Tris & Tiana

So I have already compared Tris from Divergent to Mulan. Now she, or rather her story, is striking me as being quite similar to Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. It's that theme that is similar also to Chocolat (more to the book than the movie), where it's specifically asceticism versus hedonism. With Tris that theme is Abnegation versus Dauntless, and with Tiana it's hard work versus taking a break.

There is a fine line between finding power within yourself and also not letting yourself become absorbed in that sense of power.

Tris grew up in Abnegation, where the philosophy was to be selfless and live only to help others. Then she joined Dauntless, where the idea was to be bold and always strive to be the best and to let everyone know that you're the best. So she had to find that line of realizing her own abilities while also wanting to use those abilities not just for self-centered reasons. Tiana grew up with the idea of working hard for your dreams, so she worked dusk to dawn every day, giving up any and every opportunity to go be with friends or to take a night off. From Naveen she learned that enjoying moments is also important; you can work hard but you can also enjoy life because otherwise the working hard isn't worth it. You see the Chocolat thing here, right? Do you hold yourself to a strict lifestyle, or do you give yourself up to pleasures? Ideally, neither one.

Reading Tris's story was so inspiring to me because she is a small person, a person who moved from the background into the foreground. Her journey of discovering how to balance these two life philosophies fascinates me. And Tiana. The Princess and the Frog came out while I was in college, and I wanted to be like Tiana. She was so hardworking; I felt like I needed to be that. But then time passed and I realized that I can sometimes be more like Tiana than I think: I sometimes need to learn the lesson that she needed to learn, too. That lesson is, of course, about taking those moments. And that's an important thing: finding that balance makes such a difference.

And yet there remains that fine line. You find that power. You find that ability in yourself, that capacity to be Dauntless or to go wild out in the bayou, and you still need to hold on to some of the things you learned in Abnegation or from all those years working 5AM to 11PM. You have no power if you do think you're powerful. The power doesn't come from yourself. That's why hedonism doesn't work. And that's why you also can't fade into the background; it isn't your right to do that, either.

Am I making any sense? This post made sense in my head, but I fear I'm not being very clear. Asceticism versus hedonism; you get that, right? All I'm saying is that a balanced, fulfilled life lies in between the two, not at either end. And Tris and Tiana, their stories teach us that.

Divergent & Mulan

I've been meaning to do this post for so long--I think I just had to contain myself because I was doing a lot of Divergent-related posts back in March, and I thought it was getting to be a bit much. After all, I try to make this blog be about multiple subjects at once, and so if I focus too long on one thing, I always end up feeling like I need to give it a rest. But now that Divergent has had a rest, I am returning with my old post idea.

Though I saw Mulan in theaters when it came out, I didn't see it again until just a couple of years ago. I remembered the basic concept, but that's all--so I was surprised to see how much I enjoyed it. Overall, it's a pretty good movie. And then when I was watching and reading Divergent this spring and every thought and every story seemed to bring me back to Tris and Co., I found myself thinking back to Mulan again and, wham, it was like the two stories were mirrors of each other.

They're both stories of young women who exit from a relatively secluded, more subdued lifestyle (at least, a life where they're taught to be subdued, though neither is particularly good at it) to enter into military training, where they at first struggle greatly but manage to do well through strength of will and perseverance. Oh, yes, and along the way, they make friends with their fellow trainees and fall in love with their trainer and then they all save people in some kind of battle at the end. Yeah, pretty simple and similar.

Tris is Mulan. The Abnegation faction is the domestic life that Mulan was raised to believe was her only path: both settings tried (unsuccessfully) to subdue certain traits in these characters and to tell them that only through subduing these traits could they have success in their lives--when in reality it was these very traits (different, perhaps, from the demeanors of the other people around them) that were their strengths. The initiate training at Dauntless is the army training Mulan goes through in preparation for the war: both characters start out low in this because they have no experience in anything similar, yet they prove themselves in the end because they decide to succeed. Instead of Christina, Will, and the rest, Mulan has Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po; a core group of friends is necessary to both characters.

