Divergent. Fight the system! (Revised Final version)
“…‘Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world’ Or, it occurs to me, one of five predetermined ways” (Roth 42). In Veronica Roth’s book, Divergent, Beatrice Prior, also known as Tris, lives in a dystopian world where everyone is put into five separate groups otherwise called “factions.” Factions abide by their own laws of human characteristics that must be followed accordingly. In Tris’ world, everyone takes an aptitude test that tells him or her where they belong, yet Tris does not fit into any single category hence, she is considered “Divergent.” If you are Divergent it means the aptitude test did not work on you and you belong in more than one faction. I believe Roth is trying to warn us about government control and propaganda through the use of a dystopian society. Many people today are afraid of and do not like government control because people believe that more government control means less freedom for the people. I believe that this is true and we see it today exhibited by the National Security Agency’s (NSA) cellphone data collection and past propaganda radio stations. Our government - along with other governments around the world - simply want power. To obtain power, governments will try to control its people by constructing new laws, secret agencies, and propaganda.
The quote I mentioned in the beginning talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future, yet everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it is not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices made up by the government, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to our current government; we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us two candidates to choose from. People end up having to choose one even though they might not truly like them or believe in their views.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keep schools, jails, police stations, fire stations, and countless others up and running. Although these institutions are beneficial to society, the problem lies in the fact that we are taxed heavily to keep them afloat. A lot of the time, if you do not pay taxes or make enough money you end up losing your house and everything you own. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to that of Divergent. If you do not become a member of a faction, you become factionless, and if you are factionless, you would rather be dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary, but to a certain extent. I think the government should collect taxes, but they should try to take as little as possible to help out those who really need every single penny from their paycheck.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progressed, I started to notice that every time anyone took a test, the results were recorded and analyzed. It is because of this that later on in the book, the antagonist Jeanine Matthews catches on to Tris, since none of her test results ever came in. Jeanine Matthews is the head of Erudite, the faction that is all about knowledge and discovery. Jeanine is actually very similar to the NSA. The NSA is a government-funded agency that does various forms of intelligence gathering. They are most notorious for using the microphones and speakers in everyone’s smart phones to gather intelligence. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for intelligence gathering is a good thing and very useful, but to everyone else in the world, it is an invasion of one’s privacy and is frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA like the California Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing. What’s even worse is that those who do support it are frowned upon by society, like Dianne Feinstein, who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping. In cases like this, it does not make any sense as to why our government thinks the way it does. I understand that, yes, intelligence gathering is a great way to protect ourselves and learn about terrorist attacks and crime rings, but if the people in the United States do not like what the government is doing, why does the government continue to do it? The answer is very simple. The government does not want to lose control over its citizens. The government knows that if they stop smart phone intelligence gathering, then it will only increase crime and give the government less control over its citizens.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective on things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in her story, when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation members are completely selfless, and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After the release of all the reports, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally used propaganda in her live radio broadcasts during World War II, to lower the morale of American troops. Her main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops, which made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loved ones cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who we can or can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want us to do. There’s nothing our government and other governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control, they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us, then what is the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this a free country. Now is your chance to get involved in what our government is doing, and as a citizen, we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Works Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.
The quote I mentioned in the beginning talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future, yet everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it is not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices made up by the government, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to our current government; we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us two candidates to choose from. People end up having to choose one even though they might not truly like them or believe in their views.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keep schools, jails, police stations, fire stations, and countless others up and running. Although these institutions are beneficial to society, the problem lies in the fact that we are taxed heavily to keep them afloat. A lot of the time, if you do not pay taxes or make enough money you end up losing your house and everything you own. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to that of Divergent. If you do not become a member of a faction, you become factionless, and if you are factionless, you would rather be dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary, but to a certain extent. I think the government should collect taxes, but they should try to take as little as possible to help out those who really need every single penny from their paycheck.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progressed, I started to notice that every time anyone took a test, the results were recorded and analyzed. It is because of this that later on in the book, the antagonist Jeanine Matthews catches on to Tris, since none of her test results ever came in. Jeanine Matthews is the head of Erudite, the faction that is all about knowledge and discovery. Jeanine is actually very similar to the NSA. The NSA is a government-funded agency that does various forms of intelligence gathering. They are most notorious for using the microphones and speakers in everyone’s smart phones to gather intelligence. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for intelligence gathering is a good thing and very useful, but to everyone else in the world, it is an invasion of one’s privacy and is frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA like the California Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing. What’s even worse is that those who do support it are frowned upon by society, like Dianne Feinstein, who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping. In cases like this, it does not make any sense as to why our government thinks the way it does. I understand that, yes, intelligence gathering is a great way to protect ourselves and learn about terrorist attacks and crime rings, but if the people in the United States do not like what the government is doing, why does the government continue to do it? The answer is very simple. The government does not want to lose control over its citizens. The government knows that if they stop smart phone intelligence gathering, then it will only increase crime and give the government less control over its citizens.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective on things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in her story, when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation members are completely selfless, and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After the release of all the reports, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally used propaganda in her live radio broadcasts during World War II, to lower the morale of American troops. Her main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops, which made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loved ones cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who we can or can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want us to do. There’s nothing our government and other governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control, they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us, then what is the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this a free country. Now is your chance to get involved in what our government is doing, and as a citizen, we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Works Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.
