Tris The Giver

Character Essay

Can characters from different stories have similarities and differences? Tris, a sixteen-year-old girl, is a Divergent hiding in the rigorous and high stakes training of a faction called Dauntless. Jonas, a twelve-year-old boy, is the newly appointed Receiver of Memory in the utopian society called the Community. Tris from Divergent and Jonas from The Giver have similarities and differences.

Tris and Jonas are both courageous. For example, “I open my eyes and thrust my arm out. My blood drips onto the carpet between the two bowls. Then, with a gasp I can’t contain, I shift my hand forward, and my blood sizzles on the coals. I am selfish. I am brave.” (Roth 47) Tris is brave in her decision to leave Abnegation and enter Dauntless.

For example, “‘Lie still,’ I say. I feel calm, though I can’t hear anything, like my head is submerged in water. Edward thrashes again and I say it louder, sterner. ‘I said, lie still. Breathe.’” (Roth 202) Tris stays calm and understands what is happening in this situation. Because of her dystopian and unperfect society, she can understand the situation that she is in. “Was there someone there, waiting, who would receive the tiny released twin? Would it grow up Elsewhere, not knowing, ever, that in this community lived a being who looked exactly the same?” (Lowry 114) Jonas does not know the true meaning of “release”, which in his Community is a euphemism for death. Because of his utopian society, he experiences a limited life before becoming the Receiver of Memory. Both characters were raised differently and understand the world in a different way. Tris from Divergent and Jonas from The Giver have similarities and differences. Without their main characters, both stories would take different paths and wouldn’t be the same. Despite their differences, it’s safe to say that in their lives, Tris and Jonas were rebels, fighting for their ideals and