Groupthink and Coercion
Todd Strasser’s The Wave fictionalizes the true story of a high school history class’s social experiment gone wrong. When Ben Ross struggles to explain to his students, perturbed by their studies of the Holocaust, how ordinary Germans could have allowed themselves to be swept up in the violence and hatred of the Nazi Party, he decides to show his seniors firsthand just how powerful groupthink can be. As Ross’s experiment slides off the rails, Strasser…
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History and the Past
When Ben Ross shows his senior history students a film about the Holocaust, their differing reactions demonstrate that while some of them are affected and even disturbed by the dark shadows of history, others see the unspeakable atrocities of the past as contained, faraway events. As Ross attempts to impress upon his students just how recent the events of World War II were—and how fragile the present moment still is—Strasser argues that forgetting or minimizing…
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Equality vs. Independence
When Ben Ross’s social experiment, The Wave, surges in popularity amongst the students of Gordon High, it becomes clear that part of The Wave’s appeal is the ways in which it equalizes the student body and breaks down the barriers between cliques. Even the most popular kids, like Laurie Saunders and David Collings, find themselves reassessing their school’s social organization and befriending outsiders like Robert Billings. As The Wave takes hold…
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Education
The out-of-control social experiment at the heart of The Wave is one unorthodox educator’s attempt to really connect with his students—and to teach them important life lessons they won’t soon forget. Ben Ross doesn’t want his students to memorize facts out of their textbook; he wants to truly educate them in the ways of the world. As Ross’s experiment flies off the handle, however, and his students’ feelings, reputations, and in some cases their lives…
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