Chapter 12

It's been two days since Tris' fight with Peter, she beat Myra, a small initiate easily. (This kind of makes me wonder why Myra chose Dauntless.) Tris is about to go to sleep when flashlights wae the whole dormitory up, Eric screams for everybody to get up, Dauntless surrounding him. He tells them they have five minutes to meet by the tracks, for another field trip. At the tracks, every grabs a paintball gun... Eric is so violent I half expected them to be real guns. Once they get on the train, Four explains that they are playing capture the flag! Each team will be even, Four is one captain and Eric the other. Eric picks Edward, Peter, Molly, Al, and Myra is left so he takes her as well. Four takes the rest, picking Tris first! This makes her angry at first thinking that he is making fun of her, but really it's part of his strategy, she knows it. Four's team is faster the Erics. Eric has all the strong, bulky kids. Speed wins capture the flag, everyone has known that since they were a kid. Four's team gets off first, deciding to hide the flag at navy pier (well future abandoned navy pier). Buildings end just before the marsh and a jut of land strips out onto the marsh, with the ferris wheel on it.

 The team talked about how crazy it was that people rode the ferris wheel for fun, I thought this was funny because they jump off trains and give each other black eyes for fun! The team reaches the carousel and argues a strategy, while this is happening, Tris decides to climb the ferris wheel. If she gets high enough, she can find out the other teams strategy. As she climbs, Four decides to join her. They talk as they climb higher and Tris gets a little nauseous, not from the height, but form FOUR! <3..... They reach a platform and Four explains that he is afraid of heights! He explains how he ignores his fear, he acts in spite of fear. They climb higher, and see the other teams flag. They then start climbing down, to put their strategy into action. One of the bars break and Tris almost dies, Four saves her by moving the wheel so she is carried to the ground. They tell their team the plan and put it into action, charging the other side. Christina reaches the flag just before Tris does, taking the glory since Tris came up with the plan. On the train on the ay back, Tris befriends Marlene and Uriah, who compliment her on her plan.

"If my entire life is like this, loud laughter and bold action and the kind of exhaustion you feel after a hard but satisfying day, I will be content." -Tris

I felt this chapter needed two quotes since I couldn't decide which one I liked better!

"Eric is more ruthless than Four, but Four is smarter." -Tris


This is one of my favorite parts/quote in the book because I think intelligence will always come out on top! To be ruthless and for it to have some sort of affect, you must have power, and I think you can only achieve power with intelligence.. in most cases. Who would want a stupid president? This is why Four will always beat Eric!

Chapter 11

Christina wakes Tris up in the morning, sore and tired, Tris is patched with bruises. Christina gets her breakfast and helps her tie her shoes, what a good friend... I think they all need someone to talk about initiation and their worries, they no longer have their family so I believe that everyone always needs someone to be there for them, or else they will explode! They reach the train tracks (going on a field trip) and jump on with pain. They pass " a sea of crumbling, abandoned buildings." Chrisitna asks Tris what she thinks is "out there." She means past the farms, what they are guarding the city from. This imediately reminded me of Hunger games, what is outside of the Hunger game's districts'? Everyone wants to know what these futuristic books mean by their community's being seperated from some other land!

 They didn't have guards guarding the fence until five years ago. Getting off the train, they observe the chain linked fence with barbed wire at the top. They follow Four into the gate, he tells them that if they don't rank in the top five by the end of initiation, you will probably end up here, a fence guard. That job would be terrible,

   This would be you for the rest of your Dauntless life! Peter asks Four what rank he is, Four tells them first. He then asks why he didn't choose a government job and Four says, because he didn't want one. Some jobs Dauntless can choose consist of: guarding the fence, working for the security of the city, working in the Dauntless compound drawing tattoos or making weapons or even fighting for entertainment, working as a Dauntless leader. Entering the gate, Tris spots some Amity, one of them is Robert. They talk a little about their new homes. Four then tells her to not talk to the other factions. He also gives her some advice about her fighting, but she asks him why he left her only fight. He replies, "It wasn't something I wanted to watch." I think by this he means that the fight was pathetic, I think he is trying to motivate Tris, there has to be something inside of her ready to get out and fight, she has a lot of heart, she just has to build up her strength and skills.

