Our list of best quotes from the dystopian sci-fi drama movie series based on the trilogy of novels by Veronica Roth. Set in a future where people are divided into distinct factions based on their personalities and teenagers have to decide if they want to stay in their faction or switch to another for the rest of their lives. The story follows Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) as she tries to decide which faction to choose to live in for the rest of her life, but when she finds out that is she is Divergent, a person who does not fit into any one faction, she discovers a conspiracy to destroy all Divergents.
1. Divergent (2014)'Everyone's afraid of something.' - Four (Divergent) Click To Tweet
Tris: We’re lucky to be in The City. They say that war was terrible, that the rest of the world was destroyed. Our founders built the wall to keep us safe, and they divided us into five groups, factions, to keep the peace.
Tris: The smart ones, the ones who value knowledge and logic, are in Erudite. They know everything.
Tris: Amity farm the land. They’re all about kindness and harmony, always happy.
Tris: Candor value honesty and order. They tell the truth, even when you wish they wouldn’t.
Tris: And then there’s Dauntless. They’re our protectors, our soldiers, our police. I always thought they were amazing. Brave, fearless, and free. Some people think that Dauntless are crazy, which they kind of are.
Tris: My faction is Abnegation, the others all call us stiffs. We lead a simple life, selfless, dedicated to helping other. We even feed the Factionless, the ones who don’t fit in anywhere. Because we’re public servants, we’re trusted to run the government.
Tris: It all works. Everyone knows where they belong. Except for me.
Tris: My mother’s says there’s an art to losing yourself. But I haven’t figured it out yet. I’m supposed to never think of myself, to always help others. To never look too long in the mirror.
Tris: Today I take the test. I’m scared it’ll tell me I’m not Abnegation, that I have to leave my family. But I’m even more scared that it’ll tell me to stay.
Tris: Trust the test. The test will tell me who I am, where I belong. Am I smart? Kind? Am I honest? Selfless? Or brave?
Tori: Your results were inconclusive.
Tris: That’s impossible. It doesn’t make any sense.
Tori: No, not impossible. It’s just extremely rare. They call it Divergent. You can’t tell anyone about this, not even your parents. As far as the world is concerned, you received an Abnegation result because that is what I’m manually entering.
Tris: So what am I supposed to do at the choosing ceremony? I was supposed to learn what to do. This was supposed to tell me what faction to choose, the test. We’re supposed to trust the test!
Tori: The test didn’t work on you. You have to trust yourself.
Jeanine: The factions system is a living being composed of cell, all of you. And the only way it can survive and thrive is for each of you to claim your rightful place. The future belongs to those who know where they belong.
Christina: [to Tris after she’s chosen Dauntless] Is it just me, or are they trying to kills us?
Four: What’s your name?
Tris: It’s…
Four: Is that a hard one? You can pick a new one if you want, but make it good. You don’t get to pick again.
Tris: Okay. My name’s Tris.
'The whole society. If you don't fit into a category. They can't control you.' - Tori (Divergent) Click To Tweet
Four: My name’s Four.
Christina: Four, like the number?
Four: Exactly like the number.
Christina: What happened? One, two, three were taken?
Four: What’s your name?
Christina: Christina.
Four: Well, Christina, the first lesson you learn from me, if you want to survive here, is keep your mouth shut. Do you understand me?
Christina: Have you never seen a hamburger before?
Tris: No, I’ve seen one. I just have never eaten one.
Will: Abnegation you plain food. Plant based diet with no sauces and a minimum of seasoning.
Christina: Which text book did you swallow?
Christina: No offense, but I’m surprised Abnegation even eats at all. Too selfish, right? No wonder you left.
Will: You got to be pretty self-confident to be friends with a Candor.
Christina: What is that supposed to mean?
Will: You have no filter. You say the first thing that comes into your head.
Al: You mean like, you’re an idiot?
Christina: Nice one, Al. At least we tell the truth.
Tris: Were you a transfer too, or Dauntless born?
Four: Are you kidding?
Tris: No.
Four: What makes you think you can talk to me?
Tris: It must be because you’re so approachable.
Four: Careful.
