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Chapter 16
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
That Sunday afternoon at the camp, a large group of soldiers in military vehicles came to the camp, along with three school buses. Cassie’s dad listened in on Hutchfield talking with them, then told Cassie that they came from the nearby Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The soldiers were wearing gas masks as a caution against the plague. Word got out that only the children would be going with the soldiers. Cassie’s dad told her to go with Sammy.
The gas masks allow the soldiers to hide their identity from the people in the camp, but the masks also make them seem less human in general—something readers should stay mindful of going forward. When Cassie’s dad tries to get her to go with Sammy, this is another hint that Cassie’s dad is not as naïve as he might sometimes seem and that he senses that the arrival of the soldiers could mean danger for the camp residents.
Themes
But when Cassie’s dad tried to put Cassie on the bus with Sammy, a soldier called Corporal Branch said she was too old. The corporal offered the option of Sammy staying behind at camp, but Cassie’s dad ultimately decided to send him with the soldiers alone. Cassie reassured Sammy that everything would be okay, and Sammy gave her his teddy bear.
Sammy’s gift of his teddy bear to Cassie ends up being significant as the novel goes on. Here, it represents how by being separated from his family, Sammy is forced to grow up, which means leaving behind his childish objects like the teddy bear.
Themes
