Excerpts from
FACTION HISTORY
A TEXTBOOK
Introduction
Decades ago, our ancestors realized
that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that
is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault
of human personality—of humankind’s inclination toward evil, in its many forms.
They divided into five factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they
believed responsible for the world’s disarray. Working together, these five
factions have lived in peace for many years, each contributing to a different
sector of society. In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find
life.
OUR MOTTO
“FACTION BEFORE
BLOOD”
The phrase “faction before blood”
was coined several decades after the factions were formed, but gained
popularity quickly thereafter. Its origin is unknown, but it expresses one of
our core beliefs: the faction is the most important social unit, more important
even than family. Some factions choose to cultivate this belief in their social
structure; others merely teach it. But every faction holds this phrase true.
Some have theorized that the phrase
came from the Choosing Ceremony, in which a young person literally gives some
of their blood to the faction, thus forsaking their blood relationship. Others
postulate that the Choosing Ceremony was instituted after the phrase became
popular. Either way, “faction before blood” is one of the most important
sentences ever spoken.
ABNEGATION
THE SELFLESS
CORE BELIEF: “Them before I.”
VALUES
If asked, the Abnegation would
insist that what they believe in, and the values they prize, are of little
importance compared to what they think a person ought to do. Therefore, to say
that the Abnegation value selflessness and self-denial is to fail to comprehend
the faction as it comprehends itself.
Even the faction’s name furthers
this attitude. Left to their own devices, the Abnegation chose a name that is
closely related to a behavior, rather than a quality (Candor, Erudite,
Dauntless), or a goal (Amity), emphasizing action rather than identity. Most of
their teachings involve the how of
behavior and very little of the why.
Even the why that exists serves only
to inform the how, and not to explain
the faction to outsiders—or even to members. Every faction norm, including
ritual, language, and style of dress, is designed to encourage acts of
self-denial.
FACTON NORMS
Jobs—The
most prominent role the Abnegation play in city life is in government. A
council of Abnegation leaders makes all political decisions, and all projects
that extend beyond the reach of a faction must be submitted to them for
approval. The Abnegation can train to be elementary school teachers, nurses
(with permission from Erudite leaders), firefighters (with permission from
Dauntless leaders), morticians, or to do administrative tasks or “background
work” in a variety of sectors. Additionally, they often choose to work among
the factionless to improve quality of life.
Family
Life—The Abnegation adhere as strictly as possible to the traditional
family model: husband, wife, and two children. If an Abnegation member of
marriageable age cannot find a spouse,
the faction will find one for him or her. Remaining single is an option for
those who do not wish to marry, but it is an option that necessarily excludes
intimate companionship, and requires dedication to serving the community.
Single or widowed individuals live in group housing, separated by gender.
Clothing—The
official color of Abnegation is gray; therefore, their wardrobe consists entirely
of gray clothing. Most of this clothing is loose, so as to preserve modesty and
discourage ogling, and made of synthetic fabrics, because they are easy for the
factionless to produce and always available. No adornments are allowed except
for those that serve a practical purpose: rubber bands and clips to pull back
loose hair, watches, spectacles, and so on. The rumor that the Abnegation wear
an arm band specifically designed to induce discomfort is false, and in fact
reveals the other factions’ lack of understanding of Abnegation teachings. (Constant
discomfort would mean constant self-reflection, something the Abnegation
discourage.)
Inter-Faction
Relations—While the Abnegation would deny harboring resentment toward any
other faction, it is well known that they exhibit an obvious distaste for
Erudite. This is perhaps because they believe the Erudite lifestyle, which
centers around the individual’s pursuit of knowledge, creativity, and
innovation, is inherently selfish, or because of Abnegation’s discouragement of
curiosity, something the Erudite promote among their members. The Abnegation
have a particularly good relationship with Amity, and often work together on city
improvement projects.
Choosing
Ceremony Substance: STONES
The Abnegation view stone as the
most useful and stable material available, since it forms our roads and the
majority of our homes. Usefulness and stability are two qualities the
Abnegation, in particular, appreciate. It also reflects the gray color of their
faction, clothing, and even their sector of the city.
