The Fifth Wave Character Analysis

Words: 482
Pages: 2

“We’re here, and then we’re gone, and it’s not about the time we’re here, but what we do with the time.” Cassie Sullivan, a 16 year old fictional character in the book, The Fifth Wave comes alive to readers as you turn every page. Cassie is a relatable, audacious, humorous, and sympathetic character that comes alive because of her ability to make you question the thoughts and decisions you make in real, everyday life.

In the novel the Fifth Wave, Cassie and the entire human species is visited by inhospitable aliens. Billions are killed in the genocide of the human race. Cassie’s mother among them. In that moment of grief something inside Cassie changes and she feels the responsibility to care for her brother and father. She clung to the one
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She has come to realize that her childish worries of being, “Okay in looks. Okay in school. Okay at sports like karate and soccer” and not being anything special is insignificant in the world she lives in now. Furthermore, she never truly appreciated her imperfect curly hair or freckles across her face. Now she looks back and sees how ridiculous she was in thinking that. Cassie becomes so alive in this because we start to take a step back and realize that we are all guilty of not being happy with ourselves and we should live life and be grateful because we never know when something might change.

Cassie uses sarcasm to lighten the obscurity of what has now become her life. Cassie is faced with a lot of alone time at the beginning of the novel, so much it starts to drive her thoughts delusional “ I might as well have erected a billboard with a big arrow pointing at my head and the words, ‘Yoo-Hoo, Here I Am!’” Here is a perfect example of her crazy thoughts. In addition to her own thoughts she makes snarky comments to the other characters. Most are simply jokes and attempts to remain sane in the times of inanity.

All in all, the character of Cassie Sullivan is a loving, funny, relatable and courageous young girl that, through her experience, makes us as readers question our own life decisions we make and the way we look at things. The author of The Fifth Wave, Rick Yancey did an excellent job of bringing this