Discussion Questions!

1. What purpose does each of the five factions serve in society? What personality types are drawn toward each faction? Do you think these factions represent every basic personality type and fulfill all the basic needs of people? If not, what faction(s) would you create to fill any gaps?
2. What was the reason behind the creation of the factions? Do you agree of disagree that such a system is a beneficial way to structure society? Do you think the factions are working "towards a better society and a better world" (p. 44) as they say they are? What about the structure seems to be working for Tris's society? What doesn't seem to be working at all?
3. What faction do you think you would have been born into, given you family and it's values? Which faction would you select at your Choosing Ceremony? Why? How would you feel about making a decision that would determine your life's course at the age of sixteen?
4. What choices have you made that have transformed you? What future choices might you also make, and how do you think that they would change you?
5. How does the idea of "faction before blood" come into play throughout the book? Do you think this idea has a place in today's society, or is it contrary to what most people believe? In our society, what ideas and beliefs are people loyal to in the way Tris's society is loyal to in the concept of the factions?
6. Why is Tris's government run only by members of Abnegation? Do you think this is a good idea? Do you agree with her father's statement that "valuing knowledge above all else results in a lust for power, and what leads men into dark and empty places" (p. 35)? Why or why not?
7. What does it mean to be factionless in Tris's society? How does a person become factionless?
8. Tris says about Candor, "It must require bravery to be honest all the time" (p. 62). Do you agree? Which do you think is a braver faction? Dauntless or Candor? Would you like to live in a society like Candor, where everyone tells the truth no matter how hard it is to hear?
9. During initiation, is it selfish of Tris to crave victory, or is it brave? Do Tris's friends have to a right to be jealous when she's ranked above them? If you were Tris, would you forgive then for their reactions?
10. How does initiation change and transform Tris? Do you think she made the right faction choice? How do you think she might have changed if she had chosen on of the other factions?
11. What is the difference between being fearless and learning to control your fears? Do you believe anyone can be truly fearless? What does Tris mean when she says that "half of bravery is perspective" (p. 458)?
12. Is Four's desire to be "brave and selfless, and smart, and kind, and honest" (p. 405) realistic in the society in which he lives? Discuss examples of people in our own world who successfully bridge different cultures, perspectives, or ways of living. 
13. Tris's mom says, "Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again" (p. 441). Do you agree or disagree? Why?
14. At the beginning of the book, Tris does not understand what it means to be Divergent. How do you think she would explain it by the end of the book?
15. When Tris encounters her old neighbor Robert after their Choosing Ceremony, he is concerned about her choice and insists, "You should be happy" (p. 127). Tris responds, "The goal of my life isn't just... to be happy" (p. 128). If Robert had then asked what is the goal of Tris's life, what do you think she would've said? If asked again at the end of the book, do you think she'd answer the same way? How would you answer this question, if asked?

Leave your answers in the comments below, and next week, I'll answer these questions myself!