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Bid Day 2
Bid Day 2
Anna Thetard / Her Campus
Culture > Entertainment

Divergent Factions and Sorority Houses

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KU chapter.
  1. “Trust the process” & “Trust the test”

I found this so interesting, and it really stood out to me when watching the movie because of its familiarity. When going through sorority recruitment, women are told to “trust the process,” meaning trust that you are going to end up in the house best fit for you. Repeatedly in Divergent, Tris and all the others who are choosing a faction are told to trust the test given to them before the choosing ceremony, as that test supposedly reveals what faction they belong to. It’s interesting that, in choosing a faction or a sorority, people are told to trust an outside source. 

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Cassie Howard / Her Campus
  1. Core Values

In Divergent, we all know that each faction values different, specific traits: Dauntless values bravery, Erudite values intelligence, etc. In sororities, each house has different core values: sincere friendship, intellectual growth, integrity etc. Women are chosen for a chapter based on whether or not they portray these values. Of course, factions are different in the way that their values do not overlap with one another.

  1. Factionless = non Greek life

I think the idea of this is hilarious, but it also makes a lot of sense. The factionless are people who don’t belong to any faction and live outside that world and formation. Similarly, people who choose to not join a sorority feel as though they don’t belong in any of the houses offered to them on campus; they choose to live outside the formation of Greek life.

  1. They Pick You & You Pick Them

This idea really only correlates with the Dauntless faction. A driving plot point in the film and book is that those below the red line could be dropped from Dauntless and left to be factionless. At the choosing ceremony, characters chose Dauntless, but then they later have to be accepted by Dauntless in return by proving themselves. This is somewhat similar to the recruitment process: women choose which houses they want to come back to but current members of the house, at the same time, choose if those women will be invited back. 

  1. The Pit= the Cave 

This is only relevant to KU sororities but I think the similarity is hilarious. When Dauntless new members walk into Dauntless, they immediately enter what’s referred to as “the Pit,” where all the action occurs. The characters were in awe and definitely intimidated. When I first joined my sorority, the first event we had was at this venue named “the Cave.” Similar to the “Divergent” characters, walking into this underground venue for the first time is intimidating, lively and overwhelming. The Cave also kind of looks like the Pit, so the comparison is perfect.

Hi my name is Audrey! I'm majoring in Strategic Communications at KU- so excited for you to take a look at my writing:)