Divergent. Fight the System (Final Draft)
“…’Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world’ Or, it occurs to me, one of five predetermined ways.” (Roth 42) In the book Divergent, Beatrice Prior, also known as Tris, lives in a dystopian world where everyone is put into five separate groups otherwise called “factions.” Factions follow their own laws of human characteristics, which must be followed accordingly. In Tris’ world, everyone takes an aptitude test, which tells them where they belong, yet Tris does not fit into any single category and so she is considered “Divergent.” If you are Divergent, it means the aptitude test did not work on you and you belong in more than one faction. In this dystopia, I believe Veronica Roth is trying to warn us about government control and propaganda. Many people today are afraid of and do not like government control because people believe that more government control means less freedom for the people. I believe that this is true and we see it today with the National Security Agency’s (NSA) cellphone data collection and past propaganda radio stations. Our government - along with other governments around the world - simply want power. To obtain power, governments will try to control its people as much as they can through new laws, secret agencies and propaganda, because without our support, they can’t get stronger.
The quote I mentioned in the beginning talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future, yet everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it is not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices made up by the government, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to our current government; we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us two candidates to choose from. People end up having to choose someone even though they might not like any of the candidates.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keep schools, jails, police stations and fire stations up and running. That is one of the benefits of having a government. The problem is being taxed for everything you can think of. A lot of the times, if you do not pay taxes or make money you end up losing your house and everything you have. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to that of Divergent. If you do not become a member of a faction, you become factionless. And if you are factionless, it is worse than being dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary, but to a certain limit. I think the government should collect taxes, but they should try to take as little as possible to help out those who really need every single penny from their paycheck.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progressed, I started to notice that every time anyone took a test, the results were recorded and analyzed. It is because of this that later on in the book, the antagonist Jeanine Matthews catches on to Tris, since none of her test results ever came in. Jeanine Matthews is the head of Erudite, the faction that is all about knowledge and discovery. Jeanine is actually very similar to the NSA. The NSA is a government-funded agency that does various forms of intelligence gathering. They are most notorious for using the microphones and speakers in everyone’s smart phones to gather intelligence. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for intelligence gathering is a good thing and very useful, but to everyone else in the world, it is an invasion of one’s privacy and is frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA like the California Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing and those who do support it are being hated, like Dianne Feinstein, who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping. In cases like this, it does not make any sense as to why our government thinks the way it does. I understand that, yes, intelligence gathering is a great way to protect ourselves and learn about terrorist attacks and crime rings, but if the people in the United States do not like what the government is doing, why does the government continue to do it? The answer is very simple. The government does not want to lose control over its citizens. The government knows that if they stop smart phone intelligence gathering, then it will only increase crime and give the government less control over its citizens.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective on things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in her story, when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation members are completely selfless, and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After the release of all the reports, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally used propaganda in her live radio broadcasts during World War II, to lower the morale of American troops. Her main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops, which made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loved ones cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who we can or can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want us to do. There’s nothing our government and other governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control, they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us, then what is the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this a free country. Now is your chance to get involved in what our government is doing, and as a citizen, we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Works Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.
