A BRIEF summary of the novel.
When Mr. Ross’s class asks him how the Germans could have
allowed the Nazi death camps to exist, he does not have an answer. Mr. Ross
tries an experiment with his class to see how students will react to Nazi
training tactics. The experiment is too much of a success. Mr. Ross finds a way
to stop it before it grows beyond his control.
There are many characters in this book. Some of them joined The Wave and some of them did not. Known characters in this book that joined The Wave are: David Collins, Robert Billings, Amy Smith, Brian (last name is unknown), Brad (last name is unknown), etc. Known characters in this book that resisted or refused to join The Wave:Laurie Saunders, David Collins (later), Alex Cooper and Carl Block, Deutsch (is a Jew, last name is unknown). Leader of The Wave: Mr. Ross
Slide 3
A day in the life of The Wave
1) Enter school2) After all your classes leading up to History, go to History3) At History class do Wave chanting (sometimes) and do The Wave routine for answering questions. Bring pencil and paper.4) Go to lunch (it might be before history sometimes). Eat with all your students because you are all equals now. 5) Do all your end classes 6) Go to The Wave rally. Don't forget to bring your Wave membership card so you will be allowed inside The Wave rally. Bring your signs and banners and chant the three mottos: Strength through discipline, Strength through community, Strength through action. Then do the salute it is in the shape of a Wave. 7) Watch the football game (if there is one).
Similarities:1) The Wave members began to terrorize other non - Wave members just like the Nazi's terrorized Germans who were not part of the Nazi movement. 2) The Wave discourages individual choice and requires absolute obedience to a
specific cause or leader, just like the Nazis and Adolf Hitler. Additionally,
Ben Ross begins to enjoy his new dictatorship, and students begin to view
themselves as “superior” to non-wave members.Differences:
: Adolf Hitler intended to bring all of Germany under Nazi
power and Nazi power under his own personal authority. Mr. Ross’s purpose was
to only teach his history class a lesson on why people/Germans did not stand up
to Adolf Hitler/The Nazi Regime. The political agenda of the Nazi party was a
higher level of seriousness because people were dying/being killed and it wasn’t
considered to be an “experiment.” The classroom experiment was not as serious
as the Holocaust, but showed students how people give away their individualism
to follow a leader.
Caption: : This is a picture of Mr. Ross saluting his class and his class saluting in response to him.
After Laurie realized The Wave was bad she decided to write an issue of the Grapevine the school (Gordon High) newspaper. In this edition the other people against The Wave who were not members of The Wave wrote against The Wave to expose The Wave to parents and school officials. Laurie wrote a critical article about The Wave. There was another article about a junior who was threatened because he refused to join The Wave. There were a few other articles.
Problems with The Wave:1) People gave up their independence to be "equal."2) A Jew got beaten up because he refused to join The Wave.3) Laurie's boyfriend almost hurt her because she was not part of The Wave.4) Laurie's friend left her because she was against The Wave.5) Laurie received threats on her locker and almost got hurt (or murdered) because she was writing against The Wave.
Slide 8
" Equality" - in relation to The Wave
During The Wave movement, Mr. Ross realizes that some of his
wave members are attempting to compete against one another. Some members were
competing for the right answers to a question in class, or to simply be
“better” than other members. According to Mr. Ross, strength through community
means equality within the group. Mr. Ross distributed membership cards to his
students, implying that they are all equal members of The Wave. Additionally,
Mr. Ross asks his Wave members to begin finding new recruits for The Wave’s cause.
However, the membership cards are not all the same. Some membership cards have
a red X on them, and students with red membership cards are to be monitors of
those who do not follow the Waves rules. This is significant because although
Mr. Ross explains how he wants true “equality” amongst his Wave members, he
specifically created memberships cards that ensure that some members have more
power and control than others. This exemplifies a strategy of a dictator or a
person with absolute power. Mr. Ross says one thing to his students, but then
does the opposite of what he said he would do. Additionally, Mr. Ross uses the
students with red membership cards to create a climate of fear amongst students
and Wave members. By having some students as monitors, fewer students would be
willing to speak up against The Wave out of fear of getting in trouble or hurt.
Slide 9
The end of The Wave
One day when David almost hurt Laurie they showed up at Mr. Ross's house. Before they came, Mr. Ross's wife Christy was trying to convince him to end The Wave. David and Laurie convinced him. In history class that day Mr .Ross announced that there would be a Wave rally. At The Wave rally he said that the national leader of The Wave would be seen on the screen. He waited until people started to say there is no leader is there? and a picture of Hitler was pulled up on the screen.The reaction:People were shocked and embarrassed they immediately tried to deny that they were ever part of The Wave. Some people cried such as Robert who was upset that he would never be popular again.
Caption: : This is a picture of Mr. Ross next to the television set in which he is going to show them Hitler. Below the television set is The Wave logo.
