Tris Prior From "Divergent" is a Real Girl With Flaws

Tris Prior From Divergent is a Real Girl with Flaws

     Movies, T.V. shows, and novels need more female characters that are normal.  In movies, the audience always sees female characters portrayed the same way: drop-dead gorgeous with no flaws, they belong to one group only, and viewing someone who falls in love on the big screen is unrealistic.  Veronica Roth’s novel, Divergent, illustrates that the main character, Tris Prior is relatable to everyday teenage girls because like Tris, they may also suffer from low self-esteem issues, worry about what group they belong to in the social pyramid, and might be nervous about falling in love for the first time.

     Tris is a teenager who suffers from low self-esteem, and teenage girls are notorious for being self-conscious with what they look like.  In the novel, Tris develops a crush on Tobias “Four” Eaton, and thinks, “I wish I was taller.  If I was tall, my narrow build would be described as “willowy” instead of  “childish”, and he might not see me as a little sister he needs to protect” (Roth 312).  Tris wants to look different because that way Four would like her in a romantic way.  Further, girls who suffer from low self-esteem happens to be a big issue in society, and it does not help that characters in movies or books don’t cover these issues.  In the article Growing number of girls suffer low self-esteem, says report states that “a growing number of girls and young women say they are unhappy with the way they look” (Meikle n.p.).  This article highlights the fact that girls may feel this way because of the media or people around them. Teenage girls suffering from self- esteem issues can relate to Tris who suffers with these sort of issues.

    In high school, teenage girls can sometimes worry about not knowing where they belong in the social pyramid.  Tris is like most teenage girls because she too is worrying about where she belongs in faction society.  When a person is sixteen in Roth’s novel they take a test which determines which faction they end up in.  For Tris, she wonders what group she belongs to.  Is it   Abnegation, Erudite, Dauntless, Amity or Candor?  She ends up belonging to three different factions which are “Abnegation. Dauntless. Erudite” (Roth 23).  This sort of result is extremely rare which makes Tris Divergent because she does not belong to one certain group.  Tris illustrates that a person can belong to many groups not just one because that is impossible; people have many characteristics to them which cannot pin point them to a single group.  During the course of the novel, Tris’ love interest Four tells her, “You belong here, you know that? You belong with us” (Roth 274).  Just because a boy or a girl tells someone they belong in said group, it is not true as a person does not belong to only one group in school or society.  Many girls just pick a group because they want to fit in, and are afraid to belong to other groups that are sometimes frowned upon in a school setting by peers such as the music group, and the nerd group.  Tris is a person who fits into many groups, but picks Dauntless and does not ignore the fact that she is also smart and selfless.

     Lastly, just like Tris, girls can feel nervous when they fall in love for the first time.  During the course of the book, Tris and Four’s relationship slowly builds due to the fact this is Tris’ first intimate relationship.  Anytime the couple shares a private moment like making out hard core, Tris feels unsure about the relationship.  Tris tells Four that she is afraid of intimacy by saying, “I’ve never been involved with someone before, and… you’re older, and I don’t know what your expectations are” (Roth 402).  Tris has no idea how to act in a relationship or what Four wants from the relationship. In the article, The Early Stages of Falling in Love depicts that when a girl falls in love she will not trust the boy right away.  Falling in love can be frightening especially if it’s a girl’s first time in the love department.

     Teenage girls can connect with Divergent’s Tris Prior due to the fact that Tris has body image issues, she doesn’t belong to one group, and she is nervous about having a boyfriend for the first time.  Normal girls living far away from Hollywood’s spot light need more female characters like Tris because we all have flaws, and we never see characters or celebrities showcasing any flaws.

 

 

 

 

 

 Works Cited

Khoshaba, Deborah. “The Early Stages of Falling in Love”. Psychology Today. Psychology

        Today, 20 March 2012. Web. 13 October 2015.

Meikle, James. "Growing number of girls suffer from low self-esteem, says report."

        The Guardian.  N.p., 28 November 2013. 2013. Web. 13 October 2015.

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. London, England: Harper Collins Children’s Books 2011. Print.