How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
In the hallway, it is easy to forget about Al and Molly's revenge and Peter's suspicious calm, and easy to pretend that what separates us as friends does not exist. But lingering at the back of my mind is the fact that Christina and Will are my competitors. If I want to fight my way to the top ten, I will have to beat them first. (16.90)
Ever notice how Tris has this habit of saying one thing and then saying kind of the opposite thing? Like here, she starts off saying "it is easy to forget" that we're competing; but in the very next sentence she notes that she's going to have to beat her friends. This is a pretty clear example of how friendship and competition are constantly tugging in her different directions (and getting her to say opposite things).
Quote #8
"Is he right?" Will asks quietly. "Are you trying to manipulate us?"
"How on earth would I do that?" I scowl at him. "I'm just doing the best I can, like anyone else."
"I don't know." He shrugs a little. "By acting weak so we pity you? And then acting tough to psyche us out?"
"Psych you out?" I repeat. "I'm your friend. I wouldn't do that." (21.45-8)
We know Tris isn't manipulating her friends. But it must be super weird to be friends with people most of the time and then try to beat them into unconsciousness the rest of the time. No wonder Will is unsure if he's being manipulated.
Quote #9
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?