And then we have Four and Shang, in charge of training and both good at what they do. Both Tris and Mulan make enough of an impression on them for love to quickly follow working-together-relationship they started with. Interestingly, both young women have something to hide: Tris her Divergence and Mulan the fact that she is a woman. Two dangerous secrets that Four and Shang accept without trying to make Tris and Mulan suffer for them: Four doesn't tell anyone Tris's secret and Shang spares Mulan from the death penalty after she is found out.

Bottom line: figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are and promote the former while working on the latter, and don't forget to surround yourself with other people who can recognize your good traits, too (and whose good traits you recognize in return). Discovery of personal identity and strength leads to unified strength. Divergent and Mulan, you both have a great theme.

  

(Partly) Insurgent Against Insurgent

Ugh, I thought I only got headaches from long 3D movies. Insurgent wasn't long, but I still had a bit of a headache afterwards--and do you know what? It probably wasn't even worth it.

Months ago, I saw the teaser trailer (the one where Tris is saving her mom from the burning building) (probably in 3D) for the movie and thought it didn't look like anything I would want to see. Then, as you know, I watched Divergent last month and really enjoyed it and then read the books. While Insurgent is easily a least favorite just because it's at a sad point in the story, I was still looking forward to the movie. 

And then I was kind of disappointed by it--but not for the same reasons as with the book. With the book, there's a lot of violence and you see Tris at a really low point with a lot of anger and grief that makes her act out not always in the best ways. But I was prepared for that. What bothered me about the movie is that almost all of the character development and interaction is removed. I understand that there are many characters and that they're not all necessary to a two hour movie plot and I do appreciate when a movie can movie toward a single purpose without getting bogged down by less important details. 

But in order to do that with a book to movie adaptation, you have to interpret what is most important about a story. So they made this movie about the interaction between grief and self-image. The grief is definitely part of it and the self/image, too, but I think community and relationships was a big aspect that was barely touched on. It is community and relationships that show Tris that she is appreciated (by Tobias, by Christina, and by other friends and people she knows) and help bring back her confidence and optimism. And what did the movie do with all of these relationships and communities? It glossed over them entirely, in favor of action shots and scenes that often had little to do with anything.

Where is Tobias getting mad at Tris for not telling him sooner about Will? What about his confession that his greatest regret is leaving Abnegation? Where is the reconciliation of Christina with Tris after she admits that it wasn't Tris's fault? Where is the detail about Marcus--the information he knows and Tobias's feelings toward (or should I say against?) him? Uriah is barely in the movie, much less Tris's other friends from Dauntless--and her feeling of being part of Dauntless is important.

And what's this with changing the secret that Abnegation was protecting and the thing that Jeanine is hiding? They both already knew the message: Abnegation wanted everyone to know it and Jeanine didn't want the public to know it because she was afraid of what would happen if their society changed. Given that the faction society is one of the compelling things about this story, I don't take it lightly that this crucial story element is changed. And why does the end of the movie show everyone walking toward the wall when that is most definitely not what happened? Oh, yes, and then there is the removal of Tori's need for vengeance against Jeanine--isn't that also important? True, movies try to keep the focus on the main character and not take too many side journeys, but if there was enough time to add in a long scene of Tris rescuing her mother from a burning, floating building in a simulation, then there is enough time for Tori's story. Yes, this is part action story, but not so much that all it needs are random special effects--special effects that I wasn't even wowing at with my 3D glasses. I just wanted to get back to the story and the characters.

I'm just complaining, I know. But there were some things I liked. I still feel like the movie is well cast and that the actors do a good job with what they're given. The first fewish minutes of the movie were probably my favorite: Amity was well-done. Their clothing, their setting, the way they move and talk. Peter pointing out the rainbow to them was hilarious. And seeing Tobias in a new setting helps to show that even though he played Dauntless well, he isn't entirely Dauntless. The sets were still good. It still looks like a very specific place. So I liked seeing some things, but not necessarily the way the movie played out. Someone please remind me, why is Allegiant going to be two movies when this story works so perfectly as a trilogy and when the movies seem not to be understanding how to portray this story anymore? Sigh.

