Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Divergent, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Identity, Choice, and Divergence
Strength, Selfishness, and Selflessness
Competition, Groups, and Rivalries
Fear, Bravery, and Maturity
Women and Sexuality
Summary
Analysis
Hand in hand, Tobias and Tris walk to the chasm. As they walk, Tobias explains that he can never entirely master his four fears. He also tells Tris something she’s been wanting to know for a while: his test results. Tobias says he was selected to be in Abnegation, but he chose to leave Abnegation for Dauntless. This surprises Tris—she’d expected him to reveal that he’s Divergent, like her. Tris tells Tobias that she left Abnegation because she wasn’t selfless enough. Tobias immediately disputes this, reminding Tris of how she’s bravely protected others.
Although Tobias doesn’t admit that he’s Divergent, he seems more aware of what Divergence really means than Tris herself is. Tris still thinks in terms of rigid categories—she refuses to believe that she could be representative of all five factions. By contrast, Tobias shows Tris that she could easily belong to more than one faction, even Abnegation (based on her protectiveness).
Themes
Tobias leans in and kisses Tris on her mouth. They kiss for a few minutes as they stand by the chasm. As she kisses Tobias, Tris realizes that, if things had worked out a little differently, they’d both be living in Abnegation.
Tobias and Tris’s kiss reflects their shared experiences, and the closeness they’ve developed in the last chapters. They know so much about each other that they’re falling in love—and they’re also just young adults exploring their sexuality.
Themes