"I am worried that yu have a knack for making unwise decisions." -Four

Chapter 10

Tris wakes up to Stiff spray painted across her mattress. Her first threat from Peter, she ignores him. Why is he targeting Tris now? she hasn't threatened r done anything to him... I would think that he would target someone his own size or gender! Today Tris has to fight Peter.. not fair, but just like age doesn't matter, I'm guessing gender doesn't either... everyone is equal. If I had to fight him I would be ready to knock him out for being such a jerk. Molly and Edward fight, Molly loses of course, and Tris and Peter go next. He starts talking smack, Tris lunges at him but he catches her and throws her to the ground. Tris fights to the end, but Peter knocks her unconscious, the last thing Tris sees is Four leaving the room. She awakes in bed with her friends watching over her, taking care of her in the nurses room. Al tells her about how he let Drew beat him in the fight, (I wonder if Eric caught on?) Tris tells him that he's "not a coward for not wanting to hurt people." They then contemplate if their families are going to visit them on Visiting Day, the day that families can visit their kids in initiation. Most transfer's families don't visit. Al thinks it would just make it ahrder to see his family. Tris doesn't think her family will even come, but I disagree, I think her parents will come because it would selfish if they didn't, and Tris' mom before the ceremony told Tris that she would love her no matter what! she might just have to drag Dad along with her. Tris goes back to the dorms and falls asleep with these tear-jerking thoughts.

"The only thing worse than letting Peter put me in the hospital would be letting him put me there overnight." -Tris

Chapter 9

It's fighting day, Tris gets a bye today, but Christina has to fight the tank, Molly. Christina talks about how Peter, Drew, and Molly have all been inseperable since birth, she hates them. Peter is pure evil, has always been a liar in the Candor community, but no one ever would think he is one because no one is suppose to lie in Candor. This makes me wonder what they do to those who don't follow the rules of their Faction? throw them out? is their a prison?? Drew is Peter's sidekick and Molly is also evil! Will and Al fight first, they go at it for quite sometime, making eachother bleed and bruise. They wait for Four or Eric to call the fight off but they never do, Eric says it ends when one of them can no longer continue... does this mean death? Four argues with Eric, someone can concede. Eric argues back that those are the old rules. Four says that "A brave man acknowledges the strength of others." Eric says, "A brave man never surrenders." I agree with Four of course, Eric is an idiot!! It takes a lot of bravery to surrender to someone, swallow their pride, which I can tell Eric has never done such a thing. Tris says she feels like she's waching two kinds of Dauntless, the honorable and the ruthless. Maybe the two could combine so that the intiates would understand what Dauntless really is, and not be confused by what their leaders are trying to teach them. Eric has the overall authority though, which seems so weird to me because he is younger then Four! It would be like a Freshman bossing around a Senior, strange but age doesn't matter in the Dauntless community. Al soon finishes the fight with one punch to the jaw.  Four carries Will out leaving Eric with the rest. Molly and Christina fight next, a good long fight ends in christina begging for mercy. She tells her to stop, that she's done! Eric is upset by this and grabs Christina, he tells the rest to follow. I knew Eric would be upset by this considering his ruthless idea he stated during Will and Al's fight. Where is Four to save the day??? Eric leads them to the chasm, tells Christina to climb over the railing, he tells her if she can hang over the chasm for five minutes, that he will forget her cowardice and if she can't, he won't let her continue initiation. What a physco!!!!!!! The narrow metal railing is soaked with the spray of the river. Determined, Chrisitina is fine for the firts minute and a half, but then her back is striked by the river water and her face strikes the barrier, she hangs by her fingertips and can't get a better grip because the railing is so wet!! Four minutes, Al and Tris cheer her on, Tris contemplates saving her but knows she will experience the same fate. Selfish, but that doens't matter anymore because she is Dauntless. Five minutes is up, Eric tells her to get up by herself, Al says no (GO AL!!!) and he helps her up, along with a little help from Tris. It seems that Al is Dauntless, winning that fight, but he is also very selfless, for what he did for Christina.

