Essay On How Does The Environment Affect David's Life
How can a sudden change in one’s environment affect them so greatly for worse, and after being affected is it ever possible to overcome this negative effect? Characters such as Laurie as well as the entire school saw David as a great guy, who loved his girlfriend if not as much, then more than he loved himself. However the environment that David was in affected him in a terribly negative way. But David was able to overcome this obstacle . David was effected by the environment just like everyone else in the class. This simple game that Mr. Ross came up with soon turns out to become more than just a game once the kids start to become very interested and enjoy the different way of learning. The environment in class slowly begins to change
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David’s mind and makes him think of this as more than just a game, he believes that the wave is a sign of discipline. For example, David says “ What do you think of us trying to get the rest of the team into The Wave?” (Strasser, 16). Once David realizes that the football team enjoys the idea of the wave he sinks into the environment, suddenly he now wants to know even more about The Wave as well as he wants to be able to stay involved with the environment, also known as the rest of The Wave members, so that he can lead his team to a winning streak. The Wave is like a bandwagon, once you’re on it you try to get even more people on it just like David did with his teammates. Once more people are on it you’re all of a sudden afraid to hop off of it, especially once most of your friends and peers are also on it and it shows to have what they all believed to be a so called “good effect on the community” because the bandwagon all of a sudden becomes intriguing as if it must go on no matter what. This proves how David was affected by his environment in ways that he did not even realize. David began to show signs of change once he was affected by the environment.
This change impacted David’s life in a terribly negative way that he won’t soon forget. Laurie is David’s girlfriend which whom he is madly in love with, and Laurie often throughout the book returns this love. However, when Laurie tries to snap David out of The Wave that she believes to be a sign of big trouble for the school he does not respond well. For example, Laurie tries to snap David out of this trance by making him realize how foolish he’s acting wanting to make sure that everyone joins and loves The Wave, but David responds to this by saying “ All right, if i’m so stupid why don’t you go find yourself a smart boyfriend” (Strasser, 16). David breaks up with Laurie over no other reason except for because she disapproves of The Wave, David is changed by his surrounding environment into thinking that anyone who disapproves of The Wave should not date him or even be in contact with him. Another example that shows that David changes once he’s affected by the environment is when he abuses Laurie. “Shut up! and threw her down on the grass” (Strasser, 114). From prior knowledge in the book you can tell that David is anything but abusive, and by him abusing Laurie in this manner you can tell that he was under the influence of something that was very big and convincing. Something such as The Wave. This is live evidence of how The Wave changed David after he was affected by
it. David overcomes the challenge he faced of being influenced by the environment. Once he abused Laurie he snapped out of the trance he was in and realized how much the environment affected him for anything but the good. For example, the text says “ David could not believe it. He felt almost as if he were coming out of a trance. What had possessed him these last days that could cause him to do something so stupid? There he’d been denying that The Wave could hurt anyone, and at the same time he’d hurt Laurie, his own girlfriend, in the name of The Wave”. (Strasser, 114). This means that David admits that The Wave and the people in his environment have affected him in an atrociously negative way. He feels like he was just snapped out of a trance that he couldn’t even realize he was in. The environment that he was in made him believe that all the bad things that people had been doing wasn’t because of The Wave but was instead because of the people that wouldn’t just surrender and join The Wave. The negative effect that the community had on the school as a whole made David realize that everything was wrong. By him abusing Laurie he began to realize that what members of The Wave were doing was not okay, and that things had to change or else something bad would be formed. This shows how David overcame the challenge that he faced of not being able to get away from the influence of his environment. Another example of how David overcame this challenge is when he acknowledges what The Wave is doing to other people. He says “ It’s taken over, Mr. Ross. You can’t say anything against it. People are afraid to.” (Strasser, 118). This shows how David is beginning to recognize what kind of effect The Wave has begun to have on him as well as the other students in the school. He understands that he was once one of the people that was afraid to say anything against The Wave because he was in such a trance that he believed that it was actually good. Thus showing how David overcame the challenges he faced of being influenced by the environment. In conclusion, the instant change in David’s environment affected him in an unfavorable way. However he was able to surpass this obstacle, realize who he really was, and get back with Laurie. Most characters saw David as a very charming guy however even he is prone to make at least a few mistakes every now and then because no one is perfect. David may have been effected and changed by his environment, but most people were. David was able to realize on his own that what he was doing was wrong and he was able to stop without a second thought, this is something many of the other characters in this book was unable to do.This entire experience as a whole, including David getting affected in a negative way, proved to be very fruitful for his life. A lesson he will forever remember.
Call To Action The book “The Wave” by Todd Strasser gives off this very lesson. That the environment that you’re in can affect how you act. Just like how living in a bad neighborhood and associating with the wrong crowd can cause you to act out in the same manner that the people in your crowd do. This book shows why Hitler reigned supreme for so long without anyone ever speaking up and saying what he did was wrong, because sometimes it’s hard to speak up on something that you may know is right when you’re being influenced by so many people, even sometimes your peers, telling you that it’s wrong. However that doesn’t make it okay not to. By no one speaking up for so long during Hitler’s reign, approximately 6,000,000 people were killed, and if no one decided to speak up during The Wave a terrible accident could have happened ending in some really hurt or even dead. People decided to speak up though, and by speaking up they basically saved the entire school as well as save the remainder of the Jewish population. Don’t let yourself be influenced into doing something that could potentially harm anyone, because if you do in a way you’re no better than Hitler was. Well maybe a little better… But you get the point. Stand up. Make a change just like David did.
