The Maze Runner by James Dashner Essay Sample

The Maze  Runner by James Dashner is a dystopian novel set in a maze. The main character, Thomas, is a 16 year old boy who enters this society with no memory other than who he is. He finds out that other boys have also been trapped, they were given the task of escaping, by some unknown higher authority. This society uses control to trap these kids inside a maze that changes every night. The society in The Maze Runner and Crystal Middle School have multiple similarities but some differences as well. We can see these similarities and differences in how they oversee responsibility, reach their main objective, and enforce punishment. Of these features, the most spectacular similarity is the way both societies oversee responsibility.

The society in The Mazerunner, called the Glade, makes the boys work in a section, for example, each department focuses on different things, like farming, building houses, and running through the maze.  Each division has a boy in charge of that specific part like one person is in charge of overseeing the farming and another building. The community teaches that every boy is in charge of their branch of work, everyone is responsible for themselves by making each teenager have a job. For example, in Chapter 7, we learn about the different chores, “You’ll spend the next two weeks working one day apiece for our different job Keepers⸺until we know what you’re best at. Slopper, Bricknick, Bagger, Track-hoe⸺ somethin’ll stick, always does,” (Dashner, pg 43). We see that everyone has a task, each person is responsible for their part. In this way, overseeing responsibility in The Glade teaches, or educates, the boys to make sure they manage their errands. Similarly at Crystal Middle School, there are multiple teachers in charge of multiple students, like boys to a section. Students are in charge of making sure they complete assignments and homework in a time frame, participate during class, and listen to their teachers' instructions. For example, I have assignments and homework from different classes that I am expected to complete on time. This shows that the way we oversee responsibility is similar to the Glade because both societies make sure that their citizens are in charge of making sure that they are responsible for their fraction of work. This is not the only similarity between our society and Crystal Middle School, we also have similar objectives.

The Glade’s main objective is to escape The Maze, it has been so difficult to get out because it changes every night and the boys trapped have tried to escape for the past 2 years. This is similar to Crystal Middle School because students also have goals that we try to achieve. This society shows the boys all having a common goal, getting out of the maze. The Glade teaches the boys to work hard for what they want because they have been trapped in the maze for about 2 years and they have not given up on escaping the maze. We see that the boys all do their part in making sure that they manage to leave the maze, like working their jobs, getting maze runners to search and analyze the maze, and doing anything they can to find clues on how to escape, like searching the maze wall for hints on breaking out. In Crystal Middle School, we do things a bit similar, for example, students also have a main goal, to move on and get to high school. Students make sure that they are passing all their classes, talking to their teachers, and participating in extracurricular activities. While there are similarities, there are, of course, also some differences.

The society of The Glade enforces punishment to keep the society tranquil and under control, even if the discipline is deemed cruel. The Glade uses fatal penalties to set an example of what you should not do. For example, in Chapter 14, we learn that Ben was exiled even if he was irrational and hysterical when he awoke from the Changing, something like a  terrible coma. The text states, “I swear I was just sick in the head from the Changing. I never would’ve killed him⸺just lost my mind for a second.” (Dashner, pg 92). We see that other citizens of the Glade were frightened by Ben’s exile. The fear that appeared in the boys compelled them to not make the same mistakes Ben made and learn to keep things peaceful, in worry of getting the same discipline. In Crystal Middle School, we do things drastically different. For example, if we do not follow a school rule, we get detention, a warning, a phone call home, or at worst a suspension. We do not get exiled or traumatized. This shows that the way we handle punishments is vastly different from the Glade. We want students to be successful but to make and learn from their mistakes; The Glade wants boys to follow rules out of fear of pain or death.

In conclusion, when comparing The Mazerunner and Crystal Middle School we see our societies turn out to have many similarities and differences. We can see the similarities and differences after comparing how they oversee responsibility, reach their goals, and enforce punishments. We see that while there are similarities, there are also a couple of differences. The way that the Glade oversees responsibility and reaches its goals is similar to our society, while the way the Glade enforces punishment is significantly different from our society. There are too many similarities between the society in the Mazerunner and our society. The Glade is purposely meant to be a dystopian society, it should not have so many similarities with our civilization. This can become a major problem because if simple things like overseeing responsibility are alike, who’s to say that the way we enforce punishment might not become similar as well. That could lead our society to disaster if we’re not careful. We can change by learning from fallen societies, studying what to not do and what is deemed acceptable to strive for. I fear for the future of our society if we do not manage to change for the better.