Veronica Roth’s dystopian novel Divergent contains five factions. The factions divide Chicago’s society according to valued traits: Abnegation emphasizes selflessness, Dauntless bravery, Erudite intelligence, Amity peace, and Candor honesty.
Beatrice Prior, who later adopts the name Tris, grows up in Abnegation but chooses Dauntless at the faction-selection ceremony. Her aptitude testing reveals that she is Divergent, meaning she does not fit neatly into one faction and can resist the simulations used to control citizens.
The five-faction system is central to the novel’s conflict because it presents social virtues as rigid identities. The book was Roth’s debut novel and was published in 2011. It begins a trilogy continued by Insurgent and Allegiant. The film adaptation, released in 2014, also presents the faction system, although some details and character events differ between the book and movie.