AMITY
THE PEACEFUL
CORE BELIEF: “Open arms, open eyes, forgiving
hearts.”
VALUES
Amity is the only faction without a
prized quality; rather, they define their most valued traits, peacefulness and
harmony, as the absence of aggression. In order to achieve this lack of
aggression, the Amity teach trust, forgiveness, self-sufficiency, and kindness.
They believe in peaceful (and often public) conflict resolution, and emphasize
joy, beauty, and celebration more than any other faction. Like the Erudite,
they also value creativity, but for the sake of beauty rather than technological
innovation.
FACTION NORMS
Jobs—Amity
is the other “essential faction” because they produce all the food for the
city. Almost all of their members are required for there to be enough food, so
most Amity do not seek other employment. Within the food production realm,
however, an Amity can specialize in livestock, large crops, specialty foods,
water purification, or other areas. There are a handful of Amity counselors,
mediators, and caretakers of the sick, mentally ill, and elderly. Artists,
writers, and musicians emerge almost exclusively from Amity, but these are
defined as hobbies rather than jobs.
Family
Life—The Amity in particular believe in the value of different kinds of
community. They seek to balance family relationships with friendships. Thus,
most of the Amity live in large groups according to specialty. These large
groups are often comprised of several traditional families and a few
untraditional families (couples/partners without children, single people, et
cetera). The large group therefore defines a person’s peer group, as well. All
of the Amity eat together, though, so it is rare for one Amity to be
unacquainted with another Amity, no matter how different their specialties are.
The Amity believe strongly in communal living, such that they have no real
leader, except the one they are forced to provide to advise the Abnegation
political leaders.
Clothing—The
colors of Amity are red and yellow (the colors most likely to produce joy), but
they are less strict than other factions about how those colors must be worn. A
person can wear blue jeans (like the Erudite) with a red shirt, or a black
dress (like the Dauntless) with a red sweater—as long as one of the Amity
colors is in some way represented, the outfit is considered acceptable. This
often leads the Amity to be confused with the factionless.
Inter-Faction
Relations—The Amity seek to establish good relationships with all other
factions. Historically, most of their conflicts (if they can be called
conflicts) have been with the Dauntless, due to their disagreements about
conflict resolution. They have a special relationship with Erudite, as noted
earlier, and with Candor and Abnegation, in the realm of religion.
Choosing
Ceremony Substance: EARTH
Aside from working extensively with
the earth, the Amity also value a connection with nature because they believe
it can bring peace to their lives. Therefore giving your blood to the earth is
a way of committing yourself to peace from your first moment as one of the
Amity.
CANDOR
THE HONEST
CORE BELIEF: “Truth makes us inextricable.”
VALUES
To say the Candor value honesty is
an understatement. They instruct their members to be as open as possible in all
areas of life, whether in praise or criticism, through boasting or confession,
by invitation or interruption. There is no such thing as “private life” among
the Candor; everything is public, and everything is the business of the
community.
Impartiality, though not as
prominent in Candor teachings as openness, is regarded as equally important.
When evaluating a situation, the Candor are encouraged to disregard their own
feelings about the people involved. A Candor who sides with his enemy rather
than his friend about a particular issue is regarded as honest and fair.
“The true Candor,” famous Candor
leader Trevor Johnson once said, “is bold enough to be Dauntless, fair enough
to be Amity, incisive enough to be Erudite, and wise enough to be Abnegation.”
FACTION NORMS
Jobs—The
realm of the Candor is law. The Candor therefore receive extensive training in
the laws that govern society as a whole, as well as the laws that govern each
faction. Some Candor decide either to be judges or to represent either side of
a trial. Others work as reporters.
Candor is the only faction that
regularly cooperates with other factions in their everyday work. They advise
Abnegation political leaders, Amity mediators and counselors, and Erudite
teachers. They act in a leadership capacity in schools. They work with Amity to
distribute goods fairly among the factions. Though their roles are less clearly
defined than those of other factions, if they were to vanish from the city, the
glue that binds us together would vanish with them, and we would undoubtedly be
left in chaos.
