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Chapter 24
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
Zombie is 17 and knows he’s dying because he has the plague. Just six months ago, he was living a normal life in high school. Now, he lives in a tent in a refugee camp near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Wright-Patterson has been on lockdown since the plague started. The person he’s closest to in camp is Chris, who’s 10 years older.
The novel makes a surprising turn at the beginning of Part 2, revealing that it is not just Cassie’s story but a story with multiple perspectives. In many ways, Zombie’s experience mirrors Cassie’s, as he used to be a normal boy before the alien invasion changed everything. Zombie’s knowledge of his own impending death creates a sense of dread and hopelessness.
Themes
Chris muses that maybe the plague isn’t from the Others but is instead a human experiment that escaped from a facility when the power failed. But then he supposes that it must be part of the alien plan, given how strategic it is to drop the plague after everyone has already been concentrated inland after the destruction of the coastal cities. In the distance, Chris and Zombie hear gunshots, but they’re used to it.
This passage shows how Chris and Zombie have gotten accustomed to the harsh life after the apocalypse. They don’t even register the sounds of gunshots, showing how they have become desensitized to violence, losing a part of their humanity.
Themes
Chris has to leave to get supplies, and Zombie wonders if he’ll ever see him again. In his fever, Zombies sees a girl named Sissy and thinks of running toward her, or possibly away from her. He hears heavy weaponry and hallucinates that Wright-Patterson is under attack. Then Zombie hears a gunshot very close by and plays dead.
Zombie’s memories of Sissy, which become so vivid that they’re almost more like dreams or hallucinations, show what he has lost in his life. They also hint at guilt, suggesting that Zombie is haunted by his inability to protect Sissy when it really mattered. This is another parallel between Zombie and Cassie, who is haunted by her own demons—in particular the Crucifix Soldier.
Themes
A terrified human soldier comes into the tent and says something about how “they” were already here, inside “us” the whole time. More soldiers come in and scan Chris. They say he’s “clean” but can tell he’s sick with the plague. Nevertheless, a soldier puts a blanket around Zombie and says he’s taking him to a better place. Zombie trusts him.
Continuing to build on Cassie’s story, in this war, it’s sometimes impossible to tell who is on which side. Zombie’s decision to trust the soldier who comes to him shows how in spite of all the things Zombie has been through, he hasn’t lost sight of his ability to hope for the best and see the good in others.
Themes
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