Main characters :
Ben Ross: He is a young and energetic history teacher at Gordon High school. He's married to Christy Ross, another teacher. He is not a severe teacher, he is very charismatic and tries to make the lessons intersting for the students. That's why students like him and also because of his energy and creativity. He creates The Wave as an experiment to show his students how fascism can be embrace by the masses. His function in the beginning of the story is that he is the leader of the group. He is the one that leads the members and that takes the decisions. But towards the end of the novel he became an opponent to The Wave. Even if he is still the leader, he tries to stop it without hurting the students.
Laurie Saunders: She is a smart and popular senior student at Gordon High school. Her boyfriend is David Collins. She is the editor of the school newspaper, The Gordon Grapevine. She is in Ben Ross's history class. At first she liked the idea of The Wave movement and was a member of this group. But quickly she started to see the dark side of this group and she became the main opposing voice against this movement. Her function in the story is to make to people see the danger of The Wave. She will become the “outcast” because she is not a member of this movement.
Robert Billings: He is a senior student at Gordon High school, he is in Ben Ross's history class. He has an older brother, Jeff Billings that used to study at Gordon High school and was a very popular and successful student. Robert always feel like people compare him to his brother, that is why he has choose not to try to be as successful as his brother and became the looser of the class. He doesn't care about school or homeworks and people usually don't notice him. He is weak and shy. He doesn't have friends and the other students make jokes about him. But the The Wave changed everything, it gave him self-confidence and for the first time he didn't felt like an outcast. He gets very involved in the group and he wants to expand it. His function in the story is the opposite of Laurie's. He his the adjuvant of the movement. His goal is to expand it no matter the methods used.
David Collins: He is also a senios student at Gordon High school and he is in Ben Ross's history class too. He is Laurie Saunders boyfriend. He is very popular and he is the star of the football team. He is not so successful compare to Laurie, even his football team always loses. He thinks The Wave is the answer to his problems, he thinks it will help him to have better grades and that it will make the football team win. The character of David has both function, to try to expand The wave and to be against it. At the beginning of the story he sees The Wave as a very positive thing. But after he nearly hits his girlfriend he understands that The Wave is very dangerous and tries to stop it.
Autobiographical elements :
I don't think there are any autobiographical elements because the story is based on a real incident that occurred in 1969 in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California. Also the narrator of the story is a third person narrator. In the story there is barely any information about the character's past that's why I don't think there is any major autobiographical element.
What struck me in the novel :
What struck me in the novel is the fact that is based on a real story. At the beginning of the story I guess I was a bit like the students in the history class. I could not understand how it was posible. What struck me was to see how easy it is to manipulate people and how far can this kind of group/movement go.
List of words :
Gnaw: to bite, to chew on.
Heavy-set: Having a short and solid form or stature.
Jaw: the mandible or maxilla or the part of the face covering these bones.
Prosecution: The institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a person.
Revulsion: A sudden strong change or reaction in feeling, especially a feeling of violent disgust or loathing.
To chucke: To laugh quietly or to oneself.
To nudge: To push against gently, usually in order to gain attention or give a signal.
To scrutinize: To examine or observe with great care.
To bug: To annoy.
To squint: To have and indirect reference or inclination.
Personal appreciation :
I really enjoyed reading the book because I think the story is very good. Also the language of the book wasn't very hard so it was easy to read. The topic of the book was interesting and the fact that is based on a real story make it even more interesting. I liked the fact that there weren't many long and detailed descriptions about the characters or the school because in that way you can imagine it yourself. I also liked that the story focuses only on three students and that this student had a different opinion about The Wave. This book really made me think about how easy it is to manipulate people especially people like Robert that are naïve and somehow unhappy. The story tells something that could happen to anyone, and without even being conscious of it. The only thing that I regret is that there was such a happy end and that we don't know how the members of The Wave react. Especially Robert, we don't know if he will become again the looser of the class. I would have liked to see how this experience had affect the students, but apart from that I really liked the book.
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