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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The 5th Wave, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Trust and Belief
Survival and Perseverance
Warfare and Dehumanization
Family
Summary
Analysis
The 2nd Wave killed about three billion people. The Others dropped a giant metal rod over a fault line, and it obliterated all the coastal cities. Cassie’s dad estimated that the 3rd Wave killed about 97 percent of the 3 billion people still alive after the first two waves. The Others used birds to spread an Ebola-like virus with a 97 percent kill rate that causes victims to have bloody tears. After the 3rd Wave, human civilization was back to the stone age. Cassie’s mom died, but her dad and brother, Sammy, survived. During the 3rd Wave, Cassie’s dad tried to be optimistic, saying maybe the Others were done—maybe they were more interested in owning the Earth than destroying humans.
Although this novel introduces the fantastical element of aliens, the nature of the apocalypses is somewhat grounded in reality. Rather than aliens zapping humans with death rays, they use techniques that resemble real natural disasters that have happened or could happen. Once again, it’s unclear how much Cassie’s dad believes his optimism versus how much he is just trying to reassure Cassie and Sammy. The novel doesn’t portray him as deluded but rather as a noble person whose belief in a better future helps Cassie survive, even if in many ways his faith turns out to be misplaced.
Themes
