Vocabulary

While reading Divergent, I have definitely noticed a pattern in the author's writing style.

Divergent is written in first person: through the eyes of Tris, the main character. This detail is very important in the word choices of the entire book because Tris is fairly young and her vocabulary isn't really that mature or advanced. This is probably why a younger audience enjoys this book because it actually "speaks their language".

This technique has been used throughout the entire book. There are many examples of the use of informal diction (especially in dialog) in every chapter I've read so far. I found an example that says, "'I'm thinking I might want a job like Four's. Training initiates,' she says. 'Scaring the living daylights out of them. You know, fun stuff. What about you?" (Roth 409).

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't find "You know, fun stuff" in very serious literature.

Veronica Roth's way of using diction that is used in conversation everyday helps me relate to the situation as if I were in it, which makes the story a lot more enjoyable.

However, using informal diction all the time isn't necessarily a good thing. In Divergent, I've seen many uses of elevated/formal diction, words that aren't in my vocabulary. Mixing up formal and informal makes the writing more interesting. I think that's one of the reasons Divergent is so hard to put down.