Background

Morton Rhue
- Todd Strasser, born in NY City in 1950.
- Writes for teens on controversial themes such as
teen suicide.
The Third Wave
The Wave is based on a history experiment by
Ron Jones called the Third Wave in a high school
in California.
Hitler Youth

Settings
1. Gordon High School
-

Grapevine publications office

History class (normally casual, turns into a dictatorship)
Cafeteria
Auditorium (pep rally)
Football practice

2. Suburbs around Gordon High

(middle class, sheltered, nave)
3. Bens house
4. Lauries house

Characters
Laurie Saunders

Tall, good
looking
David
Collins

Pretty

Smart (helps with

projector)

short light brown hair

Wants to be an engineer

Smart (editor, gets As)

Running back of football

team

Perpetual smile

Leader

Amy
Petite
Thick curly goldilocks hair
Competes with Laurie
A student
Smart but doesnt want
others to know (like Brian
who she likes and doesnt
want to intimidate)

Brian
D student
First string quarterback
Davids best friend
Scared of the Carlstown
quarterback

D student

Robert Billings
Heavy

Messy hair
Shirt tails always out
In danger of not graduating

Characters
Deutch
Brians enemy
Second string
quarterback
Junior in high school

Picked on by Brian
No one to sits with at lunch
Ketchup on his chin
Jeff Billings younger brother
(he was an A student, star
baseball player and a medical
student now)

Brad
Puts a kick me sign on
Roberts back

Carl and Alex

Tall thin and blond
Stocky and dark
Both work at the Grapevine
Class clowns

Characters

Ben Ross
Cant work technology
History teacher for 2 years
Reputation is outstanding (intense, energetic,
charismatic, dedicated)
Nave, young, overzealous
Never wears a suit and tie
Gets overly involved in his projects:
-

Brought an Indian home for dinner

Drove Christy crazy with bridge after she taught

him

Didnt ask about tennis or kiss her good night or

cook dinner or help set the table

Christy
Music teacher for 2 years
Bens wife

Mrs. Saunders

Worry wart
Bright, perceptive, politically astute
Ran league of women voters
Gave advice to local politicians
Laurie can talk to her at length
She has great ideas
Wont let things alone once she hears
about them.
Warns Laurie about chewing her pens and
now shes warning her about the Wave

Mr. Saunders
Plays golf
Runs a division of large
semiconductor company
Easy going
Studied engineering
Played football

Plot
Climax: Wave can function without
its leader

Complication:
Wave is introduced

Resolution: Wave is ended

Plot 1 The Complication

(Problem)
Ben shows a documentary about the atrocities in concentration
camps
- Robert falls asleep, David is hungry, Laurie loses her appetite, Amy
Ross cant answer Amys question or Lauries question:
cries
why didnt anyone try to stop them?
how could they say they didnt know?

Ross starts the

experiment:
1. Strength through discipline
Sit up straight
answer questions with Mr. Ross first
He
points out through
Robert and
humiliates
2. Strength
community
Brad
Learn the mottoes, the symbol, the
salute
David is excited to take it to the
football team
Laurie and Brad dont stand

3. Strength through
action
Poster of the Wave
Wears a suit and tie
Wave cards with red X on
the back
Recruit new members
Everyone is equal

Plot 2
Lauries family discusses the Wave at dinner
Mr. Saunders

Laurie

Pro anything that

causes kids to pay
attention

Positive energy

Militaristic

Built by unified groups

like pilgrims

Robert is not picked on

anymore

Built by individuals

Community spirit is a
good thing

Everyone is involved

Mrs. Saunders

Teacher is
manipulating them

Christy discusses the Wave with Ben

Ben

Christy

They love being prepared

They read head
They behave better

Guinea pig in your own experiment

Hows it going Dr. Frankenstein?
Theyre turning into monsters

Plot 3 The Climax (Turning

Point)
Wave becomes something outside of history class
Wave members sit together in the cafeteria (Brad is happy Robert joined
the group)
Principal Owens invites Ben to his office. Be careful but I trust
you
There are positive rumors and he has a good reputation
BUT
Kids lack judgment
Students outside of his class are involved
Hes not sure where the boundaries are
Wave members are preparing for the rally
- 200 new members will be indoctrinated
- Posters are everywhere
- There is a Wave banner
- Pamphlets are handed out
- Ben hears kids say orders were given
- Robert becomes Bens bodyguard

