What do you make of "Faction Before Blood"?

[NanoWasabi]

I think that in this world, family is pretty dang important. But in "Divergent," when you make a faction transfer you're basically saying that you disagree with what your parents believe and how they live. If you then decide that your parents are more important than your faction, it's like you're turning your back on what you said you believed in.

[AnnDJ]

I think that is this book it is different because they are "programed" to be one way out of the fractions, so to pick a fraction is to pick who you are. I don't think she really turned her back on her family just that she was programed to be in a different fraction. It is easy to say we would put family over all else but when we are in a thing like this book goes I dont think any of us would say the same thing. I like that the children can go off and explore the world just cause I moved to NY dont mean I love my family any less in FL.

[DHasel]

I think it's an interesting concept. It's almost like choosing a State or Federal ideal rather than your family's ideals or your own personal ideals. In my perfect world people would be able to choose whether they want to follow government, familial or their own personalized ideals and that decision would be based on how they had been treated in the long term by each, family, government or just being alone. What I really like about Tris is how she tries to find a happy medium between a faction based system and no faction system. She's smart enough to see the good and bad in both instances.

[manoj01]

"Its not often you get to fall in love. But when you fall for someone you know you shouldn't it can tear you from the inside out." When Tris' twin (sister) falls for someone she should who will be there is going to be consequences and hard decisions to make.

[hollirm]

I'm big on family before all else, except God, of course, so I really don't like the idea of a faction before blood. The factions of today's society would be the ones people make in school, such as popular, bank geek, drama nerd, jock, etc., religion, gender, sexuality, and race. But, most of these are extremely superficial. So, with that said, regardless is if its factions in the world of the book or factions in today's society, I don't believe in faction before blood, except with religion. And this is only because I believe that God comes before all else.

[lindac1_98]

I come from a very close knit family, so therefore I feel that family should always come first. I also feel that a close family would not ask you to go against what you believe is the right thing to do. And if a family is supportive you would not have to choose between the two.

[deah319]

In the book, I think that the idea of "faction before blood" was instilled in the minds of the main characters to lessen the guilt of changing factions. In today's society, "faction" can be a representation of someone's religion, political party, career, or friends. I found the book so interesting because their society seems so different from ours yet so similar. It's easy to say that family comes first but it really depends on the individual's background and definition of a faction.

[r2ya]

I do not agree with 'faction before blood', or indeed even 'blood before faction'. In either of these situations you are being told to choose a group and agree with the decisions of a group no matter what those decisions are.

I would rather choose "truth before anything else", if there is such a category.

I wholeheartedly agree; placing limitations on your allegiances in such a way as to assume blind faith in ones "faction" (or family, religion, class, political party ect.) is ridiculous. There will undoubtedly be times where you disagree with your faction (or any other collective group bound by blood or otherwise), and placing them before anything knowing they are wrong reeks of injustice.

[Aivlys]

The faction before blood thing actually reminds me a lot of the older meaning of blood is thicker than water, the one that's really, "Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

The family that I was born into just happened. And family does not always mean loving and kind. They're not always the people you would trust to stand by you or even want to have anything to do with once you leave. I think the people you choose to be with, whether that's the family you're building with your spouse/partner or close friends or even distant relatives who are closer to you and more supportive than your family of birth is more important and says more about you than people who just happen to be closely related to you genetically. You can choose to be close to your genetic family of course, for whatever reasons, but I don't think doing that should be considered the default.

And I think part of growing up is sometimes saying, "I know you're my parents and I love you but we don't share the same beliefs about some things and I can't let you influence me anymore." That doesn't mean you don't love your parents but there comes a time when you start to set those boundaries. I think the faction choosing ceremony is meant to represent that time in a child's life. And just like a man sometimes has to draw a line with his mother so that she respects the place of his wife in her life, when they choose a faction other than their birth faction, they're drawing a line, making a choice.

[huntingmyths]

Faction before blood is a pretty interesting concept. Family doesn't end with blood, it's those who you trust before all others.

To me, this is actually quite a bit of truth as most of my family currently are those whom I get along with and push me to be my best. They're the ones who you trust beyond a shadow of a doubt when things get trust and you need someone to rely on. Just because you share blood doesn't mean that you are required to have them as part of your life.

It's saying that the person is choosing the faction that will help them expand and grow. It's saying that they're not going to let their family hold them back from being who they are. An example would be going to university for a major that your parents don't approve of because there aren't a lot of jobs in the field or it's not a high-paying field and they want you to be able to be secure. It's saying that you're wanting to take the risk because it's what gives you more joy than playing it safe by staying in what you know

[colemaba]

For me, family always comes first. It is scary to think of a society that operates in this way. Its crazy how this idea is twisted in this book, as well as the ones to come.

[sventurino]

If you stop and think about where we are heading in today's generation, I don't think this is far from the truth! People are driven by their passions/careers, and will stop at nothing to pursue them, regardless of family ties. Furthermore, our families are so divided these days. Family is more than blood... Where do our loyalities truly lie? In my opinion, it's becoming a "how you were raised" issue when trying to discern faction or blood as most important. In order for that society to function, this state of mind had to be implemented. Everybody plays a part in society, whether they want to or not.

[megg1088]

I like the idea of your chosen family coming first. It is hard to put your blood family before all else when you do not always agree with them or understand them. You should always strive to give them as many chances as they need- but there is a point where you may be just too different. If you surround yourself with a supportive chosen family then you will fare much better.

[gervaisk]

I think it would be very difficult to choose your faction over your family if you chose a new faction. All your life you do what your parents tell you. If you had to go against them I think it would be very difficult. I guess it's a good way to see where your loyalties are. I don't think I could turn my back on my family for my faction. Could you?

[Kaitlin Lake]

My opinion is that god should come first then family and then everything else. No one should put faction before blood but in the book they do because they have had that drilled in to their brains since they were born. I love these books and recommend it to everyone.