Divergent (novel) Quotes

“Fear doesn't shut you down; it wakes you up.”

“I will be my undoing
If I become my obsession.”

“Dishonesty is a veil that shields one person from another.”

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.”

“Wikipedia: Divergent (novel)”

“The Dauntless-born initiates are like a pack of dogs. If I act the wrong way, they won't let me run with them.”

“Intelligence is a gift, not a right. It must be wielded not as a weapon but as a tool for the betterment of others.”

“Roth, Veronica (2011), Divergent (First paperback ed.) publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, ISBN: 978-0-06-202403-9”

“Tris is not your usual Mary Sue. She’s selfish. She’s manipulative. She’s vindictive as hell – and I LOVED that about this book.”

“I used to think the Dauntless were fearless. That is how they seemed, anyway. But maybe what I saw as fearless was actually fear under control.”

“The uniform pounding of feet in my ears and the homogeneity of the people around me makes me believe that I could choose this. I could be subsumed into Abnegation's hive mind, projecting always outward.”

““Divergent” clearly has thrills, but it also movingly explores a more common adolescent anxiety — the painful realization that coming into one’s own sometimes means leaving family behind, both ideologically and physically.”

“My heart beats so hard it hurts, and I can't scream and I can't breathe, but I also feel everything, every vein and every fiber, every bone and every nerve, all awake and buzzing in my body as if charged with electricity. I am pure adrenaline.”

“Faction customs dictate even idle behavior and supersede individual preference. I doubt all the Erudite want to study all the time, or that every Candor enjoys a lively debate, but they can't defy the norms of their factions any more than I can.”

“Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined, I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me.
But if I saw her, I wouldn't recognize her.”

“I sniff, wipe my face one more time, and smooth down my hair.
"Do I look like I've been crying?" I say.
"Hmm." He leans in close, narrowing his eyes like he's inspecting my face. A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. Even closer, so we would be breathing the same air—if I could remember how to breathe.
"No, Tris," he says. A more serious look replaces his smile as he adds, "You look tough as nails."”

“His straight eyebrows are drawn low over his eyes. My stomach writhes, partly because I know he makes a good point but I don't want to admit it, and partly because I want something I don't know how to express; I want to press against the space between us until it disappears.
I nod.
"But please, when you see an opportunity…" He presses his hand to my cheek, cold and strong, and tilts my head up so I have to look at him. His eyes glint. They look almost predatory. "Ruin them."
I laugh shakily. "You're a little scary, Four."
"Do me a favor," he says, "and don't call me that."
"What should I call you, then?"
"Nothing." He takes his hand from my face. "Yet."”