In the novel The Wave by Todd Strasser the main character, Laurie finds herself in opposition to her peers and fighting for fair treatment. Her teacher, Mr. Ross institutes a new group called The Wave. The Wave was a group started by Mr. Ross. Mr. Ross explained that the group was about community uniting and working together for success. Laurie disagrees with this group for three reasons: all the students in the wave aside from Laurie barely speak for themselves as their own person, Laurie doesn't like how the experiment robs people of their own opinions, and how the people inside the wave treat outsiders. For these reasons, Laurie fights against the Wave. All this makes her fight for what she believes in and to stay distant from The Wave. Laurie's first concerns with The Wave erupted because of the insight her mother gave her about the Wave. Laurie's mother explained how no one will be able to express themselves or be independent while participating in the Wave. This is what led to Laurie's initial disliking of the Wave. It worried her how the majority of her peers and friends were not who they were before, but now were just members of the wave. Laurie worried that by being part of the Wave her friends …show more content…
were losing their identities and that made her nervous about the Wave as an organization. Another concern Laurie had as the wave developed was how Mr. Ross was in control and had all the power. When the wave began it was about everyone being equal and on the same social level, but the longer it went on, the more it appeared to be a dictatorship, with Mr. Ross being in control. One of the things that made Laurie realize that it went too far and was out of control was when Robert began to guard Mr. Ross because of his part in the wave and the power it gave him. This made Laurie feel like this was over the top and uncalled for. This made her question again the legitimacy of the Wave organization. The third concern Laurie had related to her job as editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Grapevine.
When kids that went to the school were threatened and physically assaulted for not supporting the wave Laurie and other members of the Grapevine were fueled to write an article with the intention of revealing what the Wave really was. She personally experienced threats and a physical altercation when another student, David approached her after she left the school late and warned her to not proceed and shoved her to the ground. Laurie did not like how the members of the wave claimed to love the equality aspect of The Wave but treated people horribly when they disagreed with them. This made her think the Wave was a hateful organization she wanted no part
of. Laurie was concerned with the Wave from the beginning because students were losing their independence, the Wave had turned into a dictatorship and members of the Wave were becoming hostile to protect the Wave. Her fears were justified it turns out when towards the end of the novel Mr. Ross revealed it was all just an experiment and that the true leader was Hitler. Everyone realized what they had gotten so wrapped up in and what Laurie was saying. Laurie's views and opinions of The Wave were finally proved correct and Laurie was doing the right thing speaking out against it. She did not want the wave because of what it was doing to her peers and even what it was doing to her teacher. Nothing felt right about The Wave to Laurie from the lack of independence to the mistreatment you experienced if you weren't in it.
In this section of the book, "Wave", we are introduced to Sam and his family who are off to Thailand for their Christmas vacation. This is the first year that Sam's older sister Beth isn't able to go, this makes his mother upset and leads to an almost constant worry for her daughter. After parting ways with Beth and enjoying their time at the resort, riding elephants and sitting on the beach, Sam and his father notice that the ocean level had dropped out of nowhere; it happened so fast, that the fish couldn't even keep up with the receding tide. People were amazed by what was happening and all gathered by the beach but when the water starts to come back in, Sam and his parents find themselves retreating
In “Building the Third Wave” Laurie Ouellette addresses her stance on feminism by passing the audience a question as to “why so many young women have shunned feminism”. Ouellette states her response of feminism by giving reasons as to why young women are not supporting feminism. Ouellette states that one reason is because they do not have role models to reach out to young people. Another aspect of the feminism movement that struggled involved a lack of support from the economically disadvantaged and women of color due to the silence of the upper middle class white females. Also, Ouellette mentions that women do not like hearing about the past because they feel as if have been lied to in regards to feminism. Ouellette concludes the article by explaining that it is responsibility of generations past to fight to get more young women into the feminism movement.
Vivian’s boastfulness at the beginning of the play was an attempt to cover up her social ineptness with people who are neither her students nor her mentors. In a flashback scene, in which her mentor, Professor E.M Ashford, tells her to, “enjoy yourself with your friends” (15) rather than study, Vivian reveals her social awkwardness: “I, ah, walked around past the...There were students on the lawn, talking about nothing, laughing... I just couldn’t... I went back to the library” (15). She returns to the library because she prefers the concrete elements of her life, like facts, grammar, and word definitions, because with them, she has complete control. A later scene, when Susie interrupts one of Vivian’s imaginary lectures to tell her that she needs to do another ultrasound, proves this need for control. Vivian protests, saying “not right now. It’s not supposed to be now” and “it should not be now. I am in the middle of—this. I have this planned for now, not ultrasound” (51). Vivian needs to have power over her own life, and since connecting with others is her weakness, she refrains from doing
Christopher Benfey’s work The Great Wave is a narrative driven by a collection of accounts, stories and curious coincidences tying together The Gilded Age of New England in particular with interactions and connections to the Japan of old and new. In the context of The Great Wave, Benfey's own personal journey to Japan at the age of sixteen should be understood. Embarking on this voyage to learn traditional writing, language and Judo, his story can also be seen as a not only a historical continuation, but also a personal precursor to the vignettes he discovers and presents to the reader.
