A Lesson of Bravery by Jenni

A Lesson of Bravery by Jenni - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

Among characters like Neville Longbottom, Rue, Betsie Ten-boom, Gandalf the Grey, Scout, Mr. Darcy, Abinidi and several others, I find Tris, placed in the increasingly popular trilogy Divergent, to be one of substantial influence in my life. A girl that in every way looks to be weak is found to be one of the strongest characters I’ve ever read about. Tris influences in several ways; through her determination, strength and love she teaches every reader how to be brave.

In the first book it’s easy to identify Tris’s determination. She comes from a life of being passive and selfless and ends up somewhere that is quite the opposite. In order to stay she has to preform, she has to fight, and she has to have grit. She’s small in stature and being a “stiff” she seemingly has no chance in survival. She surprises the reader though in the very beginning of her dauntless life she is the first one out of all her competitors to jump off hundreds of feet down into her initiatory training. This part of Tris reminds me that no matter what people’s first judgment of you is, you can always prove them wrong. I also like how she is aware of her situation of being judged quite harshly as a weak and sensitive individual and takes bold action in changing that first impression by doing things no one would dare to try like, in this example, being the first to jump. This teaches readers everywhere not to be vulnerable to scoffing eyes. Tris teaches you to be who you are and not what others perceive you to be. She teaches you to take action and become who you want to be. She starts out weak, skinny, and hardly an idea of how to be courageous and transforms into a beacon of strength.

In the Dauntless faction, Tris proves her strength in a variety of ways. In the very beginning she chooses to leave everything she knows, and loves for something that is uncertain. She proves her physical strength by her fighting and stamina. However there is one particular strength that moved me when reading this book, her inner strength. Despite all the things she goes through in being forced to kill one of her best friends, tortured, loved ones being killed, and even jealousy; she always works things out. Though her emotions can run her ragged, she still is able to perform the things that are needed. She uses other’s strength for motivation but she isn’t dependent on anyone. This proves to me that you can be strong during hard times. It’s okay to feel stressed and overcome with grief but that doesn’t have to be the reason you stop trying to make things better. Her strength encourages and uplifts girls into becoming a hero themselves during times of hardship.

One of the factors that I am most impressed by is probably Tris’s Love. This subject seems to be a subtle one throughout the entire trilogy besides the love she has for Four. Infact she doesn’t discover it until she sees the love her mother had for her. Her mother gave everthing for her family and for Tris to survive. After seeing that love Tris discovers that love is the only thing worth dying for. In the very end, despite her brother’s treachery she willingly dies for him, even though he had caused her so much hurt. Love in this book goes hand and hand with strength and determination. Love becomes the focus of why we need to be brave. Tris’s example of dying for her brother not only shows how important it is to forgive, but also how to sacrifice for the things we love most. Bravery without love is just stupidity. The purpose in why we do the things we do and to sacrifice is because of the love we have for something or someone. Love makes better people, it makes them brave, it makes them selfless, it makes them smart, it makes them peacemakers, and it makes them honest.

This is why Tris has influenced me the most. She is a strong character and gives literally everything to be who she is. She discovers herself and strives to become better, an attribute many people in the world today could use.