The Wave

Ben Ross begins The Wave as an experiment in which he hopes to answer a question that has largely been unanswerable: how the German people allowed the Nazis to germinate and spread hate and then terrorize the Jewish people, as well as other citizens, without protesting. The Holocaust, which wasn’t limited to Jews but persecuted anyone the Nazis deemed unworthy of existence during the Third Reich, didn’t arrive fully formed with the death camps and the Final Solution. It proceeded by degrees and had some of its roots in the aftermath of World War I. Hitler didn’t begin his regime by condemning and blaming the Jews because he would have sounded like the “madman” that he became. However, Hitler planted the seeds of a dangerous idea that, once it began to gain momentum, couldn’t be stopped until a global conflict had erupted.

At several points in The Wave, Ben tries to reassure himself, his wife, and Principal Owens that he’s in control of the situation. He may even believe it most of the time. However, he admits to himself that the expansion of The Wave surprises him. When the newspaper releases the special issue pointing out the dangers of the movement, it’s a reminder of how quickly things have changed. Laurie thinks, “The staff had realized that a single issue of the paper was not enough to stop a movement that had gained as much momentum as The Wave had that past week” (108). They’re racing to catch up to something that is expanding quickly and is still poorly understood.

The movement’s momentum grows and spreads for different reasons, as evident in the contrasts between how it affects David and Robert. David, while not a deeply developed character, isn’t hostile or malicious before The Wave. Laurie describes him as a nice but typical high school jock. When The Wave begins to gain momentum, David thinks of how this new emphasis on discipline could help the languishing football team. He never imagines that he has stepped onto a path that will lead to his threatening Laurie and treating her violently. To his credit, when it happens, he sees the situation for what it is. Likewise, Robert experiences The Wave in a positive way, but it gives him something to care about in a life that has lost meaning for him. When The Wave spreads, it’s understandable that Robert would help it grow, recruit others, and feel devastated at the prospect of its ending.

The high school members of The Wave don’t face the dangers of Nazi Germany, but the movement illustrates the insidious power of persuasion that such movements can engender. Mr. Ross shows the students that some paths may look innocuous but can eventually lead to something as abhorrent as genocide. With each new member that The Wave gains, the more opposition its detractors face and the harder it grows to slow the momentum.