"I guess I haven't really had a friend, period. It's impossible to have a real friendship when no one feels like they can accept help or even talk about themselves. That won't happen here. I already know more about Christina than I ever knew about Susan, and it's only been two days. -Tris (okay now she is just making Abnegation sound miserable, like prison. I can't imagine how many rules are established there, and it makes me understand why they are the government, but do they put people in jail for not following the rules? or would that be selfish?)

Chapter 8

At training, Four explains the initiation process. 3 stages which will rank and measure you are your progress, providing preparation.

1. Primarily physical
2. Primarily emotional
3. Primarily mental

Emotional and mental seem like the same thing, or connected in some way. Yawning, Peter asks a stupid question during training and Four flips the gun in his hand, presses the barrel to Peter's forehead, and clicks a bullet in place. "Wake up. You are holding a loaded gun you idiot. Act like it." This scares Peter. (Not important, but one of my favorite parts!) Four shows the how to shoot a gun.The initiates all practice, once Tris gets it down she feels powerful! The initiates take a lunch break and Tris sits with Al, Will and Christina. They talk about their factions, and how grossed out Tris is by watching Edward and Myra kiss. Christina tells Tris that her "Abnegation is showing." I understand why she is so disgusted... it's gross to see couples PDAing in the hallways of NS everyday too, but I don't understand why her faction is so against it. Their faction does seem very stiff, it seems like they weren't even aloud to laugh a lot because after Will makes fun of her for being so shocked by the kiss, she laughs and says "It feels good to laugh again." You must have to be really careful if you lived in Abnegation, you could never know when you are being selfish. After lunch, Four leads them to a huge room with punching bags. He teaches them how to fight, which teaches your body how to respond to threats and challenges you will need to "survive life as a Dauntless." Is life as a Dauntless always going to be as threatening as it is in initiation, could you still end up faction less?? I wonder if Tris would have picked Dauntless if she knew how much aggression and fighting was involved. Four demonstrates punches and the initiates practice. He tells Tris that she will need to use her knees and elbows more since she doesn't have much muscle. On the way to dinner, Tris and Christina talk about how intimidting Four is, but Tris isn't afraid of him.. (hmmmmm!) Christina then takes Tris to the clothing place, she replaces her ugly, gigantic, grey clothes with a new back dress! She puts some makeup on her and Tris actually feels like she is breaking the rules! Even wearing somehting noticeable is frowned upon in Abnegation! Leaving her Abnegation identity behind gives her hope, she wants to be a new person and break her old habits that her parents worked so hard to create! Next they go to the tattoo parlor where Tris sees Tori again, the one who gave her the aptitude test! Tris wants to ask her questions, but Tori thinks that it will be to dangerous, so Tris decides to get a tattoo on her collar bone, leading to her heart. Three birds marking a path towards her heart, one for each family member she left behind.

What I pictured the tattoo like, minus two birds, plus on the collarbone.

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear."

Chapter 7

Lauren and Four lead all the initiates down a tunnel, the walls and ceiling is stone, lit at long intervals. Lauren takes the Dauntless-born initiates with her, while Four takes the transfers. Four introduces himself and introduces "The Pit" It's a huge underground cavern with uneven rock walls rising several stories, with places built into them to store supplies. Narrow paths connect them, with no barriers to keep people falling off the side. The roof of the Pit is made of glass, above it is a building that lets in sunlight. Blue lanterns dangle at random intervals above the stone paths. People dressed in black are everywhere, shouting, talking, and gesturing. Four introduces the chasm. Behind a railing, water roars, crashing against rocks several stories below. Four then leads them to the dining hall. The Dauntless inside, all applaud once the initiates walk in. This reminds me of Harry Potter :)

