Divergent’s story structure falls into the classic pattern of the hero’s journey. First articulated by mythologist Joseph Campbell, the hero’s journey is a recurring pattern of stages found in many heroic epics throughout varied cultures and historical periods. As the hero in the Divergent series, Tris Prior lives out the 12 fundamental steps outlined in the chart below. To help students visualize this pattern, have them use a storyboard to break down Divergent’s structure and identify the twelve stages of Tris’s heroic journey.
| STAGE | SUMMARY |
|---|---|
| Ordinary World | Beatrice Prior lives with her parents and brother in the Abnegation faction. She and the rest of her faction spend their time trying to be selfless and help others. |
| Call to Adventure | In her aptitude test, Beatrice learns that she is divergent. This knowledge leads her to consider leaving the Abnegation faction. |
| Refusal | Beatrice struggles with the idea of switching factions. It breaks her heart to leave her family forever. |
| Mentor/Helper | Beatrice has several mentors. Her mother and Tori help her early on. After she crosses the threshold, Four becomes her main mentor. |
| Cross the Threshold | Beatrice decides to join the Dauntless faction at the Choosing Ceremony. In her new faction, she becomes Tris. |
| Tests / Allies / Enemies | The Dauntless initiation provides many tests for Tris. She makes friends who help protect her, including Four, Christina, Will, and Uriah. She also makes dangerous enemies, such as Peter, Edward, and Al, who try to kill her out of jealousy. Meanwhile, the ruthless Erudite leader, Jeanine Matthews, begins to suspect she is divergent. |
| Approach | With the help of Four, Tris works to improve her physical and mental preparedness, so she can successfully finish initiation without revealing her divergence. |
| Ordeal | Tris must complete the Dauntless initiation by successfully making it through her fear landscape. If her score is not high enough, she could fail initiation and become factionless. |
| Reward | Tris successfully completes initiation and is rewarded by a #1 ranking. |
| Road Back | Tris's time in Dauntless doesn't last long. When Jeanine, the Erudite leader uses a serum to force the Dauntless to attack Abnegation, Tris returns to Abnegation to defend her former faction. |
| Atonement | Tris loses her mother and father, and is almost killed by Jeanine. Finally, she faces Four in the Dauntless control room and helps him break free of the mind-control serum. Four stops the simulation, and the Erudite coup ends. |
| Return | Tris, Four, and the others leave the Dauntless compound and head to a new life. They cannot return to Abnegation, but will meet the surviving Dauntless and Abnegation in the Amity compound. |
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Student Instructions
Use the story of Divergent and map it to the narrative structure of the Hero's Journey.