Divergent: A Post Apocalyptic Chicago

 Divergent: A Post Apocalyptic Chicago

 

                The novel Divergent by Veronica Roth follows a 16-year-old girl named Beatrice who is born into a society where, at age 16, children must choose which faction they wish to join. These factions seek to fix a certain issue of human nature, Erudite; ignorance, Abnegation; selfishness, Cando; dishonesty, Dauntless; fear, and Amity; anger. Before the "choosing ceremony" all of the 16-year-olds take an "aptitude test" to see what faction they are best suited for but for Beatrice, she ends up with 3 results. This inconclusive result means she is a "Divergent, " leading to many issues that arise throughout the novel. Despite the betrayal that comes with leaving her birth faction, Beatrice leaves Abnegation and joins the Dauntless as she feels she is not selfless enough to be worthy of Abnegation. It is during this transition that she chooses her new name, "Tris" which she sees as a way to leave her past behind. Divergent is set in a post-apocalyptic version of the city of Chicago which allows readers who have been to Chicago, such as myself, to better envision and experience the scenes in the book that are set in real places that currently exist in the modern world.

            Near the middle of the novel, there is a scene where Tris and another character climb to the top of the Centennial Wheel, the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. Both characters display some levels of fear because of the height, "I see straight into the ground. I can't breathe. I imagine my body plummeting, smacking into the bars as it falls down, my limbs at broken angles on the pavement" (Roth 66). Although I have never been on the Centennial Wheel myself, I know people who have and I have seen the Ferris Wheel when driving during many different trips. The sheer size and height are enough to make my stomach drop when passing near it and I imagine that effect is tenfold when actually at the top of the wheel. The personal knowledge that I have of this particular attraction allows me to better visualize this scene which is made even more intense with the detail of Tris climbing the Ferris Wheel on the old, dilapidated service ladder rungs. A similar scene is when Tris joins a group of friends to go on an adventure to the John Hancock Tower (which, for context, is around 1,500 ft tall). The group of friends climb up to the 100th floor and this is when Tris realizes that they are going to zipline off, "I follow the cable down, over clusters of buildings and along Lake Shore Drive. I don't know where it ends. One thing is clear, though: If I go through with this, I'll find out. We're going to slide down a steel cable in a black sling for one thousand feet up. 'Oh my God,' says Uriah. All I can do is nod" (Roth 95). The terror that Tris feels in this moment is easily understood by readers who have themselves, been near the top of the Hancock Tower or really any building that tall.

            Another famous piece of  Chicago is the city's trains. As many readers from Illinois may tell you, the Chicago train system is quite astonishing, especially when viewing (or hearing) it for the first time. When walking downtown, you may pass underneath what looks to be a rusted and rundown bride but in reality, it's the railroad track for the Chicago trains. Without even being able to see the railroad, you may hear it because of the rattling and clanking of the trains speeding across the city, a sound which is 10-fold if you are underneath it. The impressive noise and seeming instability that can be viewed in real-life, make Tris's escapades on said train much more exhilarating, " The train glides towards us on steel rails, its lights flashing, its horn blaring... We run with the car for a few steps and then throw ourselves sideways... I cling to a handle next to the doorway, my shoulder slamming into the car. My arms shake, and finally a Candor girl grabs me and pulls me in" (Roth 27). The danger of this scene is already enough to get most people hooked on the book but for readers who have experienced the speed and power of the "L" firsthand, this segment is far more potent.

            These three scenes are just scratching the surface of the Chicago lore and landmarks that are spread throughout the novel, and many more that I most likely missed as a semi-new Illinoisan. There are a million different reasons to read Divergent by Veronica Roth and hopefully, this blog simply gave readers who are familiar with the Chicago area yet another reason to read this novel. Better yet Divergent is simply the first book of an amazing trilogy of astounding stories that have even been turned into a, slightly worse, movie series (because all movie adaptations are). I would highly recommend reading this novel and series as although I have not finished the third book yet, this series is already becoming one of the best I have ever read.

  

Work Cited

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York City, Katherine Tegen Books, 2011.