Section II: Chapters 7 - 12
1. Read during class. Write one page about the section in your notebook. You may comment on certain quotes, ideas, make predictions, summarize to help make meaning, draw pictures. Fill the page.
2. Once home, write a 2 - 4 paragraph post about the section. Copy, proofread, then post to our class blog.
3. For full points, comment on at least one other person's post. Try to get a conversation going about the points you believe are important in the book.
I was impressed with your posts for Chapters 1 - 6. In the second post, I'd like to challenge you to explore your ideas in more depth. A couple of you used quotes to support your thinking and that led to stronger posts. In this post, I'll look for a supportive quote in every post.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!
Just as I had predicted, things are getting out of hand. Some of the students are letting the wave get way too far into their heads, especially Robert. I agree with what Laurie’s mother was saying about him. How he feels like he finally belongs, yet it is all fake. A bodyguard? Really? Why didn’t Ross go with his initial instinct? There isn’t anything he needs to be protected from... Sooner or later he will have to face reality. On the note, everyone is going to have to face reality eventually.
DeleteWhat caught me by surprise, was the fact that they pointed out that the new kid is Jewish. It gave a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of chapter 12. I had a similar reaction as Laurie did to that one. I’m curious to see what will go down sense the fight happened, with Brian chanting the motto.
“It was just that creepy feeling she’d begun to get.” I feel like I can relate to Laurie in this. I too just have an uncertain feeling about this whole thing, even from the very beginning. This whole situation is getting out of hand. Something needs to be done pronto, or it could get way out of hand.
I think the book did exactly as I thought it would. Everything is getting blown entirely out of proportion. All students are obsessed with he Wave, they even changed the pep really to the wave rally. If you don’t want to be apart of the Wave then you were uncool or even beaten up. Some parents, like Roberts are ecstatic about the progress that their student is making. Other parents fear that this will turn out really badly, like Laurie’s mom. Laurie’s mom is completely right things will be completely destructive to the school based off of one game.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully I kind of hope that the football team looses the game, because if they win it will prove the Wave way of thinking works and that it is a powerful thing. I’m not 100% sure that this town isn’t small town enough to think that the whole town will become apart of the Wave and that those who are against it will be looked at as outcasts. That’s truthfully not a powerful thing if the football team wins because of the Wave the town could rally behind the team and the Wave giving it entirely way to much power.
I think you're completely right about what happened. In fact I think it is kind of mind blowing how much these kids are following this. The only person who is somewhat catching on to what the stimulation is all about, power and how out of control it can get.
DeleteThe Wave is an interesting book with interesting outcomes. So far The Wave to me is like the story of what actually happened when Hitler took over in Germany. I think The Wave is going to spread like a virus because it has already started. Everyone is following the rule of Mr. Ross because he is an authority. The human race listens to people of authority. That is why nobody has questioned the method yet, but will they? I think it is interesting that nobody has questioned what the point or why the teacher is doing this. Although he has authority above high school students he just got teaching what happened to the Jews in World War Two.
ReplyDeleteLaurie the main character is the only one who is some what timid about the stimulation. She is unable to speak up for herself because everyone agrees its a life changing experience. I think the students like it so much because everyone is equal. Nobody in The Wave is involved in a clique. Since the team captain of the football team has seem to spread the dictatorship of The Wave to the football team, the team seems to be getting pumped up.
The brainwashing occurring in this book is concerning because not only is it spreading through out the school it is changing people self-esteem. My prediction is that someone become over confident and start looking down on people as lesser than himself. I also believe that someone will try to leave The Wave and be punished for it. Just because everyone is equal now doesn't mean it will stay the same. Just like the Jews, the leader will start segregating the weaker or the ones that are not fit to be apart of the group. I feel like The Wave is not spoke of anymore is because it was such a irrational stimulation that it changed everyone because of the segregation that will occur. Mr. Ross will lose control of the group because a student will take over and unconscionably change the system completely.
