(Spoiler alert (make sure you have read the whole book before reading)) Blind Obedience

“It was frightening how easily they would put their faiths in your hands, how easily they would let you decide for them.” Ben Ross, P.138, The Wave

Being in the Wave was basically like giving your faith to Ben Ross the leader of the group. The followers let him decide what they do, what rules they follow and how they live their life. Ben Ross created some expectations and rules everyone in the Wave must follow if you want to be in the Wave, these rules and regulations is what you go by and live by, you don’t decide what goes in the Wave the leader does. I agree with this quote it is very frightening how easily people listen to authority and let them decide what you do. Many kids that have their own little group which has a leader who decides mostly everything that goes on in the group, and the kids abide by the rules like blind obedience, they listen to the leader and do of everything he expects without question. In the Wave, it goes the same way the students don’t realize what’s going on and that they are not given much freedom, everyone has to salute to enter activities and have to follow every rule or else they could be pressured into many problems.

The theme of this quote is blind obedience. The students follow Ben Ross blindly as the Nazis did with Hitler. Hitler told them to get things done and without question they follow it as if they are being controlled. Many of the Nazis didn’t realize what was going on at the time because Hitler basically took over them with power and food which they really weren’t getting. Because of blind obedience kids didn’t realize what they were really joining, they just go along with the group blindly. This remind me of gangs, gang members just follow the leader, they accept any order and just go along with it as if it were okay. Maybe they just followed along with the group because they joined the bandwagon in the group. I wonder what gets everyone to follow someone and let them decide?