives her that ultimatum of proving her love for Peeta. Phew. Then she's thrust back into the arena as a sort of punishment.

****I usually dissent that books are better, but here is one teeny tiny instance where the movie beats the book. Not the whole movie, mind you - just this part. In the book, she can only guess that the government has the quarter quell planned as punishment whereas in the movie you actually get that glimpse of the government planning it.****

I'm sorry for that bunny trail, but back to what I'm supposed to be talking about. It's not until the end of the war in Mockingjay that Katniss really starts to feel that trauma set in. Everyone is either dead or she's lost them to another district. She held herself together just long enough to get through the war and after that she flat-lined. She was grief stricken and needed to deal with  her pain. Which she did... in that catatonic state that drove her for awhile.

This quote is so essentially true. Pain demands to be felt. And when it isn't felt... you can quite possibly end up like Katniss towards the end of Mockingjay as she learns to relive life, and even emotions. Hence, part of her being her catatonic. She had to learn how to feel again. The games essentially trained her not to feel, and the war only added to it.

That's just opinion though in relation to everything.

I hope you liked this week's quote. I had fun picking out, mainly because John Green is awesome. As always, feel free to disagree and let me know what you think!!