Christina: [to Tris] You, my friend, have a death wish.
Will: [to Tris, as they’re doing target practice] Statistically speaking, you should have hit the target at least once by now. Even by accident.
Molly: [as Tris and Molly have been chosen to fight each other] How long do we fight for?
Eric: Till one of you can’t continue.
Four: Or one of you concedes.
Eric: According to the old rules. The new rules, no one concedes.
Four: You really want to lose them on their first fight?
Eric: A brave man never surrenders.
Four: Lucky for you, those weren’t the rules when we fought.
Tris: I’m never going to make it.
Christina: Yes, you are.
Tris: I’m the weakest one here.
Christina: Then you’ll be most improved.
Tris: You’re Candor, you’re not supposed to lie.
Christina: I was Candor. And I’m not lying.
Tori: You made a mistake choosing Dauntless. They’ll find out about you…
Tris: Who? Who will?
Tori: The people you’re a threat to.
Tris: What people? The Dauntless?
Tori: The whole society. If you don’t fit into a category. They can’t control you.
Tris: I don’t get it. I’m Dauntless. I’m going to be Dauntless. I chose Dauntless.
Tori: For your sake, I hope so.
Tris: What’s out there?
Christina: Monsters.
Al: Amity folks.
Tris: No, I know. But beyond that.
Will: Places that never recovered from the war.
Tris: [to Four] Do you know?
Four: Let’s just say they built the fence for a reason.
Eric: One thing you will learn here is that orders are not optional.
2. Insurgent (2015)'Dark times call for extreme measures.' - Jeanine (Insurgent) Click To Tweet
Jeanine: Peace. Long ago, before The Founders established this great city of ours, that word was all but meaningless. An ideal as elusive as a dream. Now, two hundred years later, we are, all of us, living proof that peace is indeed attainable. The reason for this is, of course, our Faction System. Erudite, Dauntless, Amity, Candor, Abnegation.
Jeanine: In dividing people according to personality and aptitude, we’ve created a society in which each faction plays a critical role in maintaining the social order. But this harmony we’ve achieved is now under attack from a small but extremely dangerous group of individuals. We call them Divergents. They are, in essence, the worst of what humanity used to be. Rebellious, defiant, and uncontrollable.
Jeanine: We are all that is left of humanity. The vast wall that encloses this city may protect us from our toxic surroundings, but it is up to us to confront any element that could poison us from within. Because, when you are civilization’s last hope, peace is not merely an ideal. It is an obligation. And it is up to all of us to take a stand against its one true enemy, Divergents.
Four: Still having nightmares?
Tris: No.
Four: We’re good. You and me. I know nothing else is, but we are.
Jeanine: Divergents will destroy our society. Unless we destroy them. And now we can. However, only a Divergent can open this box. Find them. Every last one of them.
Tris: I really don’t know how much longer I can do this whole peace and love thing.
Four: It’s the Amity way, alright? We’re just trying to blend in.
Tris: I’m trying to blend in. It’s just not working.
Peter: Hey, Tris. I really like your hair, by the way. Did you try to cut it all short and weird like that?
Tris: We need to kill Jeanine.
Four: I know. But we’re not ready yet.
Caleb: Beatrice, you’re not being serious, right?
Tris: No, I am being serious. I’m not going to stop until she’s dead.
Caleb: Tris, you can’t just go around killing people.
Peter: No, she’s right. Listen to your sister.
Peter: Tris, I think you should go to Erudite and kill Jeanine yourself. I’ll stay with Caleb so that you don’t get him killed too.
Tris: What?
Peter: Come on, you know. Like you did your parents.
'Evasion is not dishonest.' - Jack Kang (Insurgent) Click To Tweet
Johanna: You don’t understand us at all.
Tris: No, I do understand you. I understand that you think you can stay out of this. But you can’t. One day she’s going to show up, and Jeanine is going to take whatever power you think you have away from you.
Johanna: See, to be Amity is to forgive. Others. And yourself. You’re hurting, Tris. And my heart goes out to you. I know what it’s like to stand helpless while you lose the ones you love. But killing Jeanine is not going to bring your mother back. I know you’re angry. But you’re letting it consume you.
