What do you make of "Faction Before Blood"?

Discuss the June 2014 book of the month Divergent by Veronica Roth. While only Divergent--the first book of the series--is the book of the month, feel free to use this subforum to discuss the rest of the series or to talk about the movies, but make sure not to post spoilers unless noted in the topic title.
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csimmons032
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Re: What do you make of "Faction Before Blood"?

Post by csimmons032 »

They are constantly fighting the concept of "faction before blood." Tris tries to stay close to her family even when her family tells her that the faction has to come first. Four and Tris's friends are the only ones that seem to care for each other more than the factions. I would certainly hope that this concept is not used much in our society but I am not honestly sure. I would hope that people would choose the people they love over things, but I know that not everyone would. I think Tris was very brave though for choosing a different path, one that would make her much happier than the idea of "faction before blood."
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Post by AlwaysWorthIt »

Faction before blood was the book as a whole. People rarely changed societies and therefore stayed with family for the most part, but those that did change left with what seemed like little reserve. In today's society we put a lot of pressure on family comes first, until the point where your family doesn't agree with something that you believe in and then it's beliefs over family. I'm a strong believer in family, but when family is not supportive as a whole, then we make our own family.
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Post by Sindhu Srinath »

AlwaysWorthIt wrote:Faction before blood was the book as a whole. People rarely changed societies and therefore stayed with family for the most part, but those that did change left with what seemed like little reserve. In today's society we put a lot of pressure on family comes first, until the point where your family doesn't agree with something that you believe in and then it's beliefs over family. I'm a strong believer in family, but when family is not supportive as a whole, then we make our own family.
That's a nice explanation. Sometimes our passions should definitely come before anything else.
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Post by yc123 »

"Faction before blood" comes into play throughout the book. It is especially evident when Tris is accused of being a "Faction traitor" for wanting to help her faction of birth, Abnegation. I think it does come to play in today's society because, while what our family teaches us may influence our decisions, ultimately, our choices are our own and we can not throw them aside just because our parents tell us to. We have to stand by our beliefs and moral code first. People are often loyal to very similar beliefs to the ones that compose the factions. For example, Education is as important to many of the people in our society as it is to the people of the Erudite faction.
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Post by Kiisme »

Personally I believe family should come first at all times however, with the way the world is operating today it seems as if who ever has the best price or is able to pay more has the upper hand at this point all moral and ethical concerns are now place on the back burner. However the final decision is up to the decision maker which we all have to face in our lives one way or the other.

-- 18 Jun 2017, 18:10 --
Swara Sangeet wrote:
AlwaysWorthIt wrote:Faction before blood was the book as a whole. People rarely changed societies and therefore stayed with family for the most part, but those that did change left with what seemed like little reserve. In today's society we put a lot of pressure on family comes first, until the point where your family doesn't agree with something that you believe in and then it's beliefs over family. I'm a strong believer in family, but when family is not supportive as a whole, then we make our own family.
That's a nice explanation. Sometimes our passions should definitely come before anything else.
I agree with you on this one. Family can be closed minded sometimes on certain issues that you have to call it a day and go create a new family that will support you especially when there is no harm to others or self.?
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Post by Sindhu Srinath »

Kiisme wrote:Personally I believe family should come first at all times however, with the way the world is operating today it seems as if who ever has the best price or is able to pay more has the upper hand at this point all moral and ethical concerns are now place on the back burner. However the final decision is up to the decision maker which we all have to face in our lives one way or the other.

-- 18 Jun 2017, 18:10 --
Swara Sangeet wrote:
AlwaysWorthIt wrote:Faction before blood was the book as a whole. People rarely changed societies and therefore stayed with family for the most part, but those that did change left with what seemed like little reserve. In today's society we put a lot of pressure on family comes first, until the point where your family doesn't agree with something that you believe in and then it's beliefs over family. I'm a strong believer in family, but when family is not supportive as a whole, then we make our own family.
That's a nice explanation. Sometimes our passions should definitely come before anything else.
I agree with you on this one. Family can be closed minded sometimes on certain issues that you have to call it a day and go create a new family that will support you especially when there is no harm to others or self.?
Families will and should support your passion, but it's very rare when they accompany you in it. For that, your own faction is necessary.
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Post by Naval Aulakh »

I believe that family starts things out and it isn't right to drive one to swear off all associations with the family. This thought does not play out in our general public and which is all well and good. I trust that our family precedes everything.
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Post by Yemurai »

I think it's bogus and unrealistic. Family is more important than any group you join and they always come first no matter what.

-- 09 Aug 2017, 15:29 --

I think it's bogus and unrealistic. Family is more important than any group you join and they always come first.
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Post by Helen_Combe »

In a way, faction before blood means that you become the person you really are and not what your parents want you to be. However, I would have thought that changing faction must be very hard as it’s what you know, what you have been taught and you’re tied to it by familial love.
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Post by AmySmiles »

I think family should always be first, and I believe that is how most people would believe at least in the US. That probably has to do with how we were raised though, I'm sure that we could have other view points if we were raised differently.
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Post by Rafaella Michailidou »

Paliden wrote: 06 Jun 2014, 08:38 I agree. God first, family second. But then how do we define family? I think that is the question of "Faction before Blood". They are saying that if you belong in that faction, then you can't relate to your family members like you can to the other faction members. I know that when you go through trials and difficult circumstances (i.e. training), you form a bond with those people that in a way makes them family. I think the military is a good example of this in our day and age. You are trained that your brothers-in-arms are everything. It is ingrained into your core. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. So I understand both sides of it, I guess.
I totally agree with you on that. I wanted to answer almost the same thing but I am glad someone already did.
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Post by DakotaA »

I love how 'Faction before Blood' can mean different things to different people. In my opinion it's just highlighting an individual's priority list. I imagine that most people would like to believe that their top priority is their family. However, the reality is looking more and more like the top priority for an individual is their work. The faction's could be viewed simply as different jobs with different leaders (employers), and the Factionless are the unemployed.
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Post by labibliofile »

While I don't completely believe with the phrase "Faction before Blood" I understand how it holds importance to some characters in the book. It is quite similar to the concept of how soldiers prioritize the safety of their nation before anything else. Similarly, the ones who believe in "Faction before Blood" merely believe that relatives would weaken you and believe what they are doing is for the betterment of the faction and hence, the phrase.
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Post by Kristin Ransome »

I would think that family should always come first, but I also believe that it is up for the individual to decide where their allegiance lies.
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Post by scrivoio »

I think that the phrase “faction before blood” was a reflection of the ideal of unity that’s a recurring theme within the book. I also think that this ideal ironically disrupts what would otherwise be a united family dynamic. Maybe that’s the point that Roth is trying to make, though. Assuming factions are an allegory for belief systems, Roth may be attempting to insinuate that it is these beliefs meant to hold us together that actually drive wedges between us. Take, for example, Tris and Caleb, who are Dauntless and Erudite respectively. Siblings separated by the factions they chose. It is implied at the beginning of the book that they are sort of close to each other and care about each other. Yet they allow the idea of “faction before blood” to disrupt that relationship and drive them apart. Eventually, they find their way back to each other, though, which almost negates the face that they were separated in the first place. Perhaps what Roth is trying to illustrate with this is that no matter how often faction is put before blood, family will always be there to fall back on. Faction may seem as though it comes first, but family is more enduring.
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