Christina and Tris sit next to Four. A platter of an unknown food sits before Tris. Four tells her that it's beef, to put ketchup on it. How does he know she's never had a hamburger before, how does he know that Abnegation don't eat hamburgers? A Dauntless leader named Eric walks toward their table, he is very young but age doesn't matter there. As he is introduced to Christina and Tris by Four, he says, "Oh a Stiff, We'll see how long you last." Eric and Four talk, they seem like rivals. Eric asks him why he won't meet with Max, who wants to give him a job. Four tells Eric that he has been satisfied with the position he holds, and has been for two years. After Eric leaves, Four explains that they were in the same initiate class, Eric was a transfer from Erudite. Tris questions Four on if he was a transfer, and he doesn't answer. He tells her to be careful, but she doesn't back down. Christina's theory is that Tris has a death wish! After dinner Eric, who volunteered to oversee some of the training, leads the initiates through some dark hallways and explains a few rules. You must be in the training room by 8 every day, training is 8-6, after 6 you can do whatever you want, no leaving the compound unless you are accompanied by a Dauntless. Eric then shows the initiates their dorms, and explains rankings. The rankings serve two purposes, it determines what order you will select jobs after initiation (only few jobs are desirable) and only the top ten initiates are made members. This means 6 people could not be members... I don' think that this is fair. Shouldn't the initiates be warned that they could end up factionless?? A lot of them probably wouldn't hae chose Dauntless if they knew they could end up factionless! I would think that the Dauntless would want more members, not less... but I think this just adds to Dauntless being mysterious and exclusive. The 9 initiates fall asleep, in the same room (awkward!!!) Tris starts to think about her family again. Will they come on visiting day? will they recognize me? Soon Tris hears sobbing, form the largest and broadest of the initiates. A candor boy named Al is sobbing. Tris explains how disgusted she is... this surprises me. She wants to comfort him but she realizes she doesn't have to anymore, she's not in abnegation. I haven't learned enough about Tris to know if she's Dauntless enough, but I for sure know she is not an abnegation... no matter how hard her parents tried to brainwash her into being one!

"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between braver and idiocy!" A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You've been warned." -Four

Chapter 6

As Beatrice is leaving the compound, following the Dauntless, she sees her parents. Her father's eyes burn into hers with "accusation". I was pretty appalled by this, I knew her father would be dissapointed, but this act was selfish of him, and couldn't her parents suspect that Beatrice was not like the other Abngeation children? She didn't act like the others. Her mother smiled at her though, she probably knew what Beatrice would choose because she's her mother. She is more selfless then the father. Beatrice also sees her brother, he's happy, and it makes her stomach wrench seeing how easy it is for him. I think it was so easy for Caleb to act Abnegation, because he was so naturally smart. He knew the smart thing to do was to act Abnegation, do what he was told, make the right choices.
The Dauntless start running down the stairs, Beatrice thought that only Abnegation took the stairs, but Dauntless don't do it for the same reason Abnegation does it. They take the stairs because it's a wild act.   They run across the street, in front of cars, to the train tracks. Beatrice throws herself on the train, good thing she watched them do this so many times arriving to school otherwise she would be like the Erudite boy, he didn't even make it on the train.

On the train, Beatrice meets Christina, a Candor girl with dark brown skin, short hair, tall. 

 Beatrice thinks about her family, who will do the dishes tonight? Did Caleb always know that he would choose Erudite? 

Once it's time to jump out, they must jump onto a roof (the tracks are seven stories up). Christina and Beatrice jump off together. One boy doesn't jump, he fails initiation, another jumped but didn't make it... she lies dead on the pavement below. Beatrice forces herself to move on, which really surprises me because being in Abnegation there is no aggression. So, how could she move on so quickly, just witnessing what could have happened to her, watching someone die. This just proves that she was meant to be a Dauntless, this was a brave act. 

Checking a wound on her elbow, a boy named Peter says, "Ooh. Scandalous! A Stiff's flashing some skin!" Stiff is a slang for Abnegation, and Beatrice is the only stiff there.
A man named Max explains that he's a Dauntless leader. He explains that below is the compound, you must jump off the roof to get there, initiates first. No one wants to go first, Beatrice is proud and she makes her way to the ledge, knowing something has to be at the bottom. 

With laughs behind her, she jumps. She lands on a net. Rolling off, a man named Four catches her. He asks her name, "Think about it, you don't get to pick again." Beatrice thinks, a new name, a new placce, she will be remade here. "Tris." A crowd cheers for Tris, the first jumper, a stiff, that is something to remember! Christina jumps next, "Welcome to Dauntless!"

"that is how things work here. We do dangerous things and people die. People die, and we move on to the next dangerous thing. The sooner that lesson sinks it, the better chance I have at survivng initiation." -Beatrice