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Chapter 4
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 bleeding boy, whom Cassie calls the Crucifix Soldier, was the last person Cassie ever saw. She considers that if they’re currently in the 4th Wave of the Others attacking humans, then maybe the 5th Wave is humans attacking themselves.
Although it’s clear that Cassie feels guilt about killing the Crucifix Soldier, Cassie’s use of the name “Crucifix Soldier” shows how she struggles to accept that she killed an innocent person. She refers to him as a “soldier” to make it seem like what she did was justified as part of a battle.
Themes
Cassie’s backpack is full of essential supplies, like sardines, and also books, which are heavy but which she likes. Her dad liked books, too. She also has a cell phone, even though all the cell towers went down long ago.
Cassie’s backpack contains many things she doesn’t strictly need to survive, like books and even her cell phone. This reflects how Cassie can be sentimental and how she wants to preserve a part of her past life.
Themes
The 1st Wave was an electromagnetic pulse that killed half a million people. Humans had advance notice of the Arrival of the aliens, and Cassie remembers her old neighbors going to Disney World before the attack. While waiting for the attack, some people went about life as usual, going to work and school. Cassie went on a date with a boy named Mitchell Phelps. It had to be in her family’s backyard because of the curfew. The date was awkward because Mitchell heard a rumor that Cassie actually likes a boy named Ben Parish.
This passage shows how the urge to continue with normal life is so strong that even in the midst of the apocalypse, people will still go on dates or head to Disney World. Although it is possible to interpret people’s behavior in this passage as delusional, the passage also suggests that perhaps there is something hopeful or even noble about trying to preserve old ways of life in the face of a disaster.
Themes
Later, while watching TV, people speculated about what would happen when the aliens arrived. Cassie suggested that they should just nuke the alien landing site, which is in Death Valley, after a scientist on TV suggested that the aliens might be dangerous, but Cassie’s dad thought it was hard to be sure what the aliens really wanted. Her dad said some people think the aliens have come to save humanity. But Cassie now knows he was wrong: the aliens came to exterminate humans.
Initially, humans don’t know whether or not to trust the newly arrived aliens. Cassie’s dad shows that he is a person of hope and optimism by trusting that the aliens may be there for a good purpose. Still, the novel does leave some ambiguity about whether Cassie’s dad truly believes this, or whether he is just trying to protect Cassie and prevent her from becoming a distrustful person who can’t connect with others.
Themes
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