The Candor pursuit of truth often
leads them to work closely with the Abnegation and the Amity in the realm of
religion. There are as many Candor religious leaders as there are Abnegation
and Amity religious leaders.
Family
Life—Because there is no private life among the Candor, families are not as
important. Peer groups, rather than family groups, dominate Candor society. The
parents’ responsibility is more protective than instructive. Children live with
their parents until age ten, at which point they relocate to a dormitory until
they turn sixteen and choose a faction. Young faction members also live in a
dormitory until they find a spouse or partner and choose to live separately.
Clothing—Candor
clothing is determined by color alone. They believe that the truth is black and
white, so they wear black and white only, in any form, as long as both colors
are represented. The Candor are less bold in their styling decisions than the
Dauntless, but not nearly as conservative as the Abnegation.
Inter-Faction
Relations—The Candor have a strained relationship with Amity (because “they
will always lie to keep the peace,” as Trevor Johnson once said) and Erudite
(because of “their talent for subterfuge and craftiness”). They work closely
with the Abnegation in government, but often publicly criticize the
Abnegation’s lack of openness. Faction transfers between Dauntless and Candor
are common, however, so the factions are generally amicable toward each other.
Choosing
Ceremony Substance: GLASS
The Candor selected glass for its
transparency. A transparent person, they say, is an honest person.
DAUNTLESS
THE BRAVE
CORE BELIEF: “Freedom from fear.”
VALUES
Without hesitation, any Dauntless
would say that what they most value is courage. It is when the word “courage”
is defined that they begin to disagree with one another. One subset of
Dauntless would define “courage” as “fearlessness,” and seeks to eradicate fear
in all its forms among its members. Another subset would define “courage”
simply as “boldness,” and emphasize action in spite of fear rather than the
elimination of fear itself. This difference, though minor, often leads to
conflict among the Dauntless, particularly in the area of initiating new
members. Those Dauntless who emphasize fearlessness advocate harsher and more
extreme methods of training, which boldness-emphasizing Dauntless call cruelty
and bullying.
Common to all Dauntless is a
commitment to bravery that supersedes all other considerations, including
safety, the opinion of others, and sometimes even peace itself.
FACTION NORMS
Jobs—The
primary role of the Dauntless is city security. This extends both outside the
city (along the fence) and inside the city (on the streets), although the
latter has become less prominent in recent years. This role also includes a
physical presence (guards) as well as a technological presence (security monitoring).
The majority of firefighters are also comprised of Dauntless, although the
Abnegation often contribute a small number as well. Paramedics and construction
workers who work on high-rise buildings are also Dauntless jobs. Apart from
these public roles, however, the Dauntless are largely self-contained, so a
large number of jobs are available within the Dauntless compound, including
positions for nurses, cooks, tattoo artists, and trainers, among others.
Family
Life—Dauntless families are diverse, so it is difficult to pin down exactly
what the average Dauntless family looks like. Some families reside together in
large apartments in the Dauntless compound, and include grandparents as well as
parents and children. Blood ties are often not well-defined, so a Dauntless
“aunt” or “uncle” may not be related by blood.
Marriage is a peculiar institution
among the Dauntless, defined differently depending upon who is asked. Many
Dauntless couples opt not to marry at all. Young Dauntless often live together
(irrespective of gender) until they find a spouse or partner. But for every
generalization about Dauntless families, there are half a dozen Dauntless
families that contradict it.
Clothing—Black
is the official color of Dauntless, which almost all Dauntless clothing
reflects. Piercings and tattoos are common, as well as odd hairstyles and hair
color. Due to their emphasis on physical fitness, most Dauntless prefer tight
clothing to loose clothing. The Dauntless emphasize clothing style far more
than any other faction, and those styles change too rapidly to be included in
this textbook.
