What is the central theme of the wave by Ben Ross?
The central theme of The Wave is the dynamic of fascism. Loosely defined, fascism is a dictatorial governmental system characterized by militarism, extreme patriotism, and the relinquishment of personal liberty on the part of the citizens. Ben Ross's lesson on Adolph Hitler's fascist regime evolves into an exploration of the nature...
What is the main idea of the wave by Todd Strasser?
Todd Strasser. Themes. The central theme of The Wave is the dynamic of fascism. Loosely defined, fascism is a dictatorial governmental system characterized by militarism, extreme patriotism, and the relinquishment of personal liberty on the part of the citizens.
What is the theme of the wave by David Bowie?
This apathy towards the lessons of history is one of The Wave’s central themes and biggest concerns. David—and many of his peers—see history as a fixed, unchangeable thing, and regard the lessons of the past as lessons learned.
Is ‘the wave’ based on a true story?
Todd Strasser’s The Wave fictionalizes the true story of a high school history class’s social experiment gone wrong.
What is the wave about?
What is the social experiment in The Wave?
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What is the message of The Wave?
What is the message of "The Wave"? The message of the novel is to actively question before following a theory or person blindly.
What are some themes in The Wave?
ThemesThe Perils of Group Conformity. As The Wave rises in Mr. ... The Power of Individualism. Laurie's mother, Mrs. ... The Need for Healthy Dissent. Brave, perceptive Laurie isn't afraid to stand up and speak out against The Wave. ... The Consequences of Bullying. ... The Imperative of Learning from the Past.
What's The Wave about?
The plot revolves around a history teacher Mr. Ben Ross, his high school students, and an experiment he conducts in an attempt to teach them what it may have been like living in Third Reich Germany.
What does Christy Ross teach in The Wave?
Christy Ross Ben Ross's wife and Gordon High's music and choir teacher.
What does the wave symbol symbolize?
The waves represent the mighty ocean's restlessness. It also represents faith, hope, and joy even in the deepest of troubles. People even get tattoos of waves to symbolize vastness, depth, and continuity. The sea waves bring life to the calm ocean.
What do the students learn from the wave experiment?
What do the students learn from The Wave experiment? They learn that everyone is responsible for their own actions and that you must always question and not blindly follow a leader. You must never allow a group's will to overtake your individual rights.
What is the motto of The Wave?
Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through CommunityHe decides to create a movement called The Wave, whose motto is “Strength Through Discipline, Strength Through Community, Strength Through Action.” Surprisingly, the students obey Mr.
What is The Wave based on?
The Wave is based on a true incident that occured in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. The powerful forces of group pressure that pervaded many historic movements such as Nazism are recreated in the classroom when history teacher Burt Ross introduces a "new" system to his students.
What is the climax of The Wave?
The climax of the novel is when The Wave becomes a huge thing and people begin to hear about it. Mr. Ross was going deeper into the subject and people viewed him as the leader. Members started to “bully” people who were not in the group and things were spreading throughout the whole High School.
How does Amy feel about The Wave?
Amy lacks Laurie's self-confidence and is actually really jealous of her friend. Jealousy and insecurity seem to open Amy to The Wave. She sees The Wave as a way to cut through the competitive atmosphere at school and free her from what she sees as pressure to compete with Laurie.
What is the setting of the story The Wave?
The Wave is set in and around Gordon High School over a nine day period – and boy is it dramatic. The somewhat-true story this novel is based on is set in Palo Alto, California sometime in the late 1960s.
Who is the antagonist in The Wave?
main voice of reason and protest against The Wave. In this novel, The Wave is the main antagonist, even “acting” on its own as its power grows. Robert Billings is the individual who best represents the group mentality of The Wave.
Provide a detailed setting of the story?
The story mostly takes place at Gordon High School which is in a small, suburban community of middle-class families. The novel is based on a true s...
Provide evidence of lack of discipline at the school.
Some teachers at Gordon High are resentful of Mr. Ross because he works hard (and makes them look bad because they don’t) – Students were often lat...
What was “the final solution” according to Hitler?
The “death camps” or genocide were his final solution. He sent everyone that he thought was not part of his “superior race” to concentration camps...
The Waves: Themes | SparkNotes
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What are the themes of The Wave? - eNotes.com
More than anything else, The Wave acts as a stark warning of the dangers of groupthink. This is where people stop thinking for themselves and mindlessly subscribe to what everyone else is thinking ...
The Wave Themes - eNotes.com
Discussion of themes and motifs in Todd Strasser's The Wave. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of The Wave so you can excel on your essay or test.
