| “ | I am proud. It will get me into trouble someday, but today it makes me brave.
— Katniss Everdeen
|
” |
A smart and stubborn sixteen-year-old girl, Beatrice "Tris" Prior initially lives with her mother, father, and brother in Abnegation, the faction focused on selflessness and humility. Although the faction trains its members not to express their individual desires, Beatrice has been thinking about her unhappiness within her faction and wishing she could be Dauntless. She doesn’t talk openly with others about her feelings, but she constantly gives hints about her worries and hopes. For example, she longingly watches the Dauntless jump from the train outside school, then chastises herself for doing so. Her sense that she’s different makes her feel both guilty and defiant, and these feelings are exacerbated when her aptitude test reveals that she’s Divergent. Because her abilities are associated with three different factions (Dauntless, Erudite, and Abnegation), and because she can think her way out of each simulated scenario she encounters, she doesn’t fall neatly into a single category. People like her are known as “Divergent,” a label that suggests they’ve strayed from the narrow paths society has set for them.
Throughout Dauntless training, Beatrice’s test responses give a window into her creative and quick-thinking character. She’s stubborn, she can lie with ease, and perhaps most importantly, she doesn’t need to use violence to get out of danger. But the secrecy that surrounds Divergence makes Tris nervous, and she spends a great deal of mental energy hiding both her difference and her fear from others. At the same time, the Dauntless initiation process leads her to question her values. She constantly feels torn between being brave and unselfish. Tris is troubled by having to constantly lie and withhold information, but she gets increasingly better at expressing herself confidently over the course of training. She also learns to trust her skills and impulses as she grows closer to Tobias (Four). When she first realizes she’s attracted to him, she’s nervous that he will reject her for the smallest misstep during training. But when Tobias turns out to be supportive of her Abnegation traits as well as her Dauntless ones, she begins to realize she can be both brave and unselfish rather than forcing herself to choose between them.
Battle vs. Katniss Everdeen (by Jon memeing)[]
The painful smog from the burned city filled the atmosphere. Ashes flew with the wind covering both living and the dead. The heat spread unforgiving, nearly scorching and roasting. And the smell? The smell was the ultimate testament of the evil that plagued this world. There was no hope, or life, nor even a sign that things would be alright. Hell was no kingdom underneath, ruled by the devil and his demons; it was a meat grinder built by men, meant to torture other men.
Yet, humankind's greatest ability had always been their capacity to thrive, whatever, wherever, or whoever they may be. From snow to sand, forests to plains, even heaven and hell, humans were as surprising as they were disappointing. Some humans proved tougher than others. They were the champions of the world, the unbeatable examples – the pinnacle and the best. One of them, a lone girl with long black hair, wearing a beaten black jacket and torn black jeans, sat in the middle of Hell itself. The place had no power over her; she had faced far worse than it. In fact, she sat comfortably, cooking a small chicken over a campfire, and drying her wet socks and boots near it. She stared at the dancing fire, deeply thinking, hoping to see herself and her future in the all-consuming brightness.
A knife then landed – blade first – near her leg. The girl only gazed upon it with little to no care, before looking at the direction from where it came. In the darkness, a dark bipedal silhouette walked towards her – its feet nearly silent; the body being lean, firm, and muscular. As the shadow formed flesh, every sinew looked strong and well-kept, the gait bore good training and agility. Finally, the silhouette became another girl, wearing a dirty gray tank top, tight tactical pants, and soldiery boots. Her hair was kept short and tidy, not letting even a single strand go awol. Her rigid and proud appearance gave forth the image of a warrior, compared to the other girl who was more of a survivor.
Both stared, analyzing and vigilant, before one popped a smile, which the other happily replied.
"You're Tris Prior?" The survivor greeted.
"Yes. And Katniss Everdeen, I presume?" The warrior replied.
"Thanks for the knife," Katniss continued. "Let's see if it's sharp enough."
Katniss took the knife and the roasted chicken by the spit, and plunged the former into its middle, letting out the delicious juice and the wonderful smell. She then told Tris to take a seat, which the latter obliged. With a clean slice and a great snapping of hollow bones, Katniss offered half of the fowl to Tris. They then ate the chicken in front of the fire.
"Where the hell did you get this?" Tris asked as she munched.
"Found it here," replied Katniss.
"Here? In this godforsaken city?"
"Yeah. It's not that hard. If you're hungry enough you can find food anywhere. That's what I learned living in my district."
Tris then finished her meal and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Katniss had already finished hers a couple minutes prior. Both fell into silence, as the fire crackled its embers, and their body took in what they consumed. Katniss offered Tris her knife back, which the latter took. The silence was then broken when anxiety rose, distrust sat in, and danger loomed again.
"Dumb move, setting up this campsite," Tris remarked. "I can see your fire from far away."
"I didn't put the fire to warm myself," Katniss said back. "I wanted to draw you in."
Tris then stood up and held her knife with the blade resting on her forearm. "We don't have to do this."
"Do what?" Katniss said as she took out a long metal bow from her side, letting it stand and rest on her shoulder.
"We don't need to fight."
