A spirituality blog seems like a strange place to find a book review on a popular sci-fi/fantasy book, yet here it is. I finished the book last night. This morning, all I can think about is how many parallels I can see to life here in the United States in 2015. As I have been writing here with the idea of writing where my own spirit leads me (and not fighting it), the book is where my thoughts take me this morning.
Divergent, by Veronica Roth, is set in a future dystopian Chicago where five separate factions live and work together. All factions are based on a single principle. Each faction is responsible for some aspect of service to the community as a whole. The factions are Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (knowledge), Amity (friendship), Candor (honesty) and Dauntless (fearless). At the age of sixteen, each person is given an aptitude test to help them determine if they want to stay in the faction they were born into or if their personalities require something different.
The main character, Beatrice Prior, is from Abnegation. Although she appreciates her faction she does not really feel she can be selfless and finds herself looking to other possibilities. Her aptitude test is inconclusive, meaning she does not identify strongly with any one particular principle. The person running the test tells Beatrice she is Divergent, which is a dangerous thing to be in that society. The tester encourages Beatrice not to divulge her test results and to choose from the three factions that were not ruled out in her test.
The idea of being Divergent is what speaks to me at a spiritual level. The bottom line is, Divergent means a person is able to think in many ways. The reason Divergence is considered dangerous is because a person who is Divergent can think for themselves. They will not go with the status quo if they believe something is wrong.
Living in modern day United States, I see the parallels. Every aspect of our society is highly controlled: education, medicine, food production, energy, politics and entertainment. The only choices we have are those the powers that be give to us. As time goes on, more rules and regulations are brought in, confining all of us to particular routines. Those of us who have the tenacity to question what takes place are minimized in ways that the majority of people fear to follow.
The really scary part of the book comes at the end, where the author discusses topics such as mind control, using such techniques involving injection of microchips and electronic signals. Even though microchipping and electronic commands seem like science fiction, they are quite real. I have read through some of the actual patents on such things. I have a few friends that have experienced these sorts of commands working on them.
The book was well written and difficult to put down. As I have always enjoyed a good read, I definitely appreciated the process. Still, all I can think about today is that this story is just one more disclosure of truth that we all give our unknowing consent to. The fact that the storyline has reached the masses through movies is extremely significant to me. Most people are not big readers. Many more people will pay for the entertainment of a movie.
There is truth all around us. If something is hard to put out of your mind, understand that is something you need to pay attention to. It is usually the wisdom/connection of your heart, telling you there is an important concept you need to be aware of. Trust your instincts. They may keep you from being one of the mindless zombies and make you Divergent.
~CSE
Divergent, by Veronica Roth, is set in a future dystopian Chicago where five separate factions live and work together. All factions are based on a single principle. Each faction is responsible for some aspect of service to the community as a whole. The factions are Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (knowledge), Amity (friendship), Candor (honesty) and Dauntless (fearless). At the age of sixteen, each person is given an aptitude test to help them determine if they want to stay in the faction they were born into or if their personalities require something different.
The main character, Beatrice Prior, is from Abnegation. Although she appreciates her faction she does not really feel she can be selfless and finds herself looking to other possibilities. Her aptitude test is inconclusive, meaning she does not identify strongly with any one particular principle. The person running the test tells Beatrice she is Divergent, which is a dangerous thing to be in that society. The tester encourages Beatrice not to divulge her test results and to choose from the three factions that were not ruled out in her test.
The idea of being Divergent is what speaks to me at a spiritual level. The bottom line is, Divergent means a person is able to think in many ways. The reason Divergence is considered dangerous is because a person who is Divergent can think for themselves. They will not go with the status quo if they believe something is wrong.
Living in modern day United States, I see the parallels. Every aspect of our society is highly controlled: education, medicine, food production, energy, politics and entertainment. The only choices we have are those the powers that be give to us. As time goes on, more rules and regulations are brought in, confining all of us to particular routines. Those of us who have the tenacity to question what takes place are minimized in ways that the majority of people fear to follow.
The really scary part of the book comes at the end, where the author discusses topics such as mind control, using such techniques involving injection of microchips and electronic signals. Even though microchipping and electronic commands seem like science fiction, they are quite real. I have read through some of the actual patents on such things. I have a few friends that have experienced these sorts of commands working on them.
The book was well written and difficult to put down. As I have always enjoyed a good read, I definitely appreciated the process. Still, all I can think about today is that this story is just one more disclosure of truth that we all give our unknowing consent to. The fact that the storyline has reached the masses through movies is extremely significant to me. Most people are not big readers. Many more people will pay for the entertainment of a movie.
There is truth all around us. If something is hard to put out of your mind, understand that is something you need to pay attention to. It is usually the wisdom/connection of your heart, telling you there is an important concept you need to be aware of. Trust your instincts. They may keep you from being one of the mindless zombies and make you Divergent.
~CSE
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