A Comparison Of A Dystopian Government In 'Divergent'

Government in a dystopia is never perfect. When a government becomes too controlling, and the people can 't stop them, a dystopia is inescapable. In Divergent, some of the simplest things in everyday life are controlled by the faction’s rules. The government seems to have taken over fairly quickly.

Examples of an over controlling government are shown on just the first page of the book. Tris’ mother is cutting her hair, and it is explained how rare it is for Abnegation to be able to do such a simple thing, like look in the mirror. On page 1, “Our faction allows me to stand in front of (the mirror) on the second day of every third month.” Focusing on the section of this quote saying, “my faction allows me,” it is clear that the faction leaders, and rules made by their ancestors, are very strict and possibly over-the-top in control. In our world, we have the right to do simple things without asking and without schedule. We can get our haircut whenever we like, and we can look in the mirror for as long as we want. But in a dystopia, these things are taken away from the people. When comparing the dystopia to our life, it shows that freedom and being in control of your own life is what separates a dystopia from a utopia.
Another example of a dystopian government controlling the people is during the tests that everyone has to take to determine their faction, the people are not allowed to share their results, even if they are positive. Tris isn 't even allowed to share with her