Heather was a new student at Merryweather High School, and she instantly made friends with Melinda through sitting in the same seat on the bus on the first day of school. Melinda excepted Heather, who will soon betray her later in the book. The lunchroom is where Heather tells Melinda that they can not be friends anymore. On page 105 in the book Heather says to Melinda, “‘When you get through this Life Sucks phase, I’m sure lots of people will want to be your friend. But you just can’t cut classes or not show up to school. What’s next—hanging out with the dopers?’” This is where Heather states her reasons towards leaving Melinda. The only thing Heather did not mention is that in order to be in the group the Marthas at school, she can not be friends with Melinda anymore. Heather would rather be popular than be a good friend to Melinda, who accepted her when she was new. Also, on page 107 Heather rejects Melinda and tells her she can not hang out with her anymore. Heather says this to Melinda: “‘Look, you can’t eat lunch with me anymore. I’m sorry. Oh, and don’t eat potato chips. They’ll make you break out.’” This quote is very important because it helps explain why Melinda was able to stick up for herself. Because Heather was so harsh on Melinda, the next time Heather needed something Melinda could say no. Finding her voice after so long that it had been missing was an important event that happened to her. To add on to Heather breaking her friendship with Melinda, she was left with no one to talk to. When Heather and Melinda became friends in the beginning of the year Melinda finally had someone to be around, speak to, and motivate her. Because Heather and Melinda are no longer friends Melinda is affected in a bad way. Melinda goes back to being the outcast of the school, being depressed, and closed off.
Ranging from individuality to self acceptance in difficult times. The Wave shows students why it’s important to learn about history, because history can repeat itself, and it has. It also teaches students to question your authority when you know something they’re doing is wrong. The Nazi’s followed Hitler blindly, doing what they were told when they were told, much like Mr. Ross’s students. Fascism is an important topic to learn about as well, because in the United States we have so many freedoms and rights that other countries don’t have. The Wave also offers topics to discuss like what loyalty truly is in all different aspects; self-loyalty, group loyalty, or the dark sense of loyalty Ben Ross leads with. Laurie Saunders also shows people how to stand up for yourself even when no one stands with you, which is something all teens struggle
Throughout the story the ocean represented Edna's constant struggle for self-realization and independence. From her first flow of emotion on the beach to her last breath of life in the sea, the ocean beckons her. The voice of the sea lures her onward in her journey toward liberation and empowerment.
One of the most formative elements in a person's life is family. In Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the influence of family is expressed throughout the novel. A young slave girl named Isabel is separated from her parents at a young age. Despite the separation, her family still maintains a connection. Isabel's family instills in her qualities that are vital to surviving in a world of slavery.
The Wave was initiated when Ben Ross showed the students a video about the Holocaust and was inspired by their questions and wonders to help give them a better understanding of what the Holocaust was really like. He decided to begin an experiment that included creating a group name of “The Wave” and chants and salutes to go along with it. At first, the experiment seemed to be like a game and the students went along with it because it was something new and interestin...
The Wave, by Todd Strasser, illustrates how easily one can plummet into autocratic behaviors. In the book, Strasser depicts an experiment conducted by a history teacher. The experiment was conducted in order to enlighten the students on the Holocaust (Strasser 26). During the Holocaust, the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, was lured in by the power that an autocratic society provides. He and his group, the Nazi Party, captured and executed millions of Jews in order to benefit Germany with ethnic cleansing.
In conclusion, Laurie, who really has become Charles completely, has too much pride in himself and his actions which makes him arrogant. He is creative because he is bursting with different and colorful ideas although they may not all be benevolent and he loves attention; he always finds a way to take the attention and does not realize how much others mind his behaviour making him flamboyant. He demonstrates all these attributes throughout this story as he is telling his parents about Charles. Laurie’s parents do not see this about Laurie until the end of the story which up until that point; they believe that he is a quick adjuster, a wearer of bibs and corduroy overalls, when in fact, the son they are raising is now Charles.
In conclusion , Flannery O'Connor's story focuses on the internal conflict between spirit and matter (Hendricks): “The world has become polarized between spirit and matter, or grace and nature...human values have become polarized as well” (O'Connor qtd. in Hendricks).
The group, two or more people who, for longer than a few moments, interact with and influence one another and perceive one another as “us,” which are Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgusted, act as Co-workers to run Rylie’s day to day activities. Every move she makes is a group influence that she is completely unaware of. Perhaps group think even comes into play when Joy, seemingly the main character and boss of headquarters, tries to make every memory happy, and then talks the others into standing with her decision. The way Rylie’s body and mind functions is all based off of a group effort, from headquarters, to the train of thought, to dream production. Without group influence, Rylie would not be able to
The Wave by Morton Rhue (Todd Strasser) is a novel from a student’s perspective, as an authoritarian right wing movement called “The Wave” changes her school. Ben Ross, one of the teachers in the school, created it to try to show his class the reasons for the inexplicable behavior of the Germans when the Nazi movement spread through Germany. Laurie, one of the students, finds out how she is alienated from her classmates when she does not accept their values of conformity through unity. Thus, it demonstrates how easily people can be swept up by a movement not only in Nazi Germany, but also in the modern day classroom, where students are learning about the evil influence of the Nazi movement in World War II. This can be applied to teenagers, as it is a period of their lives where they are easily influenced, and in the book, relevant themes to teens such as bullying, alienation and peer pressure are conveyed.
13. Jill Smolowe & Jeff Truesdell. “Daisy Coleman: Bullied to the Brink.” People Magazine Vol. 81, No. 3. 83-85. Print. 14 Feb. 201