Theme of Memory in The Maze Runner Essay Example

Memory is one of the major themes in the Maze Runner. Before landing in the Glade, all the characters in The Maze Runner lose their memories. Thomas loses his sense of self without these recollections. As a result, one of his key objectives is to restore his memories. Thomas wonders whether humans are the sum of their memories and prior experiences, or if we have essential natures that exist regardless of our experiences, as he struggles to discover his identity. For example, Thomas incorrectly believes that the Glade is a jail and that all Gladers are criminals early in the novel. Thomas worries if being a criminal before his arrival means he is a fundamentally violent or immoral person. The novel ends by implying that none of the boys have truly lost their memories. Instead, their feelings and behaviors may still be influenced by memories buried deep inside their minds. Thomas, for example, has a strong, almost instinctive sensation that he should trust Teresa, despite the fact that he has no memory of her. Before their memories were destroyed, we find that they had a very close friendship. As a result, the novel implies that human relationships are so deeply established in our identities that they become inextricably linked to who we are and cannot be forgotten. Furthermore, the novel implies that people are characterized by their current behaviors rather than their previous actions. Thomas, for example, discovers that he intentionally assisted in the design of the Maze before landing in the Glade. As a result, some Gladers are suspicious of Thomas, but the gang eventually welcomes him once he proves to be a trustworthy and fearless member of their community. Unlike Thomas, who wants to repress his recollections of life before the Glade, some characters want to repress their memories of life before the Glade even more. Gladers experience flashes of recollections from their previous lives during the Changing. Most Gladers who go through the Changing hesitate to talk about the memories they've recovered since they're so terrible. Alby loses his ability to lead in the most extreme situation after regaining some of his memories. Alby's memories are actually causing problems because he was known for his effective leadership. Despite his dissatisfaction with his memories, Thomas is the only one who can save the Gladers by using them to find a way out of the Maze. The novel The Maze Runner shows how some people need to suppress terrible experiences in order to maintain hope and a sense of self, while others strive to unearth and learn from these memories in order to deal with current challenges.

The next theme is Order vs. Change. Throughout the novel, there is a conflict between the benefits of order for maintaining a self-sustaining society and the transformations that the Gladers must undergo in order to survive the Maze. When thrust into this unfamiliar and deadly environment, the Gladers employ order and rules to save themselves from succumbing to panic and despair. Despite their early age and difficult circumstances, the boys established a functioning society with a strict set of laws, a well-defined leadership hierarchy, and daily job tasks. When Thomas stops being sad about ever leaving the Maze by committing himself to the daily job regimen in the Glade, he rapidly learns the value of order. Although order offers stability, the Glade's legal and penal systems border on brutal. Ben is expelled from the Gladers for attacking Thomas, despite the fact that he was clearly in mental distress at the time of the incident. The Gladers don't consider the circumstances of Ben's attack since the regulations are so strict, and he is banished to the Maze, which is practically a death sentence. When Ben begs for pity and pardon, afraid and crying, Thomas empathizes with him and recognizes that the severity of the penalty is out of proportion to Ben's crime. Most Gladers, on the other hand, take delight in Ben's expulsion, demonstrating how their desire to maintain order and discipline has surpassed their empathy or sympathy for their fellow Gladers. Thomas, on the other hand, makes required modifications that cause the normal routine and order of things to be disrupted. Despite the fact that being in the Maze after dark is against the rules, Thomas enters to save Alby and Minho. Despite the fact that he saves them, the other Gladers sentence him to a day in jail for disobeying their rules. The Runners' attitude toward solving the Maze irritates Thomas as well. They do the same thing every day, never changing their routine. Despite their early reluctance to change, Thomas eventually persuades them to abandon their routine when he assists in leading the majority of the Gladers into the Maze. They are able to escape the Maze as a result of this disruption in their typical routine. 

The last major theme within the Maze Runner is sacrifice. Many characters within the Maze Runner risk their lives to save lots of those around them in various acts of self-sacrifice. Thomas puts his life on the road to save lots of Alby and Minho by entering the Maze. Minho , in contrast to Thomas' bravery, abandons the 2 of them to save lots of his own life. Gally , like Thomas, sacrifices himself on the night of the Grievers' first raid to make sure that nobody else is slain. Despite the very fact that Gally appeared selfish throughout most of the novel, this sacrifice is an act of redemption that atones for his previous actions. In the end, most of the Gladers are willing to risk their lives to guard Thomas and Teresa as they give the impression of being for an exit to the Maze. Although half the Gladers die, their sacrifice makes it possible for the remainder of them to flee. Thomas, however, wonders if the escape was worth their sacrifice because he thinks it’s unfair that 1/2 them died while the opposite half need to live. Thomas’ negative feelings about sacrifice become most pronounced when Chuck sacrifices his life to avoid wasting Thomas’. Initially Thomas feels guilty about Chuck’s sacrifice, but Teresa tells him it had been Chuck’s option to throw himself ahead of the knife. She tells Thomas that now he contains a responsibility to not waste Chuck’s sacrifice. Thomas agrees and involves the belief that sacrifice could be a tragic but noble act as long as people have the correct to decide on to sacrifice themselves. In contrast to those self-sacrifices, the author structures the novel around a sacrifice that's not chosen by the people that need to make it. The Creators took teenagers, wiped their memories, and put them within the Maze without their consent. Although the Creators knew that a lot of the boys would die, they were willing to sacrifice the boys’ lives for what they thought was the greater good of humanity—this logic is presented as morally dubious within the novel, because it amounts to using people no matter hoped-for ends of that use. Thus, sacrifice only appears as a positive act when the person doing the sacrifice has had the chance to form that choice for him or herself.