I believe that it is a life changing experience. It's not going to be a positive one I don't believe. This will eventually fall apart and then many people will find themselves displaced, because if the fact that many will lose friendships and relationships over some stupid game that go out of control.
DeleteI agree with Jordan. This is scary how similar it is to Hitler and the Nazis, and how fast everything is escalating. It also surprised me how people outside of the school are finding out about it, like the guy that Laurie's dad was golfing with.
DeleteThese kids got crazy fast thinking that someone was giving them orders when none were given. Getting in fights over who was in the wave and who was not. The fact that David broke up with Laurie because of it is insane. Just because your part of a team does not me you can’t think for yourself.
ReplyDeleteThis book is crazy I did not think this could ever really happen again the kids should have remembered that this is why the Nazis where that way. Some kids were more violent like threatening or fighting when some people didn’t want to join.
The fact that Wave members were carrying out orders that nobody gave them also baffles me. That's one part of the story that I don't completely understand.
DeleteI agree. It's interesting because if you think about it this was a 12 grade history class taking the wave so seriously. when you think about if this could ever happen to us you feel like you could never fall for something like this yet Mr. Ross has others schools becoming alliances with the wave.
DeleteLike I said, nobody knows what's going next. Which makes it a interesting book.
DeleteI'm not surprised by the events that have led up to this point in the story. The conflict in relationships, the fights between Wave members and non-Wave members, and the retaliation against the wave from the Grapevine newspaper staff, isn't anything of an anomaly within the context of human nature. It's only the retelling of the countless tragedies of our species.
ReplyDeleteIf Ben brings down the hammer on the Wave like I anticipate him to, the point he was trying to get across earlier during the experiment will seep into his students like he wanted to. However, the effect it will have on the students (and the entire school) will be magnified since Ben let the experiment run this long.
I feel like even if Ben tried to stop the wave, it would be quite difficult at this point. Since they have gone this far, they might retaliate against him, and keep it going.
DeleteI personally feel ben can't bring down the hammer, its currently bigger than him, and they would simply disown him as a leader (maybe selecting a new one?). The wave will stop only when this supposed tragedy occurs (since only something as solid as that could bring the wave to a grinding halt) and all see the real effect something such as the wave has on people.
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ReplyDeleteThrough chapters 7-12 we start to see wave members and non-wave members have conflicts between each other. Reason being, students don’t know the actual truth about the wave. With the wave becoming a new “fad” people joining by the day, yet others are questioning what the waves is? When people are joined by the wave they are now part of a special group. The others who refuse to join the wave get picked on because why wouldn’t you want to be a part of something so great.
ReplyDeleteWith the wave being such a huge distraction in the school, Principle Owens had to call down Ben Ross to see what he is actually trying to do. Ben tells principal Owens that “if anything they’re ahead on school work“ and that there is nothing to worry about. On page 79 principal Owens makes it very clear to Ben that he has to keep an eye on this “experiment”. Before Ben leaves he says, “ you’ve never given me a cause to doubt you before” making Owens completely oblivious to what is happening inside and outside of the wave. I think this is the very last time the reader gets to see principal Owens and Ben talking about the wave before everything starts to turn really bad.
I think that Ben Ross in stuck in the fact that he has so much power over the whole school. He is starting to change at home around his wife. I think Ben will try to stop the wave but in the end he won’t because the power feels to great to him.
I agree with you about the prediction that Mr. Ross stopping the Wave. I think his power could influence him, but i also think that the students will influence him, probably by force.
DeleteI think that you have a good prediction about principle Owens and Ben's next interaction. The Wave is getting very out of hand and it is happening quickly. On a separate note I think that it was a coincidence that the non wave kid that got beat up was Jewish.