"Well, what are we going to do then?"
The time for cordiality was over. Tris had had enough. They could pretend to feast and be jolly. But things inevitably would end up rough.
"Listen to yourself!" Tris argued, enraged. Katniss's nonchalance over a serious subject was getting through her. "Are you actually risking your life, and the life of your people, in a war with us?"
"What do you propose?" Katniss answered.
"Why are you asking?! You already fucking know what it is! Both our people can coexist! There is no need for war!"
"Don't be naive. Even your people know it. This land is dying. It always has been even before our people discovered each other in this godforsaken place. But now? It can't hold us all together anymore. We'll all die."
"We can make it work, if we work together."
"How?"
"I-I don't know yet..."
"Then no. There is no other way."
"You know it's not true. There's always a way."
Tris then put her hand in her holster and Katniss prepared herself. "I'm tired of debating," Tris said. "If I can't talk to you diplomatically, I hope your people can send another one who can."
"If," Katniss retorted. "Just remember that if you die, your backwoods genetically inbred people will lose their best."
Screaming, Tris hurled her knife with full force at Katniss, but the Mockingjay moved her neck, unblinking, to dodge it. Katniss then grabbed several of the burning wood from the campfire and threw it at Tris, searing her legs and making her back off. The smoke from the extinguished fire exploded and spread. By the time Tris moved through it, Katniss was gone.
The hunt was on, though Tris acknowledged that she was at a disadvantage. Now she faced an invisible enemy in an unfriendly city, with hiding spots, rooftops and alleyways – where everything, from even a water puddle or a rock she came across – could be used to kill her. Her foe was smart – too smart – that she was able to figure Tris out. After all, if what Tris had heard about Katniss was true; that she had fought all manners of killers in those gladiatorial games; then Katniss would know how dangerous Tris was by mere observation alone. It was a good decision, indeed, in Katniss's part, of not risking a fight up close. On the other hand, it was a bad decision of Tris not taking her out soon.
Tris navigated the intricate streets, making sure to cover herself through the store shades, street posts, and damaged cars. She kept her eye for every nook, every ambush site, even the rooftops where a bird could perch above her. Her heart beat fast, the hairs on her skin stood and tingled. She swallowed more than she breathed, doing so while not blinking, in order to get rid of her fears. This was a very bad situation to be in. She needed to get out of the ropes and turn the tables.
However, unknown to Tris, a target had already been painted behind her back. As a hunter, Katniss was a master of deceiving her quarry in a false sense of security. She'd been stalking Tris, watching her crept through the city like a rat. The Divergent had the discipline to keep herself alert even for this long, which drew Katniss's respect. But all hunts would end, the stalking would lead to killing. It was a finale Katniss knew very well, and Tris's time was up.
Tris herself didn't know what hit her. All she felt was a punch to the back and the searing pain that came after. She yelled the loudest scream of her life, before running to the side of a car to take cover. Another arrow punched through the car Tris was cowering behind from. Thinking quick, Tris took out her assault rifle and aimed. There, Katniss sat on top of a medium-sized wide building with four floors. The Mockingjay may have the high ground, but Tris's rifle had no problem with the range.
A short burst sent Katniss away from the ledge. She then hugged the floor and began to crawl away into another corner of the roof. Tris took the opportunity to run inside a building near her and took up position behind a window. Meanwhile, Katniss drew an arrow and nocked it on her bow. Breathing deeply and putting all of her energy into her limbs, she sat up from prone and aimed her bow. Terrible mistake.
Tris was expecting where she'd appear, and the moment she did, she emptied her whole magazine. While most of the bullets missed their mark, a single one did tag Katniss in the arm. The heat sent a death wave of suffering all throughout the Mockingjay's arm, making her fall down, grunting and gritting in pain. As Tris reloaded, Katniss drew again another arrow and raised her hand to feel the wind's presence. Blindly, she shot it up to the sky. As Tris continued to fire her rifle, the arrow lost its momentum and began diving back to the ground. For some miracle or master marksmanship, the arrow landed inside the building Tris was at.
This building made up of concrete and steel, suddenly exploded. Katniss got up and saw the devastation that her explosive arrow had caused. Out of the burning wreckage, a burned body crawled out in pain. It was Tris, but her hair, skin, and clothes had mostly burned, leaving her nothing more than a weekend roast. Her legs were mangled and she desperately tried to crawl away from the flames in pain. Katniss was shocked by the durability and tenacity of the Divergent. And though it was a shame she never gave Tris the chance to punch her, maybe she could be generous at least to face her again.
"Oh... God..." Tris cried. "Anybody?! Four?! Please... help me! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
"I'm here, little one," replied Katniss.
"You..." Tris said, trying her best to talk even as her lungs bursted and her eyes melted. "Please... I beg of you... take care of my people. My parents... my friends..."
"I'll try," Katniss promised. She then nocked another arrow and shot Tris in the head, putting her out of her misery.
Expert's Opinion[]
Although Tris Prior had the advantages of firearms and military training, the majority believes that Katniss Everdeen wins because of her better marksmanship, cunning, and guerilla warfare.