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Chapter 10
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
When Cassie’s mom died of disease, they buried her in the rose bed behind their house. Soon after her death, Cassie’s dad told Cassie that it was time for them and Sammy to leave for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base about a hundred miles away.
The death of Cassie’s mom marks the true end of Cassie’s old life, with her family packing up to leave the house for an air force base. This passage shows how people will look to institutions like the military to protect them during a crisis—and the rest of the novel questions whether or not that’s the right idea.
Themes