DeleteI think you nailed that one on the head, you're prediction sounds exactly like what is going to happen. I think they are going to bully the kids who don't join the wave
DeleteIn chapters 7-12, The Wave begins to take its full sail (no pun intended). Mr. Ross and his students are benefiting immensely from this "experiment" but do they know what harm could come from it? The answer is no. Although The Wave has done wonders for David and his football team or Robert Billings, the class creep, it could still turn wrong. Being in a organized group, there is less likely of a chance for one to be 'alone". It is hard to say just what is to come but its fair to say that all this good can't last forever knowing that this experiment was a failure. In Chapter 10, Mr. Ross was confronted by the Principal. Right then and there is where Mr. Ross should take a step back and realize that his experiment has gone too far. The Wave has done its justice and the kids now know what being in an organized social group feels like. So why not stop? Because power is irresistible. I predict in the chapters to come that The Wave will do something horrible maybe even death.
ReplyDeleteI feel like death will not become an issue in this story as you previously commented. Just because something bad happens doesn't mean it's aways death. If someone does happen to cake the bucket props to you for guessing the obvious.
DeleteGood comments, so far . . .we need more voices in this conversation!
ReplyDeleteIt seems as if the book took to a different way than i expected, but I knew that there are some parts when The Wave movement went too far in it’s way by the people who are loyal to The Wave. The teaching still doesn’t understand why it’s still going and feels much too uncomfortable about motivation of the students even if some of them are part of something unlike Robert. Friendships and relationships are crumbling because of the seriousness of the GAME.
ReplyDeleteNow at this part of the book I’m not sure if the football is going to win the game against the other school. Maybe because of the junior and probably the other juniors are not going to follow. Think the juniors are going to follow what the seniors follow.
I predicted that the teacher who created The Wave would decidedly order the wave to be over because of the strife caused by the students. Then there will be more turmoil when the students want to bring the Wave back.
It is very interesting how the teacher knows the monster he has created. He initially constructed The Wave to show the kids what it was like in Nazi Germany and now every one is certainly falling too far into their roles.
DeleteI personally don't think that the football team will win. They have come together that is for sure but it doesn't mean they have gotten any better at football. In the case of the academics Mr. Ross said the students were excelling in short response but he was very worried about their essay writing abilities.
In the section 7-12 of the wave there is a lot of change in which the wave is run and how the students in the wave treat each other. The wave has brought many kids who usually do not participate with other kids in the class to start talking. As Robert Billings put it “I feel like I was reborn”. The more popular kids such as the football team were also in support of the wave. The coach boasted how his whole team seemed renewed and filled with the passion of a common goal.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, Principle Owens and Mrs. Saunders are among the few people who have come to question the wave at all. The wave is starting to go too far because it is seeming like if Mr. Ross were to end it the students might still keep it alive. Mr. Ross knows the simulation has to come to end but he still won’t bring himself to stop it, possibly from fear that it will not end or just the fact that he is curious of his power over the students. He even confidently tells the principle that he is in complete control of the wave, he is their leader and without him there would not be a wave. Mr. Ross thought “If principle Owens were to make him stop he would feel some relief”. The whole situation that Mr. Ross was role playing is starting to become very real.
As the story progresses from chapter 6-12 you get see how strong the wave is becoming. At first people began to join to feel like they are a part of something. Now I believe people are beginning to join just so they can conform and do what everyone else is doing.
ReplyDeleteI can see a big conflict coming now that Laurie and Carl said “If they’re the wave, we can be the ripple.” Now there will be not only one but two groups. I believe a big split will be created in the school. Those who are part of the wave, and those who want nothing to do with it. I think this will not reunite everyone but turn everyone against each other and create violence; which this has already been proven at the end of chapter 12.
In the beginning the wave started of small and blew up into what some could say or call a movement having meetings prominent salutes and chat to go with them too. It is unusual site for the school for everyone is bonding together, but not by choice but by a movement or a fad so to speak it’s just something that people want to follow. If some of these people choose a different path say anything but the wave they are ostracized, ridiculed, and tormented for being different or apart from the wave.
