In the book, Divergent, the future world of Chicago is split into 5 factions (Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Candor, and Amity). Wait. I think I've heard this story before. In a not so distant future...in a society divided...one person or group must rise above the mysterious totalitarian oppressor. Yeah, it's been done (see: Hunger Games and Matched trilogies...along with just about every YA book that isn't written by John Green)
So the story itself may not be very divergent from modern young adult literature, but it does have some interesting qualities. I want to avoid writing negatively about the book - there's enough ugliness in the world and if it makes some people read who wouldn't normally read, I'm all for it.
The idea of being "divergent" is an interesting one for a general topic of discussion, but it also has multiple connections to biology and education.
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| Source: http://divergent.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Videos |
Biology
When I think about being biologically divergent I think of genetic variation - and that's pretty fantastic and necessary for long-term population fitness. An instance where I'd be glad to be divergent.
As a biology teacher I couldn't help but think about the long-term genetic effects of separating people into factions. The factions are separated based on psychological characteristics (brave, intelligent, peaceful, selfless, and honest). If the Dauntless (brave) faction only had offspring with other Dauntless, they would continue to pass on the genes that would lean towards "bravery" or "courage." In other words, there is a bit of selection for bravery. Over time, this separation could lead to reproductive isolation and eventually speciation.
Education
When teachers go through "teacher training," one of the things we study is how people learn. There are multiple models concerning learning styles and learning modalities - but even I don't find that very interesting so I won't bore you with a summary of that either(this publication, cited below, will give you a lot to look at). At one point or another, if you haven't thought about it yourself, a teacher has probably asked you - "How do you like to learn?"* There are a few "factions" to choose from: auditory, visual, kinesthetic. Basically, do you learn best by hearing, seeing, or doing?**
Scientists, and people in general, tend to lump things into groups. The scientists who do that are called taxonomists and they group every living thing into different groups or taxa. You may have come across these different levels of grouping before - domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. It's our nature to want to group things, I think, because it makes these things easier to understand and study.
You've probably all heard some variation on the joke "There are two kinds of people in this world..." Often followed by a humorous punchline, it appeals to that part of us that wants to separate and divide to better understand. We especially see this divide when analyzing stereotypes.
All of this to say - I tend to believe that people learn in more than one way, even if one way seems dominant. I have trouble wrapping my head around the idea that there is one way individuals learn. I've met too many people who tell me they learn in multiple ways. I think it's important to investigate how we learn, but also to understand that it's ok to fit into more than one group. I tend to learn visually, but I also need to actually do it to really "get it." Aren't we all a little divergent in terms of learning?
The author does a really good job of recognizing this natural inclination to group things, but this is a common subject of dystopian literature. I can't help but wonder - why the sudden re-emergence of dystopian literature?
Your Role in the Biosphere or "Where am I going to eat lunch today?"
I think dystopian young adult literature is appealing because teens can relate to these themes of not fitting in and trying to discover who you are.*** A lot in your world is changing right now and you're trying to figure out who you are, what you believe, and where you want your life to take you.
If you feel a little "different" or "divergent," don't worry. I'm a little....weird, myself. Not comforting? #Spoiler Alert# Well, most people your age do feel a little "different."
Conclusion
So who's going to the movies this weekend?
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Did I miss anything? I'd love to read your comments or questions below.
Don't worry I'll make good on the other requests too.
Sources
1. "Divergent." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divergent>
< 2. Coffield. Should we be using learning styles?: what research has to say to practice. vols. Learning
& Skills Research Centre, 2004. Online. Internet <http://itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/LSRC_LearningStyles.pdf>
*I asked you on the first day
**Not sure why they don't include tasting...
***Besides being set in a dystopian landscape, that is basically what these books are about. Throw in a totalitarian leader (parents? school? any person in authority over a teen?) and you have your book.
