Summary:
The Box
is what Thomas first sees. He has a sensation of moving, but does not know where he’s going toward. Holding on to his name and vague memories, the box finally opens to
The Glade
where a group of youths try to maintain the order, and their sanity, by keeping up the semblance of society. While there is no way out, everyone has a job and role to fill in the Glade, but none more important than the Runners who risk life and limb in
The Maze
a structure that changes daily that holds the promise of escape. But they must beware the
Monsters
the Maze is filled with the nightmare creatures of flesh and metal called the Grievers. If their sting doesn’t get you, the madness will. Still, everyone dreams of
Escape
from the place where no one remembers who they really are. Life in the Glade was set in a steady rhythm until Thomas’s arrival sets off the beginning of the end. As the Grievers start triggering memories and the group must a make life-changing decision, the true monsters are revealed.
To where?
Perhaps not knowing what lay beyond the Maze was safer, but once the doors open, you’re on a heart-pounding, non-stop ride to the last page.
The Maze Runner by James Dashner is part of a larger series whereby the full intricacies and details of the plot are gradually released throughout the books until the page turning finale. Thomas, along with the rest of the characters, normally hold no memories of their life prior to the Glade. However, if you get stung by a Griever in the Maze and receive the antidote, you undergo a Change, where you get some of your memories back.
This book really grasps on to the question of: who would you be if your memories were taken away?
Experiences make a person who they are, but should recollection be stripped away, all you really would have left is instinct, like Thomas. For some reason, he feels the urge, beyond reason, to be a Runner in the high risk Maze. Because of that, he is driven by the belief that there is a way out of the Glade and a key component to escaping is working together with the rest of the group.
With that in mind, author, James Dashner, also brings up new beginnings. While none of them know why they were placed in the Glade, their old self was taken away. They are free to rewrite who they are and refashion their identity in accordance to the Glade lifestyle. Still the characters, in particular Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck, have an intense drive for the life they had outside the Maze. While they only have vague recollections, their true selves have not changed because of the experiment.
So what is this experiment? It’s WICKED (World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department).
Have you read the book or watched the movie? Please let me know in the comments!
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