Novel Study

Name: Shani Chellingworth

Novel: The Wave
Author: Morton Rhue
Class: 9 English
Teacher: Ms Tranter
Novel Study
Your name: Shani Chellingworth
Essential information

Title: The Wave
Author: Morton Rhue
Genre of book: Teenage Fiction
General subject matter: A history experiment of world war 2 with a class
Year published: 1981
Getting Started

1. Read the blurb and create a brainstorm of ideas about the novel before you
read it.
A girl named Laurie Saunders who is studying history
Their history teacher creates an experiment for their World War 2 studies.
Her class mates begin to chant salute fanatic the wave
The wave is sweeping through the school and its getting bigger and out of control
Her friends decline her warnings even her boyfriend
As the wave gets bigger she is the only person to stop it.

2. Look at the front cover do the images, colour or symbols on the cover give
you any ideas about the novel?
The image give me the idea of a protest, war with the flags and shock with the
students
The colour creates an older and more death type of feel


3. Write down anything you already know about the Nazis during World War
II. Do a quick Google search to add to your ideas.
Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are common names for Germany during the
period from 1933 to 1945, when its government was controlled by Adolf Hitler and
his National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi
Party. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist totalitarian
state which controlled nearly all aspects of life. Nazi Germany ceased to exist after
the Allied Forces defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.
















Setting
Describe the setting. Find quotes and examples from the novel that help you realise
where events are set.














Character summary
Describe each of the main characters in the novel. Include information on each characters
appearance, personality and relationships with other characters. Ensure you use quotes from
the novel. Add as many rows to this table as you need for the characters in the novel.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere of this
novel is setting the
normality of an average
high school with certain
cliques.
The classroom in the
beginning the book is more
relaxed and calm
Further on in the book the
atmosphere is more
controlled, and sometimes
lonely
Time Period
the time period of this novel is around
1981, as on the first page they begin with
setting the scene and the explain there are
typewriters
Place
The novel is set at a state high school in California
called Gordon state high, outlining a history class.

Character Description
(personality, relationships, attitudes, values, beliefs)
Laurie
Saunders

Personality: hardworking, curious,

Relationships: Laurie had a close relationship with her parent and
especially her mother. She also a relationship with David who is her
boyfriend. Laurie is best friends with Amy smith

Attitudes, values and beliefs: everyone should be free, values school
work, she is happy, hard working and persistent

Ben Ross

Personality: Ben is hardworking, dedicated, committed, enthusiastic
about his job, obsessive, passionate

Relationships: He builds up a relationship with his students when they
create the wave. The

Attitudes, values and beliefs: Believes in strength through discipline,
strength through community, and strength through actions

David
Personality: laid back, committed and dedicated to his football

Relationships: David has many friends from the football team, strong
relationship with Lauries father, Lauries boyfriend.

Attitudes, values and beliefs: to win a football game, have the football
team work together, has a positive attitude for ben rosses idea, spread
the wave, recruit new members.

Amy Smith
A petite girl with
thick, curly,
goldilocks hair
page 2
Personality: competitive

Relationships: best friends with Laurie

Attitudes, values and beliefs: Always trying to be better than Laurie

Christy Ross
Personality: competitive, patient, understanding

Relationships: Bens wife, teaches music

Attitudes, values and beliefs: values tennis and music

David Collins
A tall good
looking boy page
7
Personality: Hungry, impatient, smart,

Relationships: in a relationship with Laurie Saunders, Friends on the
football team, friends with Mr Ross

Attitudes, values and beliefs: values football and wiining, believes that
the wave is the best thing

Robert Billings
Personality: not very smart, doesnt care if he failes,

Relationships: in the beginning of the book he is called the class loser
and I always picked on, further on in the book he is considered on of
them because he is apart of the wave and everyone is equal

Attitudes, values and beliefs: he has a bad attitude towards school, and
he really wants to fit in at chool


Plot summary and narrative style
Give a brief outline of the events in the novel. Describe the type of narration used in the novel. Add
as many rows to this table as you need for the chapters in the novel.
Chapter
Summary (2 3 dot points about what
occurs in this chapter)
Parallels with historical events
1
o Laurie Saunders is in her
publication office for the
Grapevine chewing on pens.
o Laurie pulls faces at her friend
Amy through the window whilst
she is in French; Mr Gabondi
sees her and gets mad.
o They have their first lesson of
history
o Characters are introduced
o Ben Ross (history teacher) goes
over the grades for homework
and a lecture is given