Plot 5 The Wave is Out of Control

Lauries mom meets with Elaine Billings in the supermarket
Mrs. Saunders thinks it sounds like a cult and boys like Robert are
perfect for cults
Laurie is worried about Amy (thought she was smarter than this)
The Grapevine gets an anonymous letter from a junior
- if you dont join youll lose all your friends
- soon itll be too late to join
David and Laurie fight again over the Wave for the second time
- Brian and Deutsch fight in the courtyard and David thinks Deutsch
deserves it
- Laurie doesnt want to go to the rally and David thinks its because shes
not special
Laurie
calls aanymore
non-Wave only meeting of the Grapevine at her
house.
- they represent the resistance to the Wave, not everyone shows up
Lauries Dad tells her that a new 10th grade boy who happens to
be Jewish was beat up after school for criticizing the Wave.
- Some of the parents are planning on going to the principal on Monday
Brad will not let Laurie go into the stands
- Because she wont do the salute
- The football team loses anyway

The Wave
Pros

Norm is happy the Wave has fixed his team

Kids are better prepared

Its a trend

Democratic

Increase in discipline

Cons

Deutsch and Brian fight

The homework is short with little thinking behind it

Its a cult

Anyone whos not part of the trend is an outcast and

threatened

Kids are cutting other classes

Plot 6 The Grapevine Special

Edition
The special edition of the Grapevine will include:
An editorial by Laurie about the dangers of the Wave
Articles on the junior and the sophomore students
Interviews with concerned parents and teachers

Reactions to the newspaper

Amy tells Laurie she is happy she doesnt have to compete
anymore and warns her not to publish
Other students started telling their stories of Wave abuse
Parents and teachers were in Principals office
Counselors started to interview students
Ben overhears teachers discussing how hes brainwashed the
students
Robert calls Laurie a threat in a sinister tone and Brian says
he and David will take care of her

Plot 7 The Resolution

Christy tells Ben he has to stop
Are your original goals still the same?
You are putting both our jobs in jeopardy
Laurie and David tell Ben he has to stop
The word enemy is painted on Lauries locker and on her way home David stops her to
talk and the fight ends in him throwing her to the ground = David realizes hes hurt Laurie
in the name of the Wave
They go to Bens house to tell him students are afraid
In terms of fear and compliance the Wave had been a success
Ben tells them he will end it his way tomorrow, he needs the help of Carl and Alex
Principal Owens tells Ben he has to stop
he will give him one day or he has to resign
Ben promises to end it today
He holds the final rally for Wave members only to put an end to the Wave
He says the rally is to announce the formation of a National Movement
When one student says theres no leader during the rally, Carl projects the image of Hitler
if there had been a leader, he would have been it
He discusses turning your heads, threatening others, denying ones history
The goals of the experiment were reached (to show how easily people could give over
control and keep quiet)
The goals of the rally were also reached (to teach never to allow a group to take your
individual rights, never follow a leader blindly)

Changes in Characters
David

Robert
Walks past Lauries house everyday just to see
her once in a while
Argues with Laurie
over the Wave then pushes her
Doesnt care about anything Straightens his shirt
and hair in bathroom
Separates Deutsch and Brian when they fight
Sees the fight outside and says I hope he
gets what he deserves

Laughed at line leader for the timed experiment,

sits with Wave students in cafeteria
Bad student
her class too

Not interested in anything but himself and Laurie

Leads the football team into the
Wave, does history homework instead of going
over Lauries house

Christy says hes improved in

Doesnt match up to his brother

His mother
says hes a completely different person

Changes in Characters
Laurie

Ben

Best student in the class

doesnt answer the
questions as Ross asks her to.
Popular

doesnt go to rally

Thinks Wave may be a positive thing

doesnt want the Wave to help fix the
Grapevines lack of discipline because its scary

Laid-back teacherwears a suit, has a bodyguard

Good teacher
history lessons spent on the Wave,
reputation is ruined by the end
Good husband

ignores his wife

Cares about his projects

dreams hes going to be in Time
Magazine for re-inventing discipline in schools

????Who said these

They would be left hanging without a chance to
see where it can go
The popular thing is not always the right thing
Its amazing how much they like you when you
make decisions for them
I would never let such a minority of people rule
the majority
You werent dumb. You were idealistic. There
were good things about the Wave. They dont see
whats bad about it. It makes everyone equal but
it robs you of your right to independence.