Four By Veronica Roth: Character Analysis

“Do not let the shadows of your past darken your future. Forgive and forget.” These wise words apply to many people around the world who don’t want their past to become their future. Only you can pick what you will let affect you, don’t let the dark times determine your bright future. Tobias Eaton, known as Four, is the protagonist in Veronica Roth’s novel Four who has a dark past, but refuses for that to be his future. After reading this book, it is clear that one of the messages the author wanted to convey is that your past doesn’t create your future. This theme is shown through scenes involving Four’s choosing day, initiation, and career as an initiation instructor. During one of the conflicts, the way Tobias reacts demonstrates the theme that your past doesn’t create your future. Tobias
Four has become more accustomed to the life of dauntless, but still has doubts since his past didn’t shape him for this life. In one scene, Four is fighting Eric, and losing, until Eric mentions that he knows Four’s real name, that was the turning point of the fight which led Four to victory (Roth 80). This scene shows how your past can’t affect your future if you don’t let it. If Eric would have won the fight, everyone would have known who Four was, which would’ve wrecked his future. Throughout the novel Four an important theme is frequently conveyed: your past doesn’t create your future. Veronica Roth helps the reader see this message through scenes where Four sees the impact his past is having on him. He learns what his life could be like and has to decide what he will do. As a reader, it’s frustrating when Four lets his past affect his decisions because he is letting his past create his life. The novel Four is a fast-paced, emotional book that should be read by everyone to better understand that your past doesn’t affect your future unless you let