At the beginning of the story, we learn that “Most of these students have grown up in the small, suburban community that spread out… around Gordon High… They were surprisingly naive and sheltered.” How do the students change throughout the Wave experiment

Many of the student body show their naivety by blindly following the Wave. The Wave gives them belonging, meaning, and perceived strength. Kids who exist outside the mainstream, like Robert Billings, fine needed identity with the Wave. Mr. Ross ends the Wave by showing the students the true nature of their obedience. The students invested in the wave must re-examine their own psyche and bias.