2
o The class is studying World War
2 and they watched a video on
the Hitler and the Nazis.
o The class discuss the film as
many are horrified by the
gruesomeness of the film

3
o Amy and Laurie are upset by the
film
o Amy and laurie go the grapevine
office


4 o Ben was bothered about how he
couldnt answer all the questions
adequately

o He gets caught up reading a
heap of books that might help
him answer the questions
5 o The students walk into the
classroom and see the words
Strength through discipline
written on the board.
o They were all confused at what it
meant
o Ben explained how hitler came
to power
o They are told to sit properly in
there chairs
o Activities take place to show the
students discipline
o Christy was surprised with the
effect it had on the students
o The Nazis had to learn disciple and
so did german citizens

6 o Ben was surprised when his
student were all at class early
o They sat with a perfect posture
and silently in their chair waiting
for mr ross
o They learnt strength through
community
o The power was amaxing
o The discovered a salute
o David decided to try the wave
on the football team
o The football team agree

o The germans and Hitler get
addicted to the power
7 o Laurie tells her parents about
the wave
o Her dad is ok but her mother
doesnt like it
o Ben is still preoccupied by the
classes he has to prepare for
o Christy is concerned aswell
o Not everyone agreed with hitler
8 o David and laurie walk to school
together
o David gets a bit annoyed at
lauries mother for the way she
was talking about the wave
o Ben hands out membership
cards
o They learn about strength
through action


9 o Ben was unsure of what to make
of the wave as it had spread out
side the classroom
o There had been a success in

recruiting new students
o Other student were cutting class
to join his
o The class insisted practicing
o The class wasnt falling behind
o The class were covering topics
faster than usual
o They were improving
o The wave was successfully
infused into the foot ball team
o Football coach was thankful to
ben
o Ben was proud to think he had
broken down the popularity
contests and cliques
o Students liked the discipline
o Ben thinks maybe the
experiment was a maistake and
it might gat out of control
o Laurie is struggling to find new
stories for the grapevine
o She avoided the subject of the
wave at home
o Lauries mother tells of how she
is concerned that she ran in to
roberts mother and said that
Robert has completely changed
o The football team is convinced
they will win

10 o Ben was called the principals
office
o Student are constantly giving
him the salute
o He never expected the wave to
go this far
o

11
A note is put in the Publication room to tell of the new article
Displays of The Wave are being displayed around the school
Robert becomes Bens bodyguard
12
Brian and Deutsch fighting locker hall
David and Laurie argue
13
At football game
Brian gives Laurie the salute but Laurie doesnt do it back
Talking about the Jewish boy that got beat up
14
Laurie makes the article about The Wave and construction
Amy and Laurie argue
Ben thinks its his fault for the destruction of The Wave
Robert wants David to take care of Laurie
15
Laurie publishes an article about The Wave which the members dont like.
David hurts Laurie but makes up with her and turns against The Wave
Ben looks back on why he started The Wave
16
Principal Owen wants Ben to stop The Wave
Ben explains history about the United States and how much has changed
David and Laurie think Ben lied to them about stopping The Wave
17
The rally in the auditorium starts
Convince that there is no leader but if there were, it would be Adolf Hitler
Tries to be helpful to Robert after the pain he put Robert through


Themes
What are the central ideas or messages in this novel? Think about the problems the main
characters face. How do these characters change and what do they learn because of these
problems? What can you learn from this novel?
Theme Ideas Explored Evidence from novel
Education
How power can be
addicting.
Stay true to herself

Cant you see what hes doing? Laurie said
emotionally. Cant any of you think for
yourself anymore? Pg. 132
Theyre true. Amy, the wave has become an
obsession with everyone. No one Is thinking
for themselves anymore. Pg.105
Ben began to realize how much more serious
this little experiment was then hed ever
imagined. Ben thought this was something
he must make sure they learned: to question
thoroughly, never to put your faith in
anyones hands blindly Pg. 141

