Point:
Tris was raised in Abnegation to forgive others and be ever merciful. However, the Dauntless do not require forgiveness, nor necessarily value it. This lifestyle influences Tris’s decision when Al apologized.
Proof:
When Al asks Tris to forgive him she thinks,“Somewhere inside me is a merciful, forgiving person. Somewhere there is a girl who tries to understand what people are going through, who accepts that people do evil things and that desperation leads them to darker places than they ever imagined. I swear she exists, and she hurts for the repentant boy I see in front of me. But if I saw her, I wouldn’t recognize her” (Roth 299-300). Tris acknowledges to herself that she knows there is a way to forgive Al, but then she chooses not to by saying, “Stay away from me. Never come near me again. If you do, I swear to God I will kill you...You coward” (Roth 300).
Comment:
This scene from the novel is an in depth background look into how Tris’s decisions change in respect to her new lifestyle. The comparison between her selfless Abnegation thoughts and her Dauntless choice shows the drastic differences between the two societies and how they impact her choice making process. Tris’s refusal to forgive Al shows that the Dauntless society seems to have hardened her, and she has adopted their belief that cowardliness is a sign of weakness. Tris believes that what Al did to her was cowardly, and it disgusts her, so she chooses to end her contact with him.