David’s mind and makes him think of this as more than just a game, he believes that the wave is a sign of discipline. For example, David says “ What do you think of us trying to get the rest of the team into The Wave?” (Strasser, 16). Once David realizes that the football team enjoys the idea of the wave he sinks into the environment, suddenly he now wants to know even more about The Wave as well as he wants to be able to stay involved with the environment, also known as the rest of The Wave members, so that he can lead his team to a winning streak. The Wave is like a bandwagon, once you’re on it you try to get even more people on it just like David did with his teammates. Once more people are on it you’re all of a sudden afraid to hop off of it, especially once most of your friends and peers are also on it and it shows to have what they all believed to be a so called “good effect on the community” because the bandwagon all of a sudden becomes intriguing as if it must go on no matter what. This proves how David was affected by his environment in ways that he did not even realize. David began to show signs of change once he was affected by the environment.
This change impacted David’s life in a terribly negative way that he won’t soon forget. Laurie is David’s girlfriend which whom he is madly in love with, and Laurie often throughout the book returns this love. However, when Laurie tries to snap David out of The Wave that she believes to be a sign of big trouble for the school he does not respond well. For example, Laurie tries to snap David out of this trance by making him realize how foolish he’s acting wanting to make sure that everyone joins and loves The Wave, but David responds to this by saying “ All right, if i’m so stupid why don’t you go find yourself a smart boyfriend” (Strasser, 16). David breaks up with Laurie over no other reason except for because she disapproves of The Wave, David is changed by his surrounding environment into thinking that anyone who disapproves of The Wave should not date him or even be in contact with him. Another example that shows that David changes once he’s affected by the environment is when he abuses Laurie. “Shut up! and threw her down on the grass” (Strasser, 114). From prior knowledge in the book you can tell that David is anything but abusive, and by him abusing Laurie in this manner you can tell that he was under the influence of something that was very big and convincing. Something such as The Wave. This is live evidence of how The Wave changed David after he was affected by
it. David overcomes the challenge he faced of being influenced by the environment. Once he abused Laurie he snapped out of the trance he was in and realized how much the environment affected him for anything but the good. For example, the text says “ David could not believe it. He felt almost as if he were coming out of a trance. What had possessed him these last days that could cause him to do something so stupid? There he’d been denying that The Wave could hurt anyone, and at the same time he’d hurt Laurie, his own girlfriend, in the name of The Wave”. (Strasser, 114). This means that David admits that The Wave and the people in his environment have affected him in an atrociously negative way. He feels like he was just snapped out of a trance that he couldn’t even realize he was in. The environment that he was in made him believe that all the bad things that people had been doing wasn’t because of The Wave but was instead because of the people that wouldn’t just surrender and join The Wave. The negative effect that the community had on the school as a whole made David realize that everything was wrong. By him abusing Laurie he began to realize that what members of The Wave were doing was not okay, and that things had to change or else something bad would be formed. This shows how David overcame the challenge that he faced of not being able to get away from the influence of his environment. Another example of how David overcame this challenge is when he acknowledges what The Wave is doing to other people. He says “ It’s taken over, Mr. Ross. You can’t say anything against it. People are afraid to.” (Strasser, 118). This shows how David is beginning to recognize what kind of effect The Wave has begun to have on him as well as the other students in the school. He understands that he was once one of the people that was afraid to say anything against The Wave because he was in such a trance that he believed that it was actually good. Thus showing how David overcame the challenges he faced of being influenced by the environment. In conclusion, the instant change in David’s environment affected him in an unfavorable way. However he was able to surpass this obstacle, realize who he really was, and get back with Laurie. Most characters saw David as a very charming guy however even he is prone to make at least a few mistakes every now and then because no one is perfect. David may have been effected and changed by his environment, but most people were. David was able to realize on his own that what he was doing was wrong and he was able to stop without a second thought, this is something many of the other characters in this book was unable to do.This entire experience as a whole, including David getting affected in a negative way, proved to be very fruitful for his life. A lesson he will forever remember.
Call To Action The book “The Wave” by Todd Strasser gives off this very lesson. That the environment that you’re in can affect how you act. Just like how living in a bad neighborhood and associating with the wrong crowd can cause you to act out in the same manner that the people in your crowd do. This book shows why Hitler reigned supreme for so long without anyone ever speaking up and saying what he did was wrong, because sometimes it’s hard to speak up on something that you may know is right when you’re being influenced by so many people, even sometimes your peers, telling you that it’s wrong. However that doesn’t make it okay not to. By no one speaking up for so long during Hitler’s reign, approximately 6,000,000 people were killed, and if no one decided to speak up during The Wave a terrible accident could have happened ending in some really hurt or even dead. People decided to speak up though, and by speaking up they basically saved the entire school as well as save the remainder of the Jewish population. Don’t let yourself be influenced into doing something that could potentially harm anyone, because if you do in a way you’re no better than Hitler was. Well maybe a little better… But you get the point. Stand up. Make a change just like David did.