"The boy--Four--looks over his shoulder and shouts, 'First jumper--Tris!' A crowd materializes from the darkness as my eyes adjust. They cheer and pump their fists, and then another person drops into the net. Her screams follow her down. Christina. Everyone laughs, but they follow their laughter with more cheering. Four sets his hand on my back and says, 'Welcome to Dauntless'"(Roth 60).
MOTIVATIONS: Tris Priors main motivation in the series is her family and the love and sacrifice she has for them, even if they have done her wrong. An example in Allegiant, the last book in the Divergent trilogy, that reflects upon Tris's motivation to protect the people she loves would be when she sacrificed her life for her brother's, even though he hurt her:
"He is a part of me, always will be, and I am a part of him, too. I don't belong to Abnegation, or Dauntless, or even the Divergent. I don't belong to the Bureau of the experiment of the fringe. I belong to the people I love, and they belong to me--they, and the love and loyalty I give them, form my identity far more than any word or group ever could. I love my brother. I love him, and he is quaking with terror at the thought of death. I love him and all I can think, all I can hear in my mind, are the words I said to him a few days ago: I would never deliver you to your own execution"(Roth 455).
Tris's motivation is love and loyalty, as well as doing everything she can for the people she loves. She believes in second chances, which ultimately motivates her to shield her brother from death, even though he betrayed her. This paragraph in the third book shows how she could never do what her brother did to her, which was leave her to die. Her motivation to not do this shameful action, the same action Tris's brother did to her, will soon lead to her downfall.
RELATIONSHIPS: Four people in the book who are major characters and who share important relationships with Tris are Tobias Eaton, Christina, Caleb Prior, and Peter Hayes:
- Tobias Eaton - Tobias, also known as Four, is first introduced as Tris's instructor when she first settles into Dauntless. As the two become friends and get to know each other, they soon fall in love and eventually become a couple, starting from the middle of the first book, all the way to the end of the last book. Tobias is an important character in Tris's world because he is always there for her and constantly pushes her to be better. He loves her and has always stayed by her side, through thick and thin. Even though they fight and Tobias wants to protect Tris, she constantly doesn't listen and puts his life over her own, leading to conflict and tragedy between them.
- Christina - Christina is Tris's best friend and a Dauntless-transfer, just like Tris. She was originally born in Candor. Conflict presented between Tris and Christina shows up in Insurgent, the second book of the series, when Tris admits to killing Christina's lover and both one of there best friends, Will. At the end of the first book, Will was under stimulation and was about to kill Tris when she shot him in the end. She doesn't end up telling Christina until the second book, which creates distrust between the characters and Christina being upset with Tris for a very long time.
- Caleb Prior - Caleb is Tris's brother who transferred into Erudite from Abnegation. Major conflict shown between them was when Caleb went behind Tris's back when she turned herself into Erudite and helped assist in her "execution." This showed betrayal and hurt that Tris could not bear. Later conflict presented between them was in book three as stated, when she couldn't see her brother die even though he hurt her, so she risked her life and died to save his. After her death, this leads to Caleb understanding that Tris loved him and would risk her life to save his, and he accepts that.
- Peter Hayes - Peter is first introduced in the book as the "bully," a mean and arrogant character who hates Tris and wants to make her life miserable as they both embark on their Dauntless training. He is still presented this way until book two, when Tris and her friends, as well as Peter, are running from Erudite, and Tris saves his life. Later on, when Tris turns herself in to die, Peter is working for Erudite at that time and ends up faking her death so she could live, claiming he owed her. After this act, they both share a mutual respect for one another.
ELEMENTS OF A TRAGIC HERO: Tris fulfills the aspects of a possible tragic hero because she suffers a tragic death of going into the weapons lab instead of her brother, who was supposed to do it. She was responsible for her fate and made an irreversible mistake because is she didn't go in the room and try to save everyone, she would have still been alive:
- Flaw - Tris's flaw is her loyalty, only she is not loyal to herself, but to her friends. Tris suffers a tragic death by sacrificing herself to save her brother, someone who betrayed her and almost killed her. Due to Tris's loyalty to her family, she still took her life to save her brother and all her friends lives.
- Error in Judgement - The error in judgement that lead to Tris's death was trusting her brother because even when he hurt her she still decided to risk her life to save his, even though he would not have done the same.
- Responsible for Fate - She was responsible for her death because she made the choice of going into the weapon's lab instead of her brother, knowing she could possibly die. It was her choice to risk her life to save everyone.
- Nobility - Though she does not come from a rich family, her father helps run the government.
- Accepts Death with Honor - Before Tris dies, she finally forgives herself for killing Will and everything shes done to get herself to where she was. As well, she accepts her death by seeing her mother and gladly willing to join her, knowing it was her time: "This time I know it's my mother's hand, drawing me into her arms. And I go gladly into her embrace... Can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I want to be. I can. I believe it" (Roth 476).
- Tragic Death - Her death is tragic because before she got shot and died, she was exposed to the death serum in the weapon's lab and survived. It was tragic that someone this extraordinary and special survived the death serum, something no one survives, and yet dies from a simple gun shot. Also, her death was tragic because she finally forgives herself for everything she did right when she died. This is shown on page 476 in Divergent and Allegiant when she asks herself the first time in the first book and doesn't know, but when she dies she finally realizes that she can be forgiven: "Can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I don't know. I don't know. Please" (Roth 476). "Can I be forgiven for all I've done to get here? I want to be. I can. I believe it" (Roth 476). These two quotes shows how in each book she wanted to be like her parents and sacrifice herself, not knowing how to do it. It was only until the end when she truly sacrificed herself and died.
- Audience Pity & Fear - Tris evokes pity in the audience by dying for her brother. We, as an audience, feel bad for her because her brother hurt her so much, but she still loves him and wants to save him. Also, Tris evokes pity in the audience when both her parents die to save her, but she stills keeps fighting for them anyways. Tris evokes fear in the audience when she kills one of her best friends, Will. We, as an audience, are scared of her because she is shown as a murderer when killing someone she loved, even if it was to protect herself.
- Irreversible Mistake - Tris's irreversible mistake was in the first book, when she choose Dauntless as her faction. If Tris had chosen Abnegation, she could have kept her divergence a secret, but by choosing Dauntless, she was taking a risk and exposing herself too much. Being in Dauntless also taught Tris a lot about herself, causing her to make certain choices later on. If she stayed in Abnegation, she could have avoided these mistakes and possibly her death.
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