Evelyn: Tobias.
Four: Mother.
Caleb: I thought she was dead.
Tris: Me too.
Evelyn: I’m still your mother.
Four: No, my mother’s dead. I went to her funeral when I was six. And she wasn’t trying to reconnect with me. She was trying to use me, like you are now.
Tris: Why?
Evelyn: She wants an army.
Caleb: An army?
Evelyn: I want an alliance.
Four: No, what you want is revenge.
Evelyn: This isn’t about me. It’s about putting an end to a system that says one group is more deserving than another. This city may be surrounded by a wall, but it doesn’t have to be a prison.
Evelyn: We’re on the same side, Tris. I’m Factionless because I don’t fit into any one faction. And you’re Divergent because you belong to too many. But we’re both a threat to Jeanine. My people are ready for war, if that’s what it takes.
Four: And then what?
Evelyn: We depose those in power.
Four: And once you’ve done that? Once you’ve killed Jeanine, who’s in power then? See, that’s the part that she always conveniently leaves out. Don’t you tell me this isn’t about you. This is only about you.
Evelyn: [to Tris, referring to Four] You want to tuck him in, or should I?
3. Allegiant (2016)'You want change with no sacrifice. You want peace with no struggle. The world doesn't work like that.' - David (Allegiant) Click To Tweet
Tris: [as they’re climbing the side of a building] We’re almost there.
Four: Yeah, I’m right behind you.
Tris: What, are you afraid of heights?
Four: No. Who told you that?
Tris: Sometimes, when I look past the wall, I think that I can see something out there. Do you?
Four: No. I don’t.
Tris: Maybe you need to look harder.
Four: I am looking. I’m just not seeing what you’re seeing.
Tris: When it’s right in front of your face, you will.
Tris: [referring to Evelyn] Put the traitors on trial, close down the gate. It didn’t take her long to make the same mistakes as Jeanine.
Johanna: You should be up there with all the other leaders of the city.
Tris: No, that’s not me. I don’t want to make the rules.
Johanna: Great leaders don’t seek power. They’re called by necessity. The people need you.
Jack Kang: Now there is no doubt, Max, that you helped Jeanine take over Chicago, and exert brutal control over its citizens. So my only question to you is this. Did you feel justified in murdering people in support of her regime?
Max: Absolutely. People are sheep. They need a Shepherd to guide them. And when they resist, they’re slaughtered.
Max: I don’t want to die.
Evelyn: Neither did your sheep.
[Edgar shoots him]
Johanna: [to Evelyn] There was a time I would’ve said, “I leave you in love, not malice.” That time is past.
Evelyn: We need to show a united front, especially since Tris refuses to stand with us.
Four: I’m not going to tell Tris what to do.
Evelyn: Well, you need to try.
Four: Do you really think that you can stop people leaving this city?
Evelyn: The wall’s on total lockdown. My soldiers have orders. No one gets out.
'Great leaders don't seek power. They're called by necessity.' Johanna (Allegiant) Click To Tweet
Four: Why did you go to war with Jeanine, if you were just going to become her?
Evelyn: Leaders need to make tough decisions to protect their people. You’ll understand that when you take over for me. I’m doing this for you.
Four: Now might not be the best time to leave.
Tris: I know, but we can’t be here for every fight. And the message said to come out and meet the rest of the world.
Four: And we know absolutely nothing about the people who sent it.
Tris: But aren’t you curious to find out?
Four: What about our home?
Tris: I don’t think our home exists anymore. Maybe the way to help Chicago is going beyond the wall.
Four: And what if there’s nothing out there? What if there is nothing left?
Tris: I can live with that if you’re with me. But I cannot live without trying.
Caleb: You saved me?
Tris: It’s what you do for family.
Peter: [as they go past the wall] Didn’t exactly send out the welcoming committee for you, stiff.
Tris: Shut up, Peter.
Peter: “Humanity welcomes you with hope.” What humanity?
Caleb: This hole looks radioactive. Or at least it was in the last two hundred years.
Christina: Meaning what exactly?
Peter: Somebody seriously messed up the world.