Divergent Journey Map: Mentor, Tobias Eaton

“He shakes his head. ‘You think my first instinct is to protect you. Because you’re small, or a girl, or a Stiff. But you’re wrong.’

He leans his face close to mine and wraps his fingers around my chin. His hand smells like metal. When was the last time he held a gun, or a knife? My skin tingles at the point of contact, like he’s transmitting electricity through his skin.

’My first instinct is to push you until you break, just to see how hard I have to press,’ he says, his fingers squeezing at the word “break.” My body tenses at the edge in his voice, so I am coiled as tight as a spring, and I forget to breathe.

His dark eyes lifting to mine, he adds, ‘But I resist it.”

‘Why…’ I swallow hard. ‘Why is that your first instinct?’

‘Fear doesn’t shut you down; it wakes you up. I’ve seen it, it’s fascinating.’ “ (Roth, 313).

“Whoever he is, I like him. It’s easier for me to admit that to myself now, in the dark, after all that just happened. He is not sweet or gentle or particularly kind. But he is smart and brave, and even though he saved me, he treated me like I was strong. That is all I need to know.” (Roth, 289).

Tobias ‘Four’ Eaton is Tris’s mentor, initiation trainer, and love interest throughout the book. They first meet on Choosing Day- the day when 16-year-old members chose their faction- when Tris first enters the Dauntless compound. Tobias is also Divergent, but not as much so as Tris, and is fascinated by her. Although he is just 2 years older than Tris, it seems that he knows so much more about the world than she does. His view on life is so much more advanced than most other people in their current society that Tris looks up to him.