Jane Eyre Through the Eyes of Divergent

I will now celebrate the release of Insurgent in theatres (which I haven't watched yet) by indulging in another of my story comparisons. When I was thinking so much of Divergent a few weeks ago, I naturally started connecting it with that book I always like to talk about, Jane Eyre. So now I will go over some of the concepts that appear in both books, or some of the things that stand out in Jane Eyre when you're considering it with Divergent in the back of your mind.

Individual Strength - Jane Eyre is often spoken of in terms of independence: throughout her life, Jane makes a journey toward being self-dependent, even though she begins as a poor, plain woman without family or friends and would seemingly (in the context of her life) not be capable of independence. But she lets herself be educated, finds herself a job, falls in love, makes friends and finds cousins, and ends up with an inheritance that also gives her financial independence. Jane can and Jane does--likes Tris. Tris is raised to be selfless, to think of others before herself until her own identity is almost non-existant. She's young; she's small; and she does look pretty insignificant. But she decides to be her own person. She joins Dauntless and completes initiation, makes friends, falls in love, and acts in order to save both the community she is living in now and the one she grew up in. She does more than anyone would have expected--because she decides that she is capable.

Reliance on Others - Although both of these stories stress the power of the individual to be in control of his/her own actions, they don't gloss over the significance of relationships and unity. Jane is very kept to herself and she's often in isolated places where there aren't many people to begin with. But the people she meets are significant toward her life. People help her: Helen Burns reminds her to be patient and take advantage of receiving an education, Mrs. Fairfax gives her a job, Rochester listens to her opinions, and the Rivers family (after saving her life) gives her more education and another job when she needs it. Jane, for all her perseverance, would be nowhere without other people. Likewise, Tris cares about other people, helps them, and receives help back. Christina in particular is very important in Tris's ability to feel at home in and worthy of being in Dauntless.

A New Environment Can Be a Good Thing - Jane grew up in the shadows of her aunt's house and then in a pretty desolate boarding school. She didn't have much opportunity in either place--so she leaves. She advertises her teaching ability and gains the position of governess at Thornfield. There she is able to start a new life, earning her own living and being master over her own person. Tris did grow up with a family that loved her, but she needed more opportunity in her life: she didn't want to fade into the background of Abnegation. So Dauntless is her Thornfield, her opportunity to make her own choice about who she is and to be judged only by who she is, right here and right now.

Understanding Someone Else in a Unique Way - I love that section in Jane Eyre when Jane and Rochester are talking about fairies and who knows what and Mrs. Fairfax is sitting with them and wondering what on earth they're talking about: they're speaking their own language to each other that only they can understand. They do that a lot. It's one of my favorite things about them because it makes them feel very suited toward each other. And it's rather like Tris and Four, who are both faced with what it means to be Divergent. They both resist the simulations, so they both find themselves different from the crowd--and like to each other.

Mentorship, Friendship, and Love - Rochester is Jane's employer--she calls him "master" even after she leaves Thornfield. So, in a certain sense, he is above her, like how Four begins as Tris's initiation instructor. The difference (well, one of them) is that Tris never really alludes to the fact that Four was her instructor after initiation is over: that time was short, they're only two years apart in age, and there is so much else going on that it seems a very insignificant detail. The only thing that perhaps Tris keeps is the knowledge that, when most everyone else thought she wouldn't make it through initiation, Four always thought she was strong enough. Similarly, Rochester was essentially the first person who listened to Jane and her opinions and wanted to know what she was thinking and ended up encouraging her to be her own person (despite the fact that he twice tried to persuade her to do things that would make her his person rather than her own--but that's why she said no). That's why love is at its best, right? When both people encourage each other and the two can achieve more together than they could have done alone.