The Wave Themes | GradeSaver
Organization. Even before he invents The Wave, Mr. Ross notices that his students are not living up to their potential because they lack organization in their lives.The Wave instills organization, but at a terrible cost to individual freedom. The novel does not offer any simple answers about whether people can think for themselves and be organized.
The Wave The True Story Behind ‘The Wave’ | GradeSaver
In 1967, Ron Jones, a young teacher at Cubberley High School, decided to try an innovative method to teach his students about fascism. He introduced them to a movement he called The Third Wave, based on discipline and community.
The Wave by Todd Strasser Plot Summary | LitCharts
On an ordinary day at Gordon High, Ben Ross shows his history class a film about the Holocaust as part of their unit on World War II. While some students—like the popular and bright Laurie Saunders, editor of the Gordon Grapevine, and her best friend Amy Smith —are moved by the film, other students like Laurie’s boyfriend David Collins, a self-centered running back for the football team ...
What do the students in The Wave think?
Many of the students in The Wave think they must put aside their individual needs to fully embrace the movement. There are some positive aspects to this philosophy. For example, David believes that The Wave will help the football team cooperate with each other instead of only trying to advance themselves in the school's athletic hierarchy. However, there are also points in the novel when the needs of the individual are not mutually exclusive with those of the community. For example, both the individual and the community benefit when the students invite Robert to sit at their lunch table.
What is the bullying issue in The Wave?
Bullying. Bullying is a crucial secondary issue in The Wave. At the beginning of the novel, Brad teases Robert and plays cruel pranks on him. The Wave seems to solve this problem; after a few days in the movement, Brad and Robert seem to become friends.
What is life in the waves?
Life itself, as depicted in The Waves, is a constant stream of sense-impressions and random events. Art can be a place outside of the flow of time, where our fleeting perceptions can be made permanent and beautiful.
Why does Bernard reject the traditional shape of stories?
He rejects the traditional shape of stories, with a beginning, middle, and end, because he believes that such a shape is untrue to the way life is actually lived. In his final “summing up,” Bernard says he will not try to fit his life into any kind of overarching plotline.
What does Bernard see in the mind?
Bernard sees the mind and the self as fluid, with permeable boundaries that enable people to “flow” into one another and essentially create one another. Bernard’s understanding of reality connects to this idea of “flow”: he sees reality as a product of consciousness.
What is the influence of the other on the self?
The Influence of the Other on the Self. Throughout The Waves, the characters struggle to define themselves, which they do through their relationships with others. Bernard articulates this struggle most clearly. He realizes that who he is depends on who surrounds him—his words and thoughts change in relation to his companions.
What is the function of creativity in Rhoda?
Rhoda’s response to the music of the opera hall and Bernard’s response to the paintings in the museum suggest that one of the functions of creativity is to bring a sense of peace and solace to life, especially when one is confronted with meaninglessness and death. But Bernard presents a critique of this function of art. He is dissatisfied with the way language and, by extension, all creativity must simplify life in order to give it shape. He rejects the traditional shape of stories, with a beginning, middle, and end, because he believes that such a shape is untrue to the way life is actually lived. In his final “summing up,” Bernard says he will not try to fit his life into any kind of overarching plotline. Rather, he will simply trace the events and try to highlight those that are significant as they arise. Meaning will then emerge out of the process of life in its full development, without the imposition of one person’s limited point of view. Bernard’s method is an obvious reference to Woolf’s own method in The Waves, and the novel can be seen as her attempt to address Bernard’s struggles with language and narrative.
Who is the artist of the Great Wave?
The energetic and imposing picture The Great Wave (Kanagawa Oki Nami Ura) is the best-known work by Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760-1849), one of the greatest Japanese woodblock printmakers, painters and book illustrators.
What does the wave in the foreground and the Mount Fuji in the background represent?
The wave in the foreground and Mount Fuji in the background are symbols chosen not only to provide a perspective effect, a European-style technique he had adapted in a very inventive way, but also to represent the unpredictability of life. Mount Fuji, on the other hand, signifies stillness and eternity; it is the symbol of Japan and, as a sacred object of worship, holds a significant place in Japanese beliefs.
When was the Great Wave created?
The Great Wave was created around 1831 as part of a series of woodblock prints called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku Sanju-roku Kei). Hokusai (2004), a book written by the Italian professor of East Asian Art, Gian Carlo Calza, offers a general introduction to Hokusai’s works, looking at a chronologically arranged overview ...
What is the wave about?
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, ...
What is the social experiment in The Wave?
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…