Inter-Faction
Relations—Due to their reliance on surveillance and simulation technology,
the Dauntless have developed a strong relationship with Erudite. The very
nature of their training and jobs, however, puts them at odds with Amity, such
that calling someone “Amity” is one of the worst insults a Dauntless can
devise.
Choosing
Ceremony Substance: FIRE
“Fire,” the Dauntless say, “can be
destructive, but can also bring warmth and vitality—just like bravery.”
ERUDITE
THE INTELLIGENT
CORE BELIEF: “Knowledge eliminates conflict.”
VALUES
“Knowledge, understanding, and
innovation” are the three areas of emphasis in Erudite.
“Knowledge” includes the
accumulation of information, or, simply put, learning about everything.
“Understanding” involves putting
that information to use, whether through the practice of medicine, scientific
experiments, or the act of writing, among other things. Understanding in
relationships is also something that the Erudite value. Conflicts are often
resolved by the offended party receiving instruction about the offensive party,
and vice versa, until both parties empathize with each other.
“Innovation” requires a person to
take their understanding and knowledge and push it beyond its original borders
to create something new.
The Erudite also teach their members
to develop curiosity, and to obey its impulses.
FACTION NORMS
Jobs—Erudite
is one of the two “essential factions,” that is, the factions without which our
basic needs would not be met. They are our doctors, scientists, and teachers.
Though we often think of a scientist as someone in a lab coat, the Erudite
include titles like sociologist, psychologist, and mathematician in the
“scientist” category.
Often those Erudite who lose their
dexterity or have trouble interacting with others will choose to be
researchers, and aid in important discoveries in medicine or technology. The
“Low IQ” Erudite (those Erudite who scored the lowest on their initiation
intelligence tests upon completing initiation) work as technicians or
laboratory assistants.
Family
Life—The Erudite believe that the traditional family unit is the most
practical while children are young; however, they do not see the logic of
marriage, so “couples” are bound only by their children, and sometimes do not
live together. The most important relationship in Erudite is the mentor/mentee
relationship, which a child often finds with one of his or her parents, but not
exclusively. Some Erudite children live with their aunts and uncles, or older
siblings.
Clothing—The
Erudite wear blue—with the rationale that blue induces calm, and a calm mind is
an absorptive one—and place almost no emphasis on clothing style. Pockets are
seen as particularly useful, so it is rare to find an article of Erudite
clothing without them. Spectacles are seen as a sign of intelligence, so many
Erudite without vision-correction needs will wear glasses regardless.
Inter-Faction
Relations—The Erudite have a strong relationship with the other “essential
faction,” Amity, because the Amity require technology to make their food
production more efficient. They have a similar relationship with Dauntless, as
noted earlier. The Erudite frequently criticize the Abnegation for being
“illogically selfless and inefficient,” particularly in the realm of
government. Some selfishness, they argue, is necessary for an individual to
live a fruitful life.
Choosing
Ceremony Substance: WATER
While the Erudite traditionally
reject symbolism as illogical and unnecessary, they chose water because it has
knowledge’s clarity—it is intelligible to all who seek it—and weight—it is of
utmost importance.
THE FACTIONLESS
Those who fail to complete
initiation into their chosen faction, or choose to leave their factions for
whatever reason, become factionless. They live without support from their
fellow factionless, and without community. They have high levels of crime, suicide,
and physical and mental illness.
Factionless parents are legally
required to turn over their children to the government as soon as they are born
so that every child is given the same opportunity to participate in and choose
a faction. The children are temporarily housed in the Abnegation sector, but
they can ultimately be adopted by members of other factions (though most remain
in Abnegation). This mandate is difficult to enforce, however, so the children
of the factionless often remain factionless themselves.
Though factionlessness is not
necessary, it seems to be inevitable. Therefore we have developed a way of
making factionlessness as useful as possible. The factionless perform important
functions such as train and bus operation, textile production, janitorial
duties, maintenance, and some construction work. We believe this restores some
of the sense of purpose that these persons have lost by living without a
faction.