Divergent Movie Companion

So, um, you can kind of already tell that this is going to be a quick read (quicker than most movie companions, that is) because the author's name (Kate Egan) isn't even on the cover or spine. Maybe also from the fact that I was expecting to find it in the section in the bookstore where the other movie books are kept--and instead it was in the teen section next to the Divergent books. While it does make sense to group things by subject matter instead of just genre, it didn't take long to find that this book is targeted at a certain audience--despite the fact that I like Divergent and I am not in that particular audience.

My first movie companion was for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; I was fourteen, and I was not overwhelmed by it. While I realize that there are more details to go over for a movie like that than for this one, I'm not just referring to the degree of detail--I'm talking about the way a movie companion is written. I find the Divergent companion a tad simplistic. Maybe even patronizing at times--in the way it's written. While I realize that the intention may be to make it an easier read for people who have never read a movie companion or are still a little young, I don't think this approach achieves anything. If they're teens (as I was when I first started on movie books), they'll get the hang of it easily. And if they happen to be younger and maybe the text has a little too much detail, well, they can just read as much as they want to and leave the rest be--it isn't necessary to dumb it down for the rest of us who really want to hear about how the movie was made. After all, it's a movie companion--not a visual companion. Visual companions are about pictures; movie companions need more text. And I don't like the font of the main text in this book, either.

I don't know. I've probably exaggerated my point. I'm almost ready to just erase the previous paragraph because, contrary to my seemingly black negativity, I am glad I got this book.

The details may be sparse and the tone simple, but I still learned a little. There are, at least, still plenty of quotes from the cast and crew--those tend to be the best part. It adds something to hear what an actor thinks of his character, or what someone on the crew finds compelling about the story. And behind the scenes pictures are always nice to have. I think my favorite sections were on the sets, costumes, and makeup. I've become so accustomed (with, say, The Hobbit) to films using sets and costumes in a thematic way--and even though this was kind of a mainstream action-type movie, that same concept holds. Characters blend with their environments and subtle differences in the way similarly-dressed characters look can give indications about their past and their choices. 

Final point: this wasn't my favorite movie companion, but I still like movie companions and I still like this movie, so I still enjoyed my time reading through it.

To the Beginning with Four

It's possibly unnecessary to do a post on this book (and I promise that I'll be resting on Divergent posts after this), since it is just a collection of four prequel stories and three short, additional scenes. But I posted on Gayle Forman's Just One Night (which finishes up after Just One Day and Just One Year). And come to think of it (though I hate directly comparing things), Four gives more to talk about than Just One Night did (it was basically the epilogue for the other two books). Four is more like the almost-book that I hate to mention out loud--Midnight Sun. Except while Midnight Sun was designed to cover all the space of Twilight (from Edward's perspective instead of Bella's), Four (from Tobias's perspective instead of Tris's) only tells some of the moments from Divergent--much of it is from before that book starts and the narrative is told in pieces with gaps in between.

It's really a book of extras, not an additional book--and that was the way I thought of it before reading, so I can't say I was disappointed. (Though I'm not sure why the knife-throwing scene wasn't included--I had to get the digital version of that one.) I kept thinking in my mind that Allegiant was the last book, and Four was just a little something to flip through afterwards. But, you know, it worked very well to have this little book to "flip through afterwards."

I've already explained how much I liked the way Allegiant ended--and how much I enjoy looking back at the good moments throughout the trilogy, especially from the first book. So it was satisfying, as a reader, to finish the trilogy and have it come to a complete ending, but then be able to take one last look (in a slightly different way) at the beginning.

