In 1969, in an average sized school in Palo Alto, California, Ron Jones thought that he was teaching his class a lesson in history and humanity. It was a social experiment that caused a wave of ‘almost anarchy’.
Morton Rhue dramatises this experiment in The Wave and cleverly builds the tension and breakdown of principles and values.
The teacher (renamed Ben Ross,) had a simple idea to teach his students practically how Germany got swept up in the NAZI regime. His focus was on strength through discipline, strength through community and strength through action. He had many novel ways of demonstrating these points. He called it ‘The Wave.’
Initially there was a buzz of excitement and change and the discipline infiltrated positively into other classes, the football team became more cohesive and even 'loners' became accepted.
This stability soon erupted as chants and salutes were expected and posters were plastered around the school. Many staff were also swept up in the craze and student bullying became rife. There was fear of retribution for those who chose not to follow.
At one point, Ross felt empowered as their leader - one student even offering to be his body guard: “It’s amazing how much more they like you when you make decisions for them.”
When a young boy is beaten, the school is in crisis and Ross needs to end his experiment or ‘The Wave” will crush everyone.
The students need to see their NAZI-like their behaviour for what it is. The bottom-line is that everyone is responsible for their actions: “never allow a group’s will to usurp your individual rights.”
Along the lines of Lord of the Flies, The Tomorrow Series and the Hunger Games, human behaviour can thrive on power and survival and basic values of respect and compassion can erode. Rhue illustrates this through his 107-page book - a social experiment that proves history can repeat itself!
Sam's Rating: 7-10
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