The quote I mentioned in the beginning talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future, yet everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it is not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices made up by the government, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to our current government; we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us two candidates to choose from. People end up having to choose someone even though they might not like any of the candidates.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keep schools, jails, police stations and fire stations up and running. That is one of the benefits of having a government. The problem is being taxed for everything you can think of. A lot of the times, if you do not pay taxes or make money you end up losing your house and everything you have. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to that of Divergent. If you do not become a member of a faction, you become factionless. And if you are factionless, it is worse than being dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary, but to a certain limit. I think the government should collect taxes, but they should try to take as little as possible to help out those who really need every single penny from their paycheck.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progressed, I started to notice that every time anyone took a test, the results were recorded and analyzed. It is because of this that later on in the book, the antagonist Jeanine Matthews catches on to Tris, since none of her test results ever came in. Jeanine Matthews is the head of Erudite, the faction that is all about knowledge and discovery. Jeanine is actually very similar to the NSA. The NSA is a government-funded agency that does various forms of intelligence gathering. They are most notorious for using the microphones and speakers in everyone’s smart phones to gather intelligence. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for intelligence gathering is a good thing and very useful, but to everyone else in the world, it is an invasion of one’s privacy and is frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA like the California Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing and those who do support it are being hated, like Dianne Feinstein, who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping. In cases like this, it does not make any sense as to why our government thinks the way it does. I understand that, yes, intelligence gathering is a great way to protect ourselves and learn about terrorist attacks and crime rings, but if the people in the United States do not like what the government is doing, why does the government continue to do it? The answer is very simple. The government does not want to lose control over its citizens. The government knows that if they stop smart phone intelligence gathering, then it will only increase crime and give the government less control over its citizens.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective on things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in her story, when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation members are completely selfless, and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After the release of all the reports, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally used propaganda in her live radio broadcasts during World War II, to lower the morale of American troops. Her main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops, which made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loved ones cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who we can or can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want us to do. There’s nothing our government and other governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control, they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us, then what is the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this a free country. Now is your chance to get involved in what our government is doing, and as a citizen, we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Works Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.
Divergent. Fight the system!! (First Draft)
Divergent. Fight the system!
“…’Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world’ Or, it occurs to me, one of five predetermined ways.” (Roth 42) In the book Divergent, Beatrice Prior or Tris, lives in a dystopian world where everyone is put into five separate groups known as “Factions,” in which every group follows their owns laws of human characteristics, which must be followed accordingly. In Tris’ world, everyone takes an aptitude test which tells them where they belong, yet Tris does not fit into any single category and so she is known as Divergent. In this dystopia, I believe Veronica Roth is trying to warn us about government control and propaganda, and how the government is controlling us. Many people today are afraid of government control and do not like it because, people believe that the more control the government has on you, the less freedom you have. I believe that this is true and we see it today with the NSA’s cellphone data collection and past propaganda radio stations. Our government along with other governments around the world simply want one thing; power. And to obtain power governments will try to control us as much as they can because with our support they can get stronger.
The quote mentioned at the top talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future yet, everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it’s not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices the government picked, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to how in our government we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us a few options to vote from. A lot of the times people do not even like the candidates chosen but they still do not have much of a choice.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keeping schools, jails, police and firefighters up and running. That’s part of the benefits of having a government. The real problem comes in when the government begins to tax people for every little thing so they can get money. A lot of the times, if you do not pay taxes or make money you end up losing your house and everything you have. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to how in Divergent, if you do not become a member of a faction you become factionless and if you are factionless, it is worse than being dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary to live but in moderation. I think the government should collect taxes but they should try to take as little as possible to help out people who really need the money.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is Divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progresses I started to notice that every time anyone does a test, the results are recorded and analyzed. I think this is similar to how our government records everything we do as well. The best example for this would be the NSA. The NSA has been recording data through the speakers and cameras on everyone’s smart phones. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for information gathering is a good thing and very useful but to everyone else in the world it is an invasion of privacy and extremely frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA for example California Senator Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing and those who do like it are frowned upon like Dianne Feinstein who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective of things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in the book when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation are completely selfless and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After all the reports were released, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally would use propaganda in her live radio broadcast during World War two, to lower the morale of American troops. Mildred’s main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops and made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loves cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who you can and can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want. There’s nothing our government and governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us then what was the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this country free. Now is your chance to get involved in what out government is doing and as a citizen we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Work Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.
“…’Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world’ Or, it occurs to me, one of five predetermined ways.” (Roth 42) In the book Divergent, Beatrice Prior or Tris, lives in a dystopian world where everyone is put into five separate groups known as “Factions,” in which every group follows their owns laws of human characteristics, which must be followed accordingly. In Tris’ world, everyone takes an aptitude test which tells them where they belong, yet Tris does not fit into any single category and so she is known as Divergent. In this dystopia, I believe Veronica Roth is trying to warn us about government control and propaganda, and how the government is controlling us. Many people today are afraid of government control and do not like it because, people believe that the more control the government has on you, the less freedom you have. I believe that this is true and we see it today with the NSA’s cellphone data collection and past propaganda radio stations. Our government along with other governments around the world simply want one thing; power. And to obtain power governments will try to control us as much as they can because with our support they can get stronger.
