Key point:
When the initiates came to the Dauntless compound, their old values and beliefs were changed to fit the Dauntless societies conditions. As the characters immersed themselves in the Dauntless society, they found their choices impacted by the social norms, cultural beliefs, and moral standards of the faction
Clincher:
A reader may find that many of the choices the characters made became crueler, or more reckless. The idea behind Dauntless was a faction that valued bravery above all else, however the belief seemed to get tarnished and abused along the way, changing the factions values as a whole and impacting choices negatively. Tris once stated, “Maybe Dauntless was formed with good intensions, with the right ideals and the right goals. But it has strayed far from them...In the brief moments I have loved it here, I saw a faction worth saving. Maybe we can become brave and honorable again” (Roth 206-7). This brings to light how the Dauntless compound seems to have adopted a twisted idea of what is right and wrong, causing the initiates’ choices to be varied and impacted either by the value of bravery, or the current value of cruelty. Instead, if the faction began to adopt it’s old manifesto, “I believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another” (Roth 207), it may reflect on the Dauntless life style causing the members to make truly noble social, cultural, and moral decisions. As the new Tris said of the Dauntless manifesto, “It is a beautiful thought” (Roth 207).