Tobias, throughout the trilogy, emerges as an interesting character. Tris is there to find her strength and become herself; that's why it makes sense for her to shorten her name and stick with the shortened name. Tobias, however, is fleeing from his past and needs to make sense of who he has been and reconcile it with who he is trying to be before he can really be comfortable with himself and his decisions. So his journey is different from Tris's. And it's nice, just as an extra, to see where he began and what he was thinking at certain key points during Divergent. While these stories aren't all about finding out new things, there are several new tidbits that enhance the story or are just fun to find out.

I'm kind of sad now that I'm done (well, except for the movie companion--does that count?), but I am also satisfied by my time spent in this universe.

To What Are You Allegiant?

If you've been reading on here for a while, you'll know that I really appreciate it when fiction (whether we're talking of books or movies) sets out with a specific purpose. It usually bothers me when a series goes on just for the sake of going on, not because the story is specifically designed to continue for a certain amount of installments. But with Divergent, Veronica Roth created a complete trilogy that sets out with a certain story to tell that is told just right in three pieces. This story also rose up with one of the best themes I've read in a while, expressed so powerfully that I love this last book for it. There will be some spoilers in this post.

Now We Are Insurgent

I'm trying to just let myself read these books quickly so that I can be free from their tight grip on me--I keep thinking of these characters, this world, the factions, the movement, the pacing, the images. It's great, on one hand, for a book to have a big impact--but it's also pretty hard when you still have your daily life to continue and that doesn't include sitting around all day reading or thinking about books.

There's a certain disadvantage to reading something so quickly; it can all just become a blur. But by the time I'd finished Divergent (read that post here) and started Insurgent, this story was so much behind my eyelids that I just had to read it in every spare moment (well, maybe not every moment). Because this time, I didn't know the plot; the movie doesn't come out until March, so it was all new this time, and I had to keep flipping those pages. (There may be some light spoilers in my post this time.)

Reading Divergent

Well, I was supposed to be posting on the last Hobbit: Chronicles book, but when I was coming close to finishing it, I set it down and picked up Divergent instead and didn't go back until I'd finished the latter book. If you haven't read my thoughts on the movie from a couple of days ago (you can read those here), read them first because I'm going to build on everything I said there.

As a literature person, I would rather say that I read a book before watching a movie--and that is usually the case (except where I only watch the movie, because I'm not interested in reading the book at all). But in the cases where I've gone in the reverse order, I have found that it can often be better: you can more clearly see what the movie does have to offer without being distracted by minor things that are different from the book. If, however, the book is mediocre, the fact that you know where the plot is going will make reading it feel boring and redundant.

Maybe that's part of the reason why I hesitated to read Divergent. I really enjoyed the movie, and I knew that if I didn't also enjoy the book, reading it would lessen my positive feelings toward the movie. That, however, was not the case. Despite how close (in general) the movie was to the book, I still hated to put this book down and kept thinking about it while I was doing other things. I knew what was going to happen, so it wasn't suspense: I was just enjoying it.

I had said that the movie didn't feel as much like dystopia to me, and now I see why. This story isn't completely dystopia. I really like what Veronica Roth said in the back of the book about dystopia and utopia, about how fiction must have conflict and about how you can't really create a utopia in the first place. I remember reading Plato's The Republic in college and picking on how unrealistic his plan of the perfect society was--that's the kind of concept Veronica Roth is referring to. And so if you take what she said, about how the world of Divergent is a society that was originally built on ideals but has become corrupt because that's just what happens with flawed humanity, then you arrive at a concept that I find rather separate from dystopia. This world isn't (the way I see it) about the corrupt and oppressive government: it's about people. And people stray and wander and make bad choices and sometimes that can lead everyone to dark places--but that's why it's important that they find a way (often from the guidance of others) to get back into making good choices.

Now enough on genre. 

I was surprised, when I began reading, at how young Tris's voice sounded. I realized that she was probably a bit younger than she looks in the movie, but in the first stage of the book she reads more like a child than a teenager. And that's part of the story and the theme. She starts as a child, feeling out of place and trying to do what she is told. By making a choice that is for herself alone, she begins the path toward growing up. She is doing what everyone must do in life: creating herself, deciding who she wants to be and then working to become that, whether or not it is easy. It's a very clear portrayal of coming of age. The society, the factions, the government, and the rebellion, they're all just details, the setting of the story (I don't mean to downplay the details: I think there is some very interesting commentary surrounding the factions and what they each aspire to be).

