Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Maze Runner, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and Identity
Stability and Order vs. Change and Chaos
Sacrifice
Growing Up
Hope
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
Thomas goes to sleep with the images of Ben’s haunted face on his mind. The next morning, Newt wakes Thomas up and tells him he’ll be spending the day working with the farmers. As he gets up, Thomas notices Minho picking up Ben’s collar by the East Door. Newt says that every time they banish someone, the Grievers leave the banished person’s collar at the threshold of the Maze.
Thomas continues to feel guilt, showing that he senses the unjustness of the punishment. To a larger extent, Ben’s unjust banishment reveals the violent, ritualistic sacrifices that form the basis of the Glade’s outward appearance of order and tranquility. The Glade may seem like Garden of Eden on the surface but underneath is a society that maintains order through violence and sacrifice.
Themes
Newt tells Thomas that he was a Runner until a few months ago, when he hurt his leg running away from a Griever. Newt says that to be a Runner, you need to be fast, smart, and a good decision maker. Sensing that he’d likely have Newt’s support, Thomas reveals his desire to be a Runner. Newt says that Thomas will first need to prove himself as a valuable member of the Glade before he will be recommended as a Runner. When Thomas says he’ll go crazy if he does menial labor like farming, Newt says that the Glade operates on a system of work and order, and that the system won’t change for him.
In another example of the differences in their leadership styles, Newt’s belief that daily work assignments keep order contrasts with Alby’s trust in law and discipline for preserving order. Newt’s claim that the Glade won’t change for Thomas ironically foreshadows that Thomas will completely change life in the Glade.
Themes