1. Would you like to have Ben Ross for a teacher? Why or why not?
Yes, because he makes class fun, and because if people knew that you were in Mr Ross
class, they would assume that you were a part of the wave, even if you actually did not
like the idea (like Laurie). So you did not get bashed up
2. Do you think Ben's experiment was good for his students? What, if
anything, do you think they learned? And what did Ben learn?
Ben learned that power can be addictive, and the students learnt that you need to
stay true to yourself. Ben Ross experiment was fine, until it got out of control
Power
Power can be addicting
Not all power corrupts-
you just have to be
careful.
Abuse through power
Exposing the kids to a
dangerous experiment
Not all power is
negative, Laurie uses
her power a positive
way

You traded your freedom for what you said
was equality into superiority over non-wave
members. Pg.143
They condemned the Wave as a dangerous
and mindless movement that suppressed
freedom of speech and thought and ran
against everything the country was founded
on. Pg.104
3. Why do Ben's students give him power? Why do they trust him and
follow him so blindly?
Because they are caught in the trance, they like the idea of equality, they like Ben Ross as a
teacher and trust them.
4. Why does Robert feel powerless at school?
Because he is not as good as his brother or other students
5. Why does David think The Wave will give the football team more power?
Does it?
Because he thought that the discipline could really change something
History
To ensure that we dont
make the same mistakes
Shows us how it might
be relevant to our life
Staying true yourself,
making your own
decisions, not to follow
blindly.


The Nazis were highly organized and
feared. The behaviour of the rest of the
German population is a mystery- why they
didnt try to stop it, how they could say they
didnt know. We just dont know the
answers. Pg.13
There is no National Wave Youth
Movement. There is no leader. But if there
was he would have been it. Do you see what
you have become? Do you see where you
were headed? How far would you have
gone? Take a look at the future! Pg.142
You say it could never happen again, but
look how close you camePg.143
6. Will this experience of being part of The Wave become an important part
of these students' lives? Will they remember these eight days and think
about them in the future? And will they learn from their mistakes?
Yes, these students will remember The Wave and learn from their mistakes, just
like the Germans did in 1934-1945.
Loyalty
The wave members gave up
their individuality in order to
participate in the wave. In the
process they betray those they
care about: Laurie Saunders'
best friend and boyfriend both
If History repeats itself, you will all
want to deny what happened to you in
the wave. But If our experiment has
been successful- and I think you can
see that it has- you will have learned
that we are all responsible for our
turn against her when she
questions The Wave. This
novel also asks us to strongly
question our leaders, and begs
us not to follow them blindly.

own actions, and that you must
always question, what you do rather
than blindly follow a leader. Pg.143
7. Is Ben Ross loyal to his students? His wife? His school?
No, because he doesnt listen to his wife, or take her advice and he turns the
school into a school known for the Wave. He takes controls all the students and
nearly brought back Hitlers holocaust, making him untrustworthy and unreliable
8. Why are Ben's students so loyal to him? If a different teacher had tried
this experiment, would it have gone this far? Or did students follow Ben
because they already felt some sense of loyalty toward him?
They followed Ben because they were already loyal to him and they thought the
Wave was doing something good for them, when really it was out of control and
un practically stupid.
9. What does this book have to say about being loyal to one's self? Is that
more important than staying loyal to friends, family, or community?
Everybody needs to be independent because they wont always be with their friends, and family.
You should not do what others want you to do; you need to do what you want to do.
Identity
The students undergo
drastic changes in their
identity. Staying true to
one's identity leads to
bullying and threats
from other students.
And in the real world,
this can lead to
devastating
consequences.

David goes from devoted boyfriend to Jerk-
store bully (and back again!) and Robert goes
from total outcast to leader of the pack.

10. Which characters in The Wave undergo the most drastic identity
changes? Are these permanent changes or just temporary bouts of insani
ahem, confusion?
David- Becomes a Jerk and bully to Laurie and others, he does not stay like this
though, he wakes up to himself and helps Laurie end the Wave.
Amy- Betrays Laurie and loses their friendship
Robert- Becomes the leader of the pack until the Wave ends, than he is a outcast
again
Mr Ross- He becomes in love with power and a different teacher
Basically all the students- Become brain washed, and identity changes
11. Why do you think Robert creates the position of bodyguard for himself?
How does that affect his identity?
He feels important and needed.
12. What happens to Ben when he becomes Wave leader? Does he truly
change as a person?
Ben does not fully change as the Wave leader he just becomes obsessed with
power and happy to be controlling, until Laurie and David talk some sense into
him.
13. Why is Laurie able to stay true to herself in the face of The Wave? What
about the other characters who do so?
All the Characters that stay true to themselves including Laurie can see the true
face of the Wave not like the other Wave members who are looking all wrong.
Violence
while the students are
studying the violence of
the past. Wave members
resort to bullying and
stalking when their
"movement" is threatened.
And since bullying and
teen violence are not a
thing of the past, we think
they're worth talking about.

