Since I finished the book I have been racking my brain
trying to come up with a solid explanation why Roth ended the series the way
she did. Is it to teach everyone that no
matter what happens the human race will mend each other? Is it to show us that
no matter what someone does to you family will always come first? Or is it to
show that no matter what bad things happen?
I fear that I will never know the answer to why she ended it the way she
did. All I know is I do not like it and that is the choice I make.
Allegiant picks up a few days after the end of Insurgent –
Tris and her friends are being held in Erudite headquarters after the display
of a video explaining that the world they live in not reality. The world they live in was concocted as a way
to save human kind from itself. War broke out generations ago and the only way
to save everyone was to create their world. Once the level of special people –
aka the Divergent – was high enough they would know to go beyond the fence and
help humanity survive. Everyone is
reeling about the video and some have no idea how to explain it or process it.
Tobias is outside the cells because his mother is the head of the factionless
who now control the city. Tris is starting to question everything and
everyone, except Tobias. She has finally let herself trust him completely
without hesitation – although it doesn't last very long.
The book goes back and forth between Tris and Tobias’
perspectives. Both are damaged, both are confused and both are smart. This
hurts them and their friends because Tris questions everything while Tobias
takes things and people at face value without asking questions. For most of the
book they are alone and this makes them question everything around them because
they don’t have each other to lean on. It was sad to see them go through this but it
made part of the ending worth it.
I found myself so engrossed in their story that when the end
came I was devastated. I kept re-reading
a specific chapter hoping that the outcome would change. When it didn't, I had to stop reading and
take in what just happened. It was
heartbreaking and went beyond what Hunger Games did, at least physically. Mentally Hunger Games wins out with the most
heart wrenching ending. But the
Divergent series brought finality to the story that no one could change or
misinterpret. I think that was the
reason why this book affected me more than Hunger Games. (SPOILERS).
Tris died. There is no gray area
when it comes to that. And there is no
gray area for the pain and heartache that Tobias went through and will go
through for the rest of his life.
Allegiant wasn't about the group as a whole. It was about Tris and
Tobias, their relationship together and their relationship separate from each
other. Together they worked as a team
and flourished beyond measure. She kept
him in line and he kept her on the ground when her tempers raged and she wanted
to lash out. But no matter what they
each made decisions without each other and ultimately that is what got Tris
killed. It isn’t as bad as it sounds.
Tris had to make a sacrifice despite her love and devotion to Tobias.
She knew that she loved him and he loved her. But she couldn't live in a world
that created her life and let everyone suffer while watching on televisions, no
matter if she had Tobias or not. She wanted all or nothing. And she made the choice.
One choice will define you and her choice saved all of her friends, family and
especially Tobias who in the end was her driving force behind her choice. He always was.
The last conversation Tobias has in the book is with Tris’
best friend Christina. Christina says that even when life stinks you hold out
for the moments that don’t and the trick is to notice them when they come
around. None of them will ever be the
same. Some might never recover, possibly even Tobias. But he is learning something - no matter what
happens in life things can get better if you let them and you let other people in. As Tobias said “We can be mended. We mend
each other.”
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