I enjoyed watching Tris's journey again, and I still enjoyed watching all of the characters. I was listening to music earlier and "I Believe My Heart" (from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical I've, of course, never seen--I have the version of the song that's on Keedie's album, which is named after the song) came on; I named it Tris and Four's song, though it's maybe a tad sweet for them. By the way, I'm also delighted to find that many of the songs on Veronica Roth's playlist for the book are from Flyleaf: you know how much I love Flyleaf and their lyrics. In fact, I'd say most of their songs fit this book pretty well--and maybe the reasons why they fit so well are also the reasons why I still like this story.

I don't know how much I like it. I've observed that it usually takes about a year from your last exposure to a story (whether it's the last book you'll read or the last movie you'll see in the series) to really see how much you like it. Some things are more temporary than others. Some fade more; some linger. So I can't speak to any of that. I'll just say, for now, that I'm enjoying this story.

What Just Happened

I watched Divergent. And I liked it. So I watched it again a couple days later. And I still like it.

What just happened?

Like so many other books, I've been hearing about the Divergent series and Veronica Roth for years. I knew the very basic premise, though I'm not even sure where exactly I heard about it (wait, no, I think it was on Kayley Hyde's book channel on Youtube two or three years ago). But it never interested me. I only watched the movie because I'd been working hard during the day and wanted to just sit and watch a movie, so why not this one. And then I liked it. I just enjoyed watching it, was kind of sorry when it ended, and kept thinking about it afterward. I have so much that I want to talk about as relates to this movie that I'm going to have to divide it all into sections.

I. Why I hesitated to say I liked the movie.

Why, though, was I almost ashamed to admit that I'd liked it? Why, though I felt like I would really want to read the books, did I feel like I wouldn't want to walk into a bookstore and buy them? Why is that? It has to do with two things. The first is the fact that it's YA. I'm years away from my teens now, so I don't exactly want teen fiction to take up too much space in what I'm reading--I've nothing against reading a variety of age groups (I can't wait to read Gayle Forman's new book, and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is probably still one of my favorite books), but sometimes I hesitate with the YA. It's been so popular lately that I kind of feel like it's easy to miss out on other things, other perspectives, and other themes by leaning too heavily into YA.

The other reason why is that I hesitate to get into things that are already popular. I know that this is terrible, just as bad as not getting into things that aren't popular. But when you pride yourself on enjoying things that you have specifically connected with without anyone else telling you to like them, it's hard to so easily take a popular recommendation. I'd been hearing about Divergent for so long that it didn't feel like anything that I would be able to make a personal connection with anymore: so many other people had already made it their own that what could it have left for me?

But the thing is, despite all of this, I did make a personal connection with this story--and it would have been a shame for me to miss out on that.

II. Why I liked the movie.

In the first stages, I was thinking of it as an action movie for the female mind. Please don't think I'm being simplistic or backward here: I know that male or female has nothing to do with what kind of movie you like, whether you like more action or drama or this or that. But we do generically refer to certain action movies as guy movies, in the same way that there are chick flicks. (For the record, I don't usually like either one.) Divergent was like an action movie that I could enjoy. It was exciting because, whatever was happening, I always felt like I was in Tris's mind. When everyone is getting ready to jump from the train for the first time, you're feeling her adrenaline and her desire to fit in with this new crowd that she's admired and to start her new life here despite any fear she still has from her old life. I feel like there sometimes wasn't much dialogue and yet I could hear so many of the characters' thoughts.

