Themes In The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave has many prominent themes including, “Family is worth dying for,” and “Survival depends on being dedicated to others, not one’s self,” but not excluding many others. Throughout the book, the author makes these themes, and many others, evident and hints toward them and supports them, causing the reader to be constantly reminded. The author adds many themes that could easily be overlooked if not examined carefully, but when examined, become very evident. “Family is worth dying for,” is an important recurring theme in The 5th Wave, brought up in each point of view in its own unique way. This can be seen in Cassie’s point of view as she sneaks into Camp Haven risking her life to save her little brother Sammy, Ben’s point of view

Cassie survives by dedicating herself to Sammy, this is illustrated by her continuing to fight through many hardships after her father is killed and she is separated from Sammy. This can also be seen when Ben promises to fight for Sissy; he dedicates himself and his survival to her and continues to fight against all odds for her. Both Cassie and Ben fight for Sammy throughout the entire book even after being told by multiple people that it is impossible. This theme to me means that your dedication, or commitment, to others ultimately affects your survival and how hard you fight. If you are dedicated to someone, like a close family member, you have more of a reason to fight than fighting for nothing. When you dedicate yourself to someone else, you discover a new purpose and a new meaning to life, a new reason to fight, and persevere despite all odds. As Cassie fights for Sammy, and Ben for Sissy, they continue to find new strength to push forward even when it seems like there’s nothing left to live for. Throughout the book, Ben tends to think about Sammy’s safety and well-being more than himself and anything else. For instance, Ben has Ringer shoot him in the side so he may make it back to Camp Haven to save Sammy instead of only thinking about himself and running like

This theme illustrates that even in hard times, deep down, a person remains the same. They may act different but certain mannerisms and actions will allow you to see that they remain themselves. In the case of Teacup, war has changed her to be a gun-obsessed child but it is evident that deep down she is still a child and still has the same energetic tendencies as a child. Additionally, Ben states in the novel that his old self is gone, he is now a changed person with none of his past self left. This is proven wrong when he still flirts with Ringer like he used to with girls when he attended high school before the intrusion. Although Ben states that he is a changed person, it shows that deep down, he is still the same Ben as he was before. This also shows in Evan’s character when he refuses to shoot Cassie in the head. Although it was his duty to kill her, he could not because he fell in love, this shows that even though war was hard and he had duties to complete, he remained the same Evan from before the war by letting Cassie live, he was still the same compassionate, loving farm boy from before. Moreover, despite the fact that war had hardened Cassie, as soon as she became reunited with Sammy, all of the rough exterior she had built melted away to reveal the same family loving Cassie from before the war. At one point or another in the novel, it is