The Wave Morton Rhue Analysis

1078 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racism in literature

Many of the students’ reactions in The Wave, by Morton Rhue, can be related to basic human nature. This can be seen in the ‘follow the leader’ like dynamic and it’s divide in superiority and inferiority. Furthermore, the audience can see the relation to human nature by the fear and rebellion of The Wave and the changing of a person through power. This novel shows the reader that in human nature, it will repeat itself in different scenarios no matter the age or environment.

In a room full of people, there will always be one person that everyone looks to for the answer, or to lead in a sports team. These people could be David with his football team or Laurie with her academics. People rely on others to make their decisions for them or to answer a teacher when asked a question in class. This can be called ‘following the leader’. People are less likely to join in or …show more content…

We can see this through the relationship between the Grapevine staff and the members of the wave. This idea of superiority and inferiority in The Wave was not new. This was seen with Hitler and the Jews, or America and its racial divide. These groups of superiority and inferiority can be see in The Wave with the divide of the two sides in the football stadium stands. The Wave members did not want to sit in the same space as people who were not part of The Wave. This can be seen with an exchange between Laurie and Brad when Laurie wanted to go sit in the stands but it was for Wave members only. “‘Just give me the salute and you can go up.’ Laurie looked up at the crowded stands.’You mean everyone in the stands gave you the salute?’” (Rhue, 1981: p. 101). When there is a superior and inferior group, there will be feature or action that will single out the inferior group. In the The Wave it is the salute. Whether is unconscious or intentional, there will always be a divide in

Show More
Related

  • The Seventh Man Mularakami

    821 Words  | 2 Pages

    Murakami portrays the wave as a symbol for his fear when he writes, “In my case, it was a wave”(356). The narrator explains that his fear has taken the shape of a wave. The reason that the author uses this symbol is so that the main character has a physical object that he can face to get rid of his fears. The narrator describes his friend’s pictures as a symbol for the memories that they had together, “I found myself steeped in warm memories. The deep feelings of the boy K. were there in his pictures…”(367). When he sees the pictures K. drew, the author vividly remembers all of the great memories that he and K. had. It is through these drawings that the narrator ultimately realizes that he must face his fear in order to put his life back together. Some might say that these examples are not symbols, but are meant to be taken literally. These examples are symbols because the wave was not literally the narrator’s fear, but it was the fact that his friend died from a wave that haunted him. Also, the pictures that K. drew are not a literal memory of their relationship, but they connect the narrator to those memories. Overall, the use of symbolism furthers the theme of facing one’s

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Charles Murray's Coming Apart: The State Of White America

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    This means that while some of today’s elite may not be prejudiced towards immigrants, as long as they are not in the same class they will suffer from the brunt of the elite’s actions when they push forward their agenda. It is in this way that doctrinaire liberals who are a part of the narrow elite and live around the Big Four can affect American culture and the media, in which they fight against racism but can still covertly push programs that would disadvantage immigrants and other

    Read More

  • Empowered Leadership: Harnessing Passion and Individual Talents

    2370 Words  | 5 Pages

    Leaders are meant to bring up loyal followers who can assume the lead if they are called to do so. A major driving force for leadership is a mutually agreed upon goal. This allows a smoother relationship between all parties involved because they are all working towards the same outcome. Leadership is not a position; it is a way one conducts himself. With that being said, there are times when a leader needs to function as a follower. A leader must be able to adjust accordingly to different situations, and be whatever is called for in the moment. Leaders and Followers feed off of each

    Read More

  • Sociology Of Leopard Man Essay

    462 Words  | 1 Pages

    A great example of a non follower is leopard man. He is doing something totally out of the ordinary compared to everyone else. Its also a lot easier to follow and not lead which is also the main reason most people aren't leaders. It's like jumping on a train. It's a lot easier to just jump on and ride instead of driving the train. I think people should stop following and start leading.

    Read More

  • The Great Wave Analysis

    681 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starting in the Post-Civil War period, The Great Wave brings to light a cultural schism and pivot to the, at the time, unknown East. As Commodore Perry’s ships pried open Japan to the outside world, out with it came the cultural interactions that make up most of these stories. These make up a cultural wave, much like the title implies, of which all characters seem to be riding upon in one way or another. In a way it can be viewed as two separate waves. First, the surge of the Japanese characters who newly exposed to modernity, seek to process, learn and move forward with these foreign interactions and experiences. Then there is the American wave, an unguided movement of sorts driven by disillusionment with the industrial west, which finds hope and solace in old Japanese culture. The intersections of these two waves is what makes up the two-hundred some pages of Benfey’s book but ultimately it is the unspoken single wave, on the forward path to modernity, that encompasses them both and is the true backbone of the stories.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between A Canticle For Leibowitz And Kindred

