Divergent Chapter 28 Quotes

Divergent Chapter 28 Quotes

How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)

But what is so threatening about my ability to manipulate the simulations? Why would it matter to the representative of the Erudite, of all people?

I can't answer either question. But the look she gives me reminds me of the look in the attack dog's eyes in the aptitude test—a vicious, predatory stare. She wants to rip me to pieces. I can't lie down in submission now. I have become an attack dog too. (28.92-3)

All the competition with friends is complex and troubling. So it's almost a relief to get down to some competition with enemies. Here Tris is in a meeting with Jeanine Matthews, and by "in a meeting," we mean something like this. But even while Tris knows that Jeanine is "an attack dog," she doesn't understand why they are fighting. Which points to a larger theme of the book—are these factions and this system of government really worth all the hullabaloo?

The faction members are milling around everywhere. Erudite faction norms dictate that a faction member must wear at least one blue article of clothing at a time, because blue causes the body to release calming chemicals, and "a calm mind is a clear mind." The color has also come to signify their faction. It seems impossibly bright to me now. I have grown used to dim lighting and dark clothing. (28.14)

There's that phrase again: "faction norms." What's fun about this moment where Tris invades the Erudite library looking for her brother is that she notes the Erudite norms (wearing blue) and talks about that a fair bit; and then she very briefly mentions how weird this looks to her because she's used to "dim lighting and dark clothes." Why is used to that? Well, because that's the norm of Dauntless faction.

The reports that label my family as corrupt, power-hungry, moralizing dictators? The reports that carry subtle threats and hint at revolution? They make me sick to my stomach. Knowing that she is the one who released them makes me want to strangle her.

I smile.

"Wholeheartedly," I say. (28.106-8)

Here's one good thing about secrets: yes, they can drive a wedge between you and your friends (see above), but secrets can also drive a wedge between you and your enemies, which is handy. In this passage, Tris's secret is laid out clearly for us in the line about this making Tris feel sick to her stomach and strangle-happy. But all that is on the inside; on the outside, Tris is willing to lie and manipulate Jeanine to get what she wants.