The Maze Runner

Thomas's greatest strength in the Glade is also his greatest vulnerability: he has no memory. How does his amnesia help him see things the other Gladers can't — and what does it cost him?

The Gladers invented their own language — 'shuck,' 'klunk,' 'greenie,' 'slim it.' Why do isolated communities create their own vocabulary? What does this language tell us about who the Gladers became?

Gally accuses Thomas of being responsible for the Maze. He's partially right — Thomas helped design it. Does that make Gally correct? Is Thomas responsible for something he did while a different version of himself?

The Gladers established their own government with Keepers, a Gathering, and a code of laws. Is this impressive or disturbing? What does it say about human beings that their first response to captivity is to build institutions?

Ben attacks Thomas because his Changing memories told him Thomas was responsible. Gally makes the same accusation later. Why do the Gladers who experience the Changing become so certain? What does certainty after trauma reveal about how memory works?

Minho abandons Thomas and Alby when the Maze starts to close. He later admits he was wrong. Is Minho a coward? How do we judge decisions made in split seconds under extreme fear?

The Glade banishes Ben into the Maze at night — a death sentence — without a trial, without deliberation, in minutes. Is this justice? Under what circumstances can a community be justified in killing someone to protect itself?

WICKED's full name is World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department. The acronym is 'WICKED.' Did Dashner intend for you to notice that? What does an organization naming itself 'WICKED' tell you about the novel's ethical framework?

The exit code for the Maze is 'WICKED.' To escape, Thomas must invoke the name of the thing imprisoning him. What does Dashner mean by this? Can you escape a system without first acknowledging it?

Thomas and Teresa have a telepathic connection from before the Glade. Is this romantic or something else? What does Dashner achieve by giving Thomas a connection that predates his memory?

Compare the Glade to a school. What are the similarities — in structure, rules, hierarchy, and the relationship between students and the institution running it? Where does the comparison break down?

Chuck dies protecting Thomas — but may not have consciously chosen to do it. Does a sacrifice still count as a sacrifice if it was accidental or reflexive? What does the novel suggest through Chuck's death?

The final reveal: the escape was the last phase of the experiment. Every act of courage Thomas performed was inside a designed scenario. Does this make his choices less meaningful? Were they still real choices?

WICKED claims to be working for the good of humanity — that the Maze experiment will produce data to fight the Flare and save billions. Is it possible that WICKED is right? Can a genuinely evil process produce a genuinely good outcome?

Thomas undergoes the Changing voluntarily — allowing himself to be stung to recover his memories. He already has enough information to execute the escape. Why does he choose to know? Is knowing worth the pain?

The novel is set in a world devastated by a solar flare and a plague called the Flare. How does a dying world change the ethics of the adults who run WICKED? Do desperate circumstances justify desperate experiments?

The Glade had two years to try to solve the maze and failed. Thomas solves the key insight in weeks. Is this believable? What narrative and thematic purpose does the 'fresh eyes' convention serve in stories like this?

How would The Maze Runner be different if it were told from Newt's point of view? What would we see that Thomas can't show us? What would we lose?

The Grievers are described as partly biological and partly mechanical — living creatures and engineered weapons simultaneously. Why does the hybrid nature make them more disturbing than a purely mechanical enemy or a purely organic one?

Alby went through the Changing and was psychologically broken by what he learned. Thomas went through the Changing and emerged with a plan. Why did the same experience destroy one person and activate another?

The Maze Runner has been compared to Lord of the Flies. Both involve groups of boys building society in isolation. What does each novel say about human nature? Which is more optimistic — and what evidence supports your answer?

Thomas kills Gally at the end. Is this justified? Does the novel judge him for it? Does the death of Chuck make the killing more or less defensible?

The boys in the Glade are all teenagers. WICKED chose this age group deliberately. Why are adolescents specifically the right experimental subjects for this experiment — both within the story's logic and in terms of the novel's themes?

Teresa is the only girl in the Glade and is immediately regarded with fear and hostility. What does this tell us about the Glade community's assumptions? How does Dashner use Teresa to reveal something the all-male community can't see about itself?

The novel is written in tight third-person from Thomas's perspective — we never leave his head. What are the disadvantages of this choice? What does Dashner sacrifice, and what does he gain?

Thomas repeatedly says 'WICKED is good' — a phrase he recovered from his Changing memories. By the end, does he believe this? Do you? Is it possible for an organization to be both wicked and good simultaneously?

The maze changes every night in a pattern. The Gladers spent two years mapping positions but never mapped changes. How does this mistake reflect a broader human tendency? Can you think of real-world examples where we measure the wrong thing?

Chuck is the youngest Glader and often treated as comic relief. How does Dashner use Chuck's lightness to make his death more devastating? Is this manipulation by the author — or is it honest storytelling?

The Maze Runner was published in 2009, the same year as The Hunger Games. Both were hugely successful YA dystopian novels. What does the simultaneous popularity of these books tell us about what young readers in 2009 needed from fiction?

By the end of the novel, Thomas doesn't know if he's free. He escaped the Maze, but the rescuers work for WICKED. Is freedom possible in this world? What would genuine freedom look like for Thomas and the other survivors?