Being Divergent by Amanda

Being Divergent by Amanda - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

An influential character from a book I have read would have to be Beatrice “Tris” Prior from the Divergent trilogy. This character has had such an influence on me from the books to coming to life on the big screen. I’ve read numerous books in my young life and no character has affected me like Tris.

Tris’s character has such depth to her, you can’t help but feel connected to her from the moment you start reading. In the dystopian society in which she lives, people are only limited to have one of five personality traits. This isn’t the case for Tris. Tris is Divergent. Being Divergent, Tris is not by nature limited to exhibit only one of the five traits.

Her most eminent trait seems to be bravery. This is the trait most important to me as well. I didn’t know bravery was something I lacked until I followed Tris’s story and witnessed her extreme acts of bravery. Tris is the kind of person who doesn’t sit and stress over things, she just does them. This is something I envied very much, as I was the type of person who would stress over things. I have suffered from anxiety during my high school years and that held me back from so many experiences. If I was worried about something, I would do everything in my power to avoid it. Tris inspired me to take chances and be spontaneous in my life. It may sound silly that a fictional character would have so much influence on me, but to me she was real, she was me, she was who I wanted to be. I saw my potential through Tris.