The Fifth Wave: Gwyn

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Summery

The Fifth Wave is an eery but great read. The book is written in first person and the perspective changes from person to person. The book starts out with Cassie, a girl of 16 trying her best to survive in the woods alone after “the Others” (an unidentified species that people think of as aliens) wiped out most of the human race with a series of attacks known as “Waves”. The story also follows her little brother, Sammy, as he tries to survive “camp” haven, a glorified military training camp that trains naive children to become soldiers. He is assigned a squad to bunk with and there, young Sammy meets “Zombie” (aka Ben). Zombie is a boy of 16 who looks out for and helps Sammy get through “camp” though he struggles with mistakes he made in his past.

Songs

The first song I decided to add to my playlist was Raised By Wolves by U2. I thought that this song fit The Fifth Wave because it accurately portrayed Cassie. It shows how She was suffering the loss of her humanity and how she was slowly becoming dependant on her instincts rather than her emotions. Not to mention, it also shows what life is like at camp haven: dark, dreary, and depressing.

The next song I chose was I See Fire by Ed Sheeran. I chose this song because it showed Zombie’s and Cassie’s feelings on how they lost their siblings and were hoping beyond hope that they weren't dead. Also, in the end/middle Ed Sheeran’s voice sounds slightly hysterical and distressed, accurately depicting how one would feel if they knew that their sibling was in danger/dead. It shows how Zombie is almost certain that his little sister is dead, but he’s hanging on to a glimmer of hope that she’s still alive.

The final song that I chose was I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. I chose this song because it reminded me of what both Cassie, Zombie, and Sammy felt. It showed how determined they all were to stay alive and to see the end of their world. Gloria Gaynors voice is strong and passionate while singing, which fits how much they are willing themselves to survive.

It also mentions outer space in the lyrics which ties in well with the whole extraterrestrial theme.

Inference

One inference I made about The Fifth Wave was that the Zombie cared for Sammy. I made this inference because in the text, on many occasions Zombie put Sammy before himself. For example, he let Sammy sleep with him when Sammy was afraid even though Zombie could have gotten in big trouble. Also, he said Sammy’s prayer every night with him before bed with him even though the rest of his squad objected. Zombie also tried to relieve Sammy of his gruesome duties (cleaning corpses) even though Zombie could have been fired from being head of the squad for that. In The Fifth Wave it is apparent hat Zombie cares for Sammy.