Divergent: Setting Description

Chicago Skyline

     I have read about fifty pages of the book “Divergent” by Veronica Roth and I am enjoying it very much. One of the most interesting things I have found through my reading is the author’s description of the setting. “Divergent” takes place in a post war Chicago. The people that inhabit it and split into five separate “Factions” based on what those people caused the war. That way everyone would live separately and get along, but still function as a society.

            One example is when Beatrice and her brother Caleb ride to school on the bus and she says, “The building that was once called the Sears Tower- we call it the hub- emerges from the fog, a black pillar in the skyline. The bus passes under the elevated tracks. (Roth4)” I think its so cool how in a fictional story; the author put the setting in a real city and even uses the allusion of the Sears Tower. This really helps the reader imagine what the city looks like and also lets the reader make connections between the book and the outside world. Sometimes I feel like the setting I picture in my head is not accurate with the setting that the author has created in the book, but since the author makes the story take place in Chicago, I am able to picture exactly what the author wants me to picture. I don't feel like I am missing something.

            Overall I think the Veronica Roth did an excellent job with choosing a great setting as well as describing it. There is a good balance between complexity and simplicity. If the author makes the setting too complex, I feel that I would take away from the complexity and originality of the faction system, and would leave the reader confused. I am very excited to read on and learn more about this “Chicago” society.