The quote mentioned at the top talks about how Tris’ government believes that every man has the right to choose their future yet, everyone’s decision is limited to five choices. I find this to be a form of government control. Because of the way their government is formed, it’s not obvious to most people that they are being controlled. Since everyone is limited to five choices the government picked, everyone is doing exactly what the government wants him or her to do. This is similar to how in our government we are limited when it comes to choosing a president. In this case, the government limits us by only giving us a few options to vote from. A lot of the times people do not even like the candidates chosen but they still do not have much of a choice.
Another way the government controls us is by taxing us on almost everything we buy or do that involves money. This form of government control is obvious to everyone because the government needs funding to keeping schools, jails, police and firefighters up and running. That’s part of the benefits of having a government. The real problem comes in when the government begins to tax people for every little thing so they can get money. A lot of the times, if you do not pay taxes or make money you end up losing your house and everything you have. Eventually, you will end up being a homeless person. This is similar to how in Divergent, if you do not become a member of a faction you become factionless and if you are factionless, it is worse than being dead. In the book, Tris says, “It is heavy with our worst fear, greater even than the fear of death; to be factionless.” (Roth 43) I think this type of government control is necessary to live but in moderation. I think the government should collect taxes but they should try to take as little as possible to help out people who really need the money.
In the story, when Tris finds out she is Divergent, her test proctor, Tori, deletes the test results to protect her from getting caught. In the story, if you are divergent, it is, as Tori said “extremely dangerous.” (Roth 23) As the story progresses I started to notice that every time anyone does a test, the results are recorded and analyzed. I think this is similar to how our government records everything we do as well. The best example for this would be the NSA. The NSA has been recording data through the speakers and cameras on everyone’s smart phones. This type of information gathering is not only a form of government control but also an invasion of privacy. According to Tris’ and our government, recording data for information gathering is a good thing and very useful but to everyone else in the world it is an invasion of privacy and extremely frowned upon.
There are people who still support the NSA for example California Senator Dianne Feinstein. Even though there are still several supporters, no one is happy about what is going on in our government. In an LA Times article, it states “Feinstein’s firm support for the NSA’s tracking program has divided some of her most ardent backers, and in recent months her popularity in California has plunged to a historic low.” (Mehta) This just goes to show that no one likes what the NSA is doing and those who do like it are frowned upon like Dianne Feinstein who’s popularity among California residents keeps dropping.
One of the other biggest problems Veronica Roth wanted to warn us about was government propaganda. A lot of times people use propaganda to make people change their perspective of things. Propaganda is typically very biased and is used to manipulate people for any possible reason. We see a strong use of propaganda in the book when the Erudite, one of the five factions, releases biased reports about how bad the Abnegation are. The Abnegation are completely selfless and because of that, they were in charge of the government. Since Erudite is all about knowledge and discovery of new things, their knowledge lead to greed and the thought of government corruption. Because of this, Erudite released several reports about how corrupt the Abnegation leaders were. After all the reports were released, many people believed them.
This is a perfect example of propaganda and its effectiveness. We have seen this type of propaganda in our world as well. Not only have we seen it in our government, but in other people as well. A great example of this would be Mildred Gillars or otherwise known as “Axis Sally.” Axis Sally would use propaganda in her live radio broadcast during World War two, to lower the morale of American troops. Mildred’s main focus was to talk about how American troops wives were cheating on them back at home. Mildred would say things like “I'm afraid you're yearning plenty for someone else. But I just wonder if she isn't running around with the 4-Fs way back home.” (Harper) These types of remarks would kill the morale of American troops and made it harder for them to fight with the idea of their loves cheating on them back home.
In the end, government control and propaganda is a major problem we need to watch out for. Sure in some cases government control is a good thing, because we need the government to fund our schools and keep criminals off the streets. But we do not need the government to control every little thing like our right to bare arms or even decide who you can and can’t marry. All of these things are part of our freedom and we should decide what is right and what is wrong. And even if the government gives us the option to vote, we cannot let their propaganda manipulate us into doing what they want. There’s nothing our government and governments all around the world would want more than to control us because through their control they become more and more powerful. If we allow them to control us then what was the point of all the fighting our four fathers did to make this country free. Now is your chance to get involved in what out government is doing and as a citizen we all have the power to fight the system and make this country worth living in.
Work Cited
Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen, 2012. Print.
Harper, Dale P. "Mildred Elizabeth Sisk: American-Born Axis Sally." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Mildred Elizabeth Sisk AmericanBorn Axis Sally Comments. World War II Magazine, 12 June 2006. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. <http://www.historynet.com/mildred-elizabeth-sisk-american-born-axis-sally.htm>.
Mehta February 19, Seema. "Sen. Dianne Feinstein Defends NSA and Need for Intelligence Gathering." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. <http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-feinstein-nsa-foreign-policy-20140219%2C0%2C7661713.story#axzz2uIidtDDA>.