Divergent/Characters
The Priors
Beatrice "Tris" Prior
The trilogy's heroine, Beatrice was born in Abnegation, one of the five factions and the one dedicated to the virtue of selflessness, and always felt overshadowed by her selfless brother and parents. Luckily for her, at the age of sixteen, everyone is given the option to switch faction. A day before the big ceremony, though, everyone must take a test to find out which faction they belong in. There Beatrice learns that she is Divergent, meaning that she is not suited to one particular faction but rather three very different ones—her own, Erudite, and Dauntless. In a rush of impulsiveness, Beatrice chooses Dauntless.
In the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice (or now Tris) must undergo numerous tests of bravery. Along the way she meets a lot of new friends, a lot of new enemies, and sparks a romance with the mysterious and elusive Four.
- A-Cup Angst
- Action Girl
- Animal Motifs: Associated with crows and ravens.
- Badass
- Birds of a Feather: With Four.
- Blue Eyes: Are said to be her best feature, contrast sharply with the rest of her plain self.
- Celibate Heroine: Intimacy is one of her fears.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
- Deadpan Snarker
- Genre Savvy
- Hair of Gold
- Important Haircut
- Jerkass
- Took a Level in Jerkass
- Waif Fu
- What the Hell, Hero?
Caleb Prior
Tris' elder brother whom she resents slightly but still loves. He transfers to Erudite.
- Aloof Big Brother: Averted.
- Blind Without'Em: He wears glasses to look more Erudite.
- Green Eyes
- Hollywood Nerd
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: see above.
- Smart People Wear Glasses
Natalie and Andrew Prior
Tris' parents who are killed in Erudite's attack on Abnegation.
Dauntless Initiates
Christina
Tris' best friend in Dauntless, she transferred from Candor.
- Black Best Friend
- Brutal Honesty: As a result of her Candor upbringing.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Living Lie Detector
- Sassy Black Woman
Albert "Al"
A friend of Tris' in Dauntless who is kind-hearted, though weak and quite emotionally volatile. Tris' success makes him feel weak and he is lured into a plan to try to kill her. Tris, though not traumatized by the events, refuses to forgive him and he throws himself into the chasm that night.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Towards Tris.
- The Atoner: Very briefly as he only begs for forgiveness once before Driven to Suicide killing himself.
- Butt Monkey
- Dogged Nice Guy
- Driven to Suicide
- Emo Teen
- Gentle Giant
- Killed Off for Real
- Love Makes You Evil
- Nice Guy: Al was a genuinely good guy. If it weren't for Peter, Tris never would have been angry at him and he never would have died.
- Stalker with a Crush
Peter
An enemy of Tris' in Dauntless. Described as being "pure evil". And how.
- Ax Crazy
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
- Blatant Lies: "I'm not... murderous!"
- The Bully: Peter is the entire package—he's definitely capable of physical harm but tends to resort to verbal torments.
- Consummate Liar
- Complete Monster
- Creepy Child
- Dirty Coward
- Expy: Pretty similar to Draco Malfoy and Clove.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Peter is quite literally and quite figuratively this.
- Jerkass
- Jerk Jock
- Hidden Depths
- Manipulative Bastard
- Pretty Boy
Will
One of Tris' friends in Dauntless and eventually Christina's boyfriend. Sadly, towards the end of the novel, he runs into Tris while under Mind Control and she is required to shoot him.
Uriah
A Dauntless-born initiate who eventually befriends Tris. May or may not harbor romantic feelings for her.
- Ambiguously Brown: Confirmed by Word of God to be of Arab descent.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Nice Guy
- Pretty Boy
Marlene
A friend of Uriah's and Lynn's, and eventually Tris'. She has purple hair.
- Genki Girl
- Killed Off for Real
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Well, purple hair, but anyway. Otherwise it's a pretty common Dauntless thing.
Dauntless Members
Eric
The youngest of the Dauntless leaders who was in the same initiate class as Four. He was originally from Erudite and is plotting to destroy Beatrice's home faction.
- Authority Equals Asskicking
- Ax Crazy
- Blood Knight
- Complete Monster
- Evil Genius
- Jerkass
- Lawful Evil
- Killed Off for Real
- Obviously Evil
- Sadist Teacher
- You Wouldn't Shoot Me
Four/ Tobias
Tris' main love interest, an eighteen-year-old Dauntless boy and instructor. We learn later that he originally transferred from Abnegation and was subject to being beat with a belt by his father as a child, the reason why he transferred.
- A Man Is Not a Virgin: Averted.
- Abusive Parents
- Badass
- Birds of a Feather: He and Tris are both Divergent, both transfers to Dauntless from Abnegation, and both had council members as parents.
- Blue Eyes: Described as being dark blue—a dreaming, sleeping, waiting color.
- Embarrassing First Name: Not so much "embarrassing" as it is bringing back bad memories.
- Hidden Depths
- Hollywood Nerd
- What the Hell, Hero?
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?
Others
Jeanine
The series' Big Bad and the leader of Erudite, the rival of Tris' old faction. She believes that the Abnegation, despite enforcing The Evils of Free Will, hoard food and plan to take over the other factions.
- Big Bad
- Corrupt Corporate Executive
- Evil Genius
- Gray Eyes: Described as being a watery, steely silver color.
- Insufferable Genius
- Killed Off for Real: Surprisingly early for the series' Big Bad.
- Lawful Evil
- Manipulative Bitch
- Sadist Teacher
- Smart People Wear Glasses
- The Strategist