The characters are all alive, and they're all people I wanted to keep watching and learn about and see. I've fallen in love with Tris and Four, in the literary sense. I want them to find happiness in their lives, but I also want to watch them get there. I want to see their journey; I want to see every emotion, every thought, every moment, every action as it happens. All of the characters brought so much to the movie that, whatever world they were in or whatever plot was going on, the story felt full.

I also really cared for the way that the Divergents were portrayed. As someone who has never exactly fit in and has eventually come to value that trait because of everything else it expresses about me, I thought this portrayal was both realistic and hopeful, or bright. The inability to fall into a category doesn't mean that you're a rebel or that you're odd or that you're perfect; it just means that your mind pulls in many directions. When someone asks you what you value most, you have trouble answering--unless you answer something intangible, like family or morality. I never did like those tests you would take in school to see what category you fit into--whether you were organized or creative or compassionate: sometimes which category I'm in depends on a my mood in a single moment, so how can I choose just one? Anyway, Tris and Four are both wonderful; I don't know how they read in the book, but I loved them on the screen. Driven, courageous, brave, smart, and kind. There is such power, such power of humanity, in who they are.

While I'm at it, I also appreciated that there was a love story without that being the only that is important about the story as a whole. I'll enjoy a good love story and I enjoyed this one; I just don't like every story to have that as its main and sole focus. Tris also had her family and her friends and this whole other plot going on besides just the love story.

III. On genre.

I used to say I didn't like dystopia. I felt like there is already so much sorrow in the world to go and make such a terrible fictional world as dystopia. But Divergent didn't really feel like the picture I'd had in my head of dystopia. Maybe it's because this was only the first installment in the story, the part before all the corruption in the system comes to public light. Either way, I felt like there was more than just horror and the need for rebellion and hope in absolute darkness. Just in hearing how the society works, we know it's odd, so it isn't surprising to find that there is corruption. However, this story started out on a different level: it starts with one character trying to figure out who she is and be who she wants to be. And she succeeds--that was the part about the story that I liked.

IV. On predictable plots.

I realize that there are things in this story that have been done before. But is that any reason, on its own, to not like it? When you study literature, you find that things written at the same time share many traits that only grow more and more obvious with the passage of time--but that doesn't stop you from reading them. It just enhances your reading as you figure out why certain themes or plot elements or stylistic tendencies were so commonly used; it can say a lot about the society that produced these books. And when stories are similar to each other, then the subtle differences stand out more and you can maybe even appreciate them better.

If you know what kind of a plot is unfolding in a movie you're watching, that's okay as long as it's carried out well. And as I said, the characters drove this story so well for me that I didn't mind if I knew where it was all headed. I just wanted to watch them get there.

V. On fiction and entertainment.

It is unnecessary for something to be great art in order for it to be valuable--and sometimes the less that something is considered "great," the more valuable it is. Again, when you study literature, this is something you'll see. You'll slog through Paradise Lost and "The Wasteland" and say, wow, I'm glad those are so influential to literature but I'm so glad I'm finally finished reading them because I hated them. (Or movie-wise, you'll watch Citizen Kane and be bored despite it being "one of the best films ever.) Then you'll go back to Jane Eyre, which was just a piece of fiction and while it's still highly respected it isn't considered as much great art as other things--except by people who like it; and you'll enjoy it and connect with it in a way that you never could with "The Wasteland." You'll read random books that everyone else has forgotten just because they were part of a certain writing at the time or were popular in their day.

Do you see what I'm getting at? Value in fiction is personal. If you made a connection with it, that's valuable. If many people connected with it, then that's significant. Sometimes you look up to fiction because it awed you with its brilliant delivery of form and theme. Sometimes you just really enjoyed it, and that isn't something to discredit.

So there it is. I had a wonderful time with this story and I don't really want to wait until 2017 to see the end of it with the just the movies. So when I had to run into Wal-mart today for something, I picked up the first two books. And here's something entertaining: the books I'm planning to buy next time I'm in Phoenix are The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, The Reason by Lacey Sturm, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, and now the last of the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.