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kindred during the 1800s, the whites are considered the “upper class.” Meanwhile, the blacks would be considered the “lower class” for they are viewed by the whites as property, not people. The blacks are beaten and sold off at the whim of their masters and there is nothing that they can do to prevent it. Even freed slaves aren’t safe from the discrimination. They are required to carry papers with them wherever they go that can prove their freedom, but even with proof, there is still much inequality and no guarantee of safety from slavery. Similarly, in A Canticle for Leibowitz, there is a clear distinction between the class of monks and class of warriors. The monks, or what could be considered the “upper class,” feel superiority over the warriors, or “lower class,” because they are educated and have “more power” due to their affiliation with the Church. Both novels define two social classes and discuss the discrimination among these said classes that can be seen through various interactions. For example, the whites abuse the blacks both physically and mentally because they have a higher social standing and believe they have the power. Likewise, the monks trick the warriors into helping them because the monks have a higher social standing and believe they have the

    Read More

  • The Purpose of Leadership in Healthcare

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    The leader by its meaning is one who goes first and leads by example and then the other will followed him after being motivated. The above diagram can be explain as; with the three combinations, the person or the leader will influence the other people or the follower to achieve the purpose or goal. In order to achieve the goal, the leader must have a deep rooted commitment to the goal that he will strive to achieve even if nobody follows him (Wong, 2007). The follower also can influence the leader in order to achieve the goal.

    Read More

  • The Tempest Quotes

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever thought about the reason behind the way a person acts. Quotes in this paper are from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Virgil Suarez’s “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. This paper will contain a comparison between Caliban’s character in The Tempest, and “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”. The poem “En El Jardin De Los Espejos Quebrados”, and The Tempest, shine different lights on Caliban’s character, by going in depth about his appearance, thoughts, feelings, and actions.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Tradition In To Kill A Mockingbird

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    This makes old groups with old ideas stay on top and groups with new ideas stay in the bottom. The bottom ones are treated as lesser beings. This is shown perfectly in Aunt Alexandria conversation with Scout. As Alexandria states” “… you can scrub Walter …he’ll never be like Jem” (Lee 228). Due to the fact Walter is from a poor family he is treated like one.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Leadership In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership describes a characteristic that often helps others that need guidance. A true leader exemplifies strong initiative and notably different from others. A leader starts something new for people to try out instead of old traditions. Being a good leader helps prevent bad things from happening. If a person conducts themselves as a follower that person places themselves at risk of participating in the wrong thing. Followers cause harm to many people in Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery”, the villagers follow their leaders by practicing the same old traditions that cause harm or even death. People need leaders instead of followers. Followers potentially get hurt by following the wrong leadership.

    Read More

  • Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Lives

    1565 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The gap between the classes in which it surges, unseen, unsuspected by the thoughtless, is widening day by day. No tardy enactment of law, no political expedient, can close it. Against all other dangers our system of government may offer defense and shelter; against this not. I know of but one bridge that will carry us over safe, a bridge founded upon justice and built of human hearts" (p. 218)

    Read More

  • Is Everyone Really Equal Analysis

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    Social injustice in our society portrays the segregation of people among different types of groups. Throughout history, humans have been divided into different social classes from lowest to highest. People in the lower class experiences many hardships when it comes to living and are seen as inferior in society.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis of Lara Ritchie in Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn

    1744 Words  | 4 Pages

    The use of many different literary devices has allowed the reader to read the story with a great interest. These different techniques have allowed the author to create different affects within the text such as suspense, imagery, resolution, mood and spelling. These techniques have enhanced the way characters communicate with each other and have added reality within the text. This novel is a real life example which let us know that how teenagers face different problems at a certain point of life when there is no one to help/support them. If someone is in a huge trouble, then there will always be a Thunderwith to help them.

    Read More

  • An Ideal Society in John Rawls’ A Theory of Justice

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Rawls presents a theoretical state of human nature which he refers to as the original position. In this original position, everyone must come to together to form a good society, one in which everyone is treated fairly. In order to form this fair society, Rawls creates the idea of the veil of ignorance. The veil of ignorance removes the prejudice from our decision making by allowing us to act as if we did not know our special talents, our race, our sex, or another else that makes us unique individuals. Now because we do not know where we would fall in this fair society from behind the veil of ignorance, our natural instinct would be to raise the lowest class of people to a place that we would be comfortable in if we were to be there. This would also lower the stance of the highest class of people, but they...

    Read More

  • Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Gateway to the Great Minds

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    The entire basis of this book deals with communicating from both character to character, and narrator to reader, on a very high cerebral level. Because of this analytic quality of the book, the most important events also take place on such a high level. In fact, the major theme of the novel, that of the narrator searching for his past self, as well as the cognitive change between the "...

    Read More

More about The Wave Morton Rhue Analysis

Open Document