Reading Response on Insurgent

   Power, gaining control something or someone. It can be attainable and could be used for good or bad. It gives you an opportunity to feel pride in yourself, however the ones with no power have no pride. In the book, "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth power and are emphasized in the characters in the story. The book Insurgent takes place in a Utopian society where there are 5 factions in which you can choose to live. Abnegation, a faction only suitable for selfless people and no care for yourself. Dauntless, a faction where there are careless and free minded people, the dangerous ones. Candor, a faction where there are militaristic people, the smart and strong. Amity, a faction where you are to worship nature and have no problems , the naive ones. Erudite, a faction for incredibly smart people and the ones that are curious, the enemy. Erudite has attacked Abnegation for important secretive data causing an uproar against the faction. But, some Dauntless members are going along with Erudite members, making an actual challenge to stop them. Beatrice, the main character in the book is stuck between this issue. In her perceptive, she shows how self-pride and power have caused many events in the story.
   One way there has been an incident of power and self-pride is the overthrow of the Erudite members killing the Abnegation. In the story Beatrice says, "The corner of the hard drive peeks out from under my pillow..on it s the stimulation data that controlled the Dauntless, and the record of what Erudite did...she doesn't want the factions, she wants control." This shows how the leader of Erudite (Jeanine) wants to have all the factions preach to her. As said in the piece of evidence she wants control of all the people, which shows a sense of power.
   Further, there has been also an incident of self pride. For example, Beatrice mentions in the story," Shouts rise up from the left side of the room, and I see blurs of fists pressing into the dark air. My faction, calling to me... but no I'm not brave. I'm not brave. I shot Will and I can't even admit it". This shows how Beatrice is uncomfortable of herself, especially of her self-pride. She says she does not feel brave. Which leads to the conclusion to that Beatrice felt apprehensive of self-pride because she shot Will, and could not admit it.
   Lastly, another show of self- pride is about a character named Tobias, Beatrice's boyfriend. In the story she says, " Tobias becomes all quiet and says, "This has to stop". He walks over to Marcus and grabs his collar. He throws him against the cafeteria table and puts him in an kneeling position. He takes off his belt and starts whipping him over and over. He then punched him in the jaw and walked away, steaming." Tobias and his father did not have a good relationship overall. Marcus would do the same beating method to Tobias, just out of sheer rage and being sober. And so Tobias leaves the faction in which him and his father were in, which was Abnegation, he switches to Dauntless. In order to run away from his father's torture he switched, and people kept kept calling him a coward or running away from his dad. In this evidence it shows Tobias maintaining his pride and dignity. He didn't want to keep being called coward, and so he beat up his own father in order to have self-pride and a dignity.
   In conclusion, self- pride and power is attainable. Sometimes you can attain it with a good positive mind. But your peer pressure and self-conscience makes you attain it in an atrocious and evil way. Therefore, Beatrice shares her experience in showing scenes of self-pride and power. Figures in this story really do show what power can do, and what power can make you do.