Who I am Versus Whom I Need to Be: Stereotyping in Veronica Roth’s Divergent

Abstract

Most people believe that they are independent individuals. They celebrate individualism and glorify freedom. However, their whole life is built upon the pillars of their societies and revolves around them. To be integrated into any society, one needs to live under certain norms and doctrines. Even if one cannot fulfil that, it is a social obligation to acknowledge what makes society as an entity. One of the things that govern any society in the world is the use of stereotypes and stereotyping. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate how, as individuals, we struggle to fit ourselves in society while trying to protect our identities from being affected by this same society. The inquiries of this extended essay are projected in Veronica Roth’s trilogy of Divergent. Our aim is to compare between the faction system in the story to the social and psychological phenomenon of stereotyping. Furthermore, to explore the phenomenon of stereotyping and the crucial role that it plays in one’s life and society, in addition to how stereotyping influences the individual’s identity and its development