David grabbed her other arm, why did
she have to be so stubborn? Why couldnt
she see how good the Wave could be?
We can stop you, and we will! he
shouted at her. I hate you! she cried I
hate The Wave! I hate all of you! The
words struck David like a hard slap in the
face. Almost out of control, he screamed
shut up! and threw her down on the
grass. Her books flying as she fell roughly
to the ground. David instantly recoiled in
shock, at what he had done. In fear he
dropped to his knees and put his arm
around her. Jeez, Laurie, are you all
right? He feel her tremble and he
wondered what on earth he could have
done something so stupid.
Pg.89-90
14. Why do the students in The Wave think it's okay to use violence to make
The Wave a success?
Students think that it is ok to use violence during the Wave because in the past
the Nazis used violence all the time, and no one is standing up to the violence,
everyone is just letting people be violent or not believing in what other students
say about how people are being bullied. Not even the teachers try to stop the
violence.
15. Can we ever forgive David for physically assaulting Laurie? And what
are we supposed to make of the "scuffle" that causes such a stir?
We should forgive david for physically assaulting Laurie, because he did it under
The Waves command and it made David see what the wave has become of him.
David doesnt actually get that violent.
16. Is Ben's experiment a form of psychological violence? Could it have
done lasting damage to his students? What do you think?
If a friend or girlfriend was violent to the other friend or boyfriend or vis-versa, they could
permanently damage the relationship they had, Just like how Laurie and Amy had a fight and
David physically assaulted Laurie.
Competition
Competition for grades and
popularity leads to big
pressure. In fact, the novel
suggests that students are
open to The Wave because
the see it as a relief from the
competitive atmosphere of
school.
I think that after the Wave
there will be no competition
between students.
Because it means that nobody is better
than anyone else for once Amy said.
Because ever since we became friends
all Ive ever done is try to compete with
you and keep up with you. But now I
dont feel like I have to have a boyfriend
on the football team like you. And if I
dont have to, I dont have to get the
same grades you get. For the first time in
3 years I feel like I dont have to keep up
with Laurie Saunders and people will
still like me. Pg. 79-80
17. Why are other students so jealous of Laurie? Why aren't they happy
with their own accomplishments? Why do they need to compare
themselves with her?
Because she is the popular kid who is the editor of the Grapevine and has a
boyfriend on the football team.
18. Why does Brian think The Wave will help the football team win
games?
Because the discipline helped the class be more obedient in class and learn
quicker
19. Wave members claim that the Wave freed them from the pressure of
competing. Do you ever feel like there is too much competition in your life?
If so, does The Wave offer any advice for dealing with competitive
atmospheres?
There is no competition in my life, I love all my friends and I am aware that my
friends are smarter than me and non- of them have boyfriends so I am not really
jealous. I dont compete with my family. The only thing that I compete with is my
crushes girlfriends (or people he like) and waking up in the morning. Besides that
I am a happy chappie.
20. Is Laurie a competitive person? What drives her success?
Laurie is not a competitive person, because she is not competing with anyone people are
competing with her. Courage, persistence and Popular, friends and her boyfriend drive her too
success.





















Glossary of New Words
Add as many rows as you need to this table to help you learn new vocabulary from the novel.
New Word Definition
Reich
(with reference to Germany) empire; realm; nation.

the German state, especially during the Nazi period.

Dictator a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has
obtained control by force.
Fanatic a person filled with excessive and single-minded zeal,
especially for an extreme religious or political cause.
Cult a system of religious veneration and devotion directed
towards a particular figure or object.
Fascist an advocate or follower of fascism.
Dominate have power and influence over.
Superior higher in rank, status, or quality.
Inferior

lower in rank, status, or quality.
Indoctrinate

teach (a person or group) to accept a set of beliefs
uncritically.
Discipline

the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of
behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience.
Holocaust

destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused
by fire or nuclear war.
Propaganda