The Wave by Todd Strasser - A Chilling Account of a Classroom Experiment
Added on 2023-06-01
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The Wave by Todd Strasser
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Introduction
“The Wave” by Todd Strasser is a must read and a favorite of teachers. It is a chilling
account of a classroom experiment that goes terribly wrong. (1). The story is based on real events
in a classroom of a high school history teacher, Ben Ross in the 1960s. The history teacher does
not find it easy to explain to his young students as to why the ordinary German civilians stood
mute to the atrocities committed by their government. Ross invents a social experiment to show
the influence of peer pressure and the power of authority figures.
Mr. Ross, the history teacher, is surprised to see the reaction of his students after
watching the Holocaust documentary (2). The students fail to understand as to why the majority
of the German population did not react to the atrocities committed by Hitler. Mr. Ross tries out
an experiment “The wave “to explain to them what the Nazi rule might have been like. He
discusses discipline with his students and emphasizes certain coordination of movements that
need to practice. The students are spellbound by the process and eager for more. A symbol and
salute are designed for the new community of “The Wave,” and the members are encouraged to
see themselves as a team. However, the Wave experiment soon starts to show negative
consequences for the students and starts going in a dangerous direction and out of hand.
The theme of the novel” The Wave” is a thought-provoking treatment of organized
violence under the dynamic of fascism. The novel shows how extreme patriotism can be
detrimental for the democracy. The experiment in the novel allows the students to grasp that
how the smaller group of Nazis in Germany were able to control the larger population to pursue
their evil agenda.
There are different characters in the novel; however, the main characters include Ben
Ross, the history teacher, Laurie Saunders, editor of the school paper, Laurie Saunders, her best
“The Wave” by Todd Strasser is a must read and a favorite of teachers. It is a chilling
account of a classroom experiment that goes terribly wrong. (1). The story is based on real events
in a classroom of a high school history teacher, Ben Ross in the 1960s. The history teacher does
not find it easy to explain to his young students as to why the ordinary German civilians stood
mute to the atrocities committed by their government. Ross invents a social experiment to show
the influence of peer pressure and the power of authority figures.
Mr. Ross, the history teacher, is surprised to see the reaction of his students after
watching the Holocaust documentary (2). The students fail to understand as to why the majority
of the German population did not react to the atrocities committed by Hitler. Mr. Ross tries out
an experiment “The wave “to explain to them what the Nazi rule might have been like. He
discusses discipline with his students and emphasizes certain coordination of movements that
need to practice. The students are spellbound by the process and eager for more. A symbol and
salute are designed for the new community of “The Wave,” and the members are encouraged to
see themselves as a team. However, the Wave experiment soon starts to show negative
consequences for the students and starts going in a dangerous direction and out of hand.
The theme of the novel” The Wave” is a thought-provoking treatment of organized
violence under the dynamic of fascism. The novel shows how extreme patriotism can be
detrimental for the democracy. The experiment in the novel allows the students to grasp that
how the smaller group of Nazis in Germany were able to control the larger population to pursue
their evil agenda.
There are different characters in the novel; however, the main characters include Ben
Ross, the history teacher, Laurie Saunders, editor of the school paper, Laurie Saunders, her best
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