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Chapter 4
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wave, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Groupthink and Coercion
History and the Past
Equality vs. Independence
Education
Summary
Analysis
The next day, Ben Ross’s students file into history class sluggishly as always. Brad sticks a “kick me” sign to Robert’s back, and many students distractedly stand around talking rather than taking their seats. As Ross starts class, he writes the words “STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE” on the blackboard, and tells the class they are going to have an “exciting” lesson about discipline, power, and success. He explains that discipline is the key to success—in school, in sports, and in life. He tells his students that he can help them create power through discipline—if they’ll just humor him.
On the day that Ben Ross first attempts to create an atmosphere of “discipline” in his classroom, the students are as badly behaved as ever before. He seems doubtful that his students will embrace his experiment—but knows that if they do, he could transform not just their worldviews, but his own classroom environment. There’s a part of Ben that has created this experiment to benefit himself, as well, and make his own teaching experience easier.
Themes
Ben Ross tells each student that he wants them to adopt a more rigid posture. He moves through the aisles correcting those who slouch and complimenting those who sit up straight. Robert quickly adopts a perfect posture, and Ross holds the way he’s sitting up as an example to the others. To Ross’s surprise—and pleasure—the other students begin copying Robert.
From the start, Ross’s students are intrigued by the idea of behaving with more discipline. This speaks to the book’s idea that people often crave regimented, thoughtless direction and will blindly follow along with groupthink and orders.
Themes
Ross begins drilling the students, asking them to stand up and walk around the room and then return to their seats as quickly as possible. At first, the students are disorganized and silly—but after a few repetitions, they are able to move quickly and effortlessly, and even begin to organize amongst themselves the most efficient routes back to their seats.
As the students find that following Ross’s instructions actually unites them, they begin doing his exercises with glee and enthusiasm.
Themes
Ross then introduces several new classroom rules. First, he tells the students they must always have a pencil and paper on them. Second, he tells them they must stand at the sides of their desks when answering questions. Third, he tells them that they must address him as “Mr. Ross” at the start of a question or answer. As Ross drills the students with questions, he offers praise to those who follow the rules—and, using a ruler, raps on the desks of those who don’t. The eager students quickly fall in line, “caught up in this new game” Ross has created. Ross is exhilarated by his students’ discipline, and shocked when the bell rings and they rise from their seats “in what seem[s] like a single movement.”
In just one short class period, Ross has turned his students from an unruly bunch of slackers into a kind of small army. The students, Ross thinks, are just “caught up” in a “game”—he doesn’t yet realize just how seriously they are taking his orders (and seemingly, neither do they).
Themes
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After class, in the halls, Brian, Amy, David, Laurie, and Brad talk about what a “rush” the strange history period was. David remarks on how the class seemed like “more than just a class” when they all acted together. Brad tells David he’s being corny and taking the exercise too seriously, but as David splits off from the others to use the restroom, he feels a genuine sense of pride and accomplishment. After using the toilet and stepping out of his stall, David sees Robert Billings standing at the bathroom sink—practicing his snaps to attention and soundlessly moving his lips as if answering Mr. Ross’s questions rapid-fire.
David feels invigorated by the act of moving together in a group—as a player, he craves that kind of unity. He’s surprised, however, to find that even students like Robert want to perfect their ability to fit in and follow orders to maintain a sense of sameness and togetherness.
Themes
That night, in bed, Ross tells Christy about the success of the experiment. He tells her that his students seemingly “wanted to be disciplined.” Christy is surprised by the students’ enthusiasm and jokingly warns Ben that he might have “created a monster.” She asks if he’ll continue the experiment in class tomorrow, and though Ben says he doesn’t think he will, he privately thinks about how he had been just as “swept up” in the “infectious” exercise as his students.
This passage introduces one of the novel’s major threads—the fact that Ben Ross gets a thrill from leading his students, and from watching them blossom into a group. The implications of this fact will have devastating effects as Ross struggles to check his own coercive impulses and maintain his boundaries as an educator.
Themes
