The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Cast of Characters
- Plot Summary
- An Analysis of Major Characters
-
Chapter Summary and Analysis
- Part 1 (The Last Historian), Chapters 1-12
- Summary: Part 1 (The Last Historian), Chapters 13-24
- Summary: Part 2 (Wonderland), Chapters 25-30
- Summary: Part 3 (Silencer), Chapter 31
- Summary: Part 4 (Mayfly), Chapters 32-36
- Summary: Part 5 (The Winnowing), Chapters 37-41
- Summary: Part 6 (The Human Clay), Chapters 42-52
- Summary: Part 7 (The Heart to Kill), Chapters 53-55
- Summary: Part 8 (The Spirit of Vengeance), Chapters 56-64
- Summary: Part 9 (A Flower to the Rain), Chapters 65-77
- Summary: Parts 10-12, Chapters 65-82
- Summary: Part 13 (The Black Hole), Chapters 83-91
- Symbols and Themes
- Key Facts
- Key Quotes
- Discussion Questions
- Take The Quiz
- Further Reading
- Flashcards
- Biography of Rick Yancey
Summary: Part 2 (Wonderland), Chapters 25-30
Summary: Part 2 (Wonderland), Chapters 25-30
The narration switches to Ben Parish’s point of view, though he doesn’t reveal his name until the very end of Part II. For the time being, Ben invites us to call him “Zombie.” Ben is in a refugee camp, dying of the Pestilence. He is visited briefly by a young man named Chris, who has befriended Ben at the camp. Chris treats Ben compassionately before leaving, promising to visit Ben again the next day. As Ben lies dying, he is haunted by memories of the night his family was killed. Twigs invaded their home, and they couldn’t defend themselves. He remembers his five-year-old sister, Sissy, being grabbed and taken from him and how he couldn’t get her back. He had promised to keep her safe, but she was killed and all he has left of her is a silver locket. Ben is not only dying of the plague but is also racked with guilt, grief, and rage about what happened to his family, especially Sissy.
Outside Ben’s tent, he begins to hear gunshots and explosions. Suddenly, a bleeding soldier staggers into the tent, a look of horror on his face. He says to Ben, “We had it wrong… They’re already here… right here… the whole time—inside us.” Two more soldiers come in and drag the first one away. Then they scan Ben’s forehead with a metal disc and pronounce him “clean.” Ben is then taken to the “Zombie Ward” of the military hospital, a clean and well-supplied ward where plague victims are cared for. He is tended by a doctor he calls Dr. Pam. Miraculously, Ben recovers from the virus.
Once Ben has physically recovered, Dr. Pam explains that the military has gained access to a piece of the aliens’ technology called Wonderland. The Wonderland program allows her to “download” Ben’s personality, his memories and experiences. She explains that she has to do this in order to determine whether or not he is one of the “infested”—that is, a human being infested with...
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