What_Are_Thematic_Concerns_on_the_Novel_'the_Wave'_by_Morton_Rhue

Introduction This essay will discuss the thematic concerns on the novel 'The Wave' by Morton Rhue. The Wave is about a trend that swept through a Californian high school in the 60's started by an experiment by a history teacher; it explains in detail the power of fascism and Dictatorship as a minority that can quickly escalate into something more serious and dangerous. The thematic concerns in this book that will be discussed are the banality of evil, the positive aspects of authority and dictatorship and the abuse of power.   Theme 1 The first theme that will be discussed is the 'Banality of Evil' this is the theory that everyone is capable of evil even without the power of an fanatical leader or dictator but just by obeying orders from them and believing that what they are doing is justifiable. This theory was first coined by the writings of Hannah Arendt a Jewish philosopher and writer. The failure of the population to rise up can lead to the greatest atrocities in history. The events in the novel were heavily influenced by the writings of Hannah Arendt particularly by her book Eichmann in Jerusalem. This is proved by a quote by the leader of 'The Wave' at the end of the novel "You accepted the groups will over your own, no matter who you had to hurt to get there."   Theme 2 The next theme that will be discussed is the positive aspects of a leader and authority. Through power and authority the group in question's motivation and success can be enhanced by the discipline, this is because when people act as a group, they work towards a common goal and with each person having their own role, productivity can be increased dramatically, this is shown in 'The Wave' when members of the group started getting better grades because they thought it would be for the good of the group, it is also showed when Dave introduces 'The Wave' in hopes of increasing performance thus making them win more games.   Theme 3 The last theme that will be discussed is the abuse of power by a autocratic leader or dictator. The abuse of power occurs almost all the time by the higher rankings or the leader of the group after awhile when they realise how powerful they have become. This is shown through the constant references or allusions in 'The wave' of Adolf Hitler who after seizing control of the Nazi Party during WWII went on to take over parts of Eastern Europe and Mass Murdering millions of people that weren't considered normal, mostly consisting of Jewish people and cripples. The atrocities committed during this period were horrendous and were started because of the abuse of power by Adolf Hitler. This is shown in the novel when the members of the wave would not let anyone into the football stadium who was not a member of 'The Wave' or who did not do the salute, this lead to many people being neglected for example Laurie Saunders who, even though she was a member of the Wave, she did not think it necessary to do the salute and did not want to be apart of the group, therefore she was shunned and despised.   Conclusion In conclusion, the Thematic Concerns that were discussed in 'The Wave' by Morton Rhue are the Banality of Evil, where the book was heavily influenced by the writings of Hannah Arendt, the positive aspects of Authority which talked about when people act in a group and work towards a common goal they can increase performance and success, and the last was the abuse of power within a group by high ranking people or the leader for example the allusions to Adolf Hitler the leader of the Nazi Regime during WWII who was an example of the abuse of power in 'The Wave'.