ReplyDeleteIf the wave continues down its path bad things are to come, if they win the football game it changes the school and only reinforces its wave. If the team is to fail the wave will become stronger for their principal is hidden behind their chant “strength through discipline, strength through community” it is simply put that the hidden message is “Strength within unity”. It is hidden well, perceived clearly but not understood for its purpose. It is meant to bring together but not to subjugate people to obey. This is where Mr. Ross went wrong his movement kept moving forward but was more or less understood for its meaning and purpose to teach not to restart what was then to now. Here is all in what the world needs strength, discipline, and unity for its properties are great but its bounds are unknown. “For a man with all the power in the world knows no bounds, where the man with nothing knows where to step.” In words this describe Hitler and Mr. Ross for they both find power within their community and start a movement and in the end they lose control and the movement falls.
After reading chapters 7-12 The Wave has more and more students joining. I feel like at this rate the whole school might get consumed in the practices of The Wave. There are however, students that are having doubts or don’t want to participate in this “fad” as some call it. Laurie is a great example for this because at first she thinks The Wave is a good team-building strategy that Mr. Ross is implementing to get the kids to do their work. After the talk with her mother she thinks about it in more detail. Before she knew it, she was uncertain about The Wave and where it’s going.
ReplyDeleteAt this point we’ve got to know everyones thoughts on The Wave and we see a pattern of the students being in favor of it while most adults are spectacle of it with the exception of Mr. Ross. Mr. Ross points out the positives of this experiment and loses focus on what could happen. Which makes me wonder would could he have done that would be so terrible?
After reading chapters 7-12 the wave has really taken a turn. A lot more people have joined such as kids from other classes and grades. Its like a new fad rushing through the school. Everyone wants to join but those who don’t are getting picked on by the other students who are involved. The kids who are apart of the wave think that they are better than everyone else, for some reason they think they have more authority over the kids who aren't in the wave and thats why bully them or try to pressure them into joining.
ReplyDeleteThe principle is starting to get worried about the whole situation. He is concerned that the wave is going to get out of hand and he doesn't want to get blamed for Mr. Ross ‘experiment’. He calls him down and has a talk to him about and everything seems to be fine. You could tell the Mr. Owens was still a little hesitant about it.
My prediction is that the wave is going to start to get into the kids heads and they will severally start bullying the kids who don’t join the wave. Its going to start to get really out of hand and Mr. Ross will not know what to do, then end up in big trouble with Mr.Owens
I think it is interesting to see how easily the wave took over the class. Looking back at the emotions that I use to make games fun, and their basically the same. Lacks of purpose, making the person feel important and unique. Even more then that students who care very little or not at all about class, or more importantly Mr.Ross, and during the Wave they all cared so much to ditch other classes and even to stay after school.
ReplyDeletewhere and when are we supposed to do the next blog?
ReplyDeleteWhen Reading chapters 7-12 I realized that true power can be derived from just about any situation. This shows how easy and fast something as small as an experiment can get out of hand. Laurie and a select few others seem to be the only ones who have any common sense and realize that this can lead nowhere but bad places. If anyone should realize where this is going I believe it should be Mr. Ross, if he does not see that this could be going somewhere bad then how any of his students and/or followers could.
ReplyDeleteDavid is willing to lose his girlfriend over The Wave. This in itself says something about the power that this experiment has. Some can say this can be compared to the Nazis turning on their friends when they refused to join. The point of equality is not to downgrade others that will not join with you but to look at everyone, alike and not alike as an equal. At this point kids that refuse to join will not be associated with and even fights are breaking out. I can not wait to see where this is going to go.
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ReplyDeleteThe wave was a classroom experiment made to teach the kids about the Nazi’s and how they controlled people, and yet even those disjointed and afar from the issue (i.e.such as Laurie’s Father) have come to the conclusion that “It looks like this has gotten a little out of hand.” One thing I find a bit ironic thus far however, is the fact that it is still indeed a classroom experiment that when it comes crashing down will inevitably teach the very lesson it was initially intended for. They think The Wave is out of hand, when one could say its just running its course.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, this novel has been painfully predictable thus far. This is most likely due to being based on based on true events, but all in all its still somewhat annoying. This too is ironic, that the only guy to have not read the book finds it completely predictable.