Maze Runner Book report

James Dashner

Genre: Adventure

Thomas woke up in an elevator not knowing who he was, where he was and what was going on. All of the sudden a door opened above him and he was greeted by many unknown kids. All the kids were male teenagers. It took him about a day or two to figure out that he had been sent to a place called the Glade. The Glade was an area about the size of a football field that had 4 giant walls surrounding it. The kids who live inside the Glade called themselves Gladers.  Outside of the Glade was the “Maze” that the kids who lived in the Glade had to find their way out of and escape to freedom. Thomas realized that he could help by going out into the Maze to find an exit. But the Maze was dangerous.  Inside the Maze Grievers lived.  Grievers were half animal half machine creatures that looked like slugs and killed the kids from the Glade.  At one point in the story, the doors to the elevator that brought Thomas to the Glad opened again. A new person had come to the Glade and this time it was a girl - the first girl in the history of the Glade. The problem was she was in a coma but her mind was still active.  With her mind the girl triggered something that caused the doors of the Glade not to close. This meant that the Grievers that come at night in the Maze out could attack the kids inside the Glade. The Gladers really needed to find a way out. To find out more READ THE BOOK!

The main characters in this book are: Thomas, Newt, Alby, Teresa, Chuck and Minho. They are not typical teenagers. The teenagers in this book act like grownups in this story. They take responsibility and lead their fellow teenagers to survive the grievers and all the “Variables” the creators of the Glade throw at them. Thomas is a confused child at the beginning but then he starts to become a leader who helps the kids out of the Glade. He risks his life to get stung by the Grievers so that he can go through a process called “the changing”.  The changing allowed Thomas to remember that he helped design the Glade and he knew the exit.  Newt and Alby are the official leaders of the teens in the Glade. They make most of the decisions and they help Thomas with his plan for escape. Newt ends up becoming Thomas’s friends in the end. Chuck is originally Thomas’s guide for the Glade but the two end up becoming really good friends. Chuck and Thomas end up making it out of the Glade and the Maze but unfortunately Chuck dies in the process.  Minho is the keeper of the Runners. The Runners are the people who go out into the Maze during the day to try and find a way out.  Minho teaches Thomas about the, what to look for and how to record the maps in the special map room. Teresa is the first girl to be brought into the Glade. She is in a coma for most of the book but she ends up becoming very close with Thomas when she wakes up.  She gives him ideas and keeps him company when he is alone. These characters are not very stereotypical. They are all very unique in personality (for example: Minho is a bit cocky, Chuck is annoying, and Alby is very rough and can be harsh). I really like the characters in this story for their personalities and actions. They are very interesting and kept me interested in the story.

The theme of the novel Maze Runner is that you cannot do things on your own. It is always better to work together than fight over individual decisions. This theme is demonstrated throughout the novel like when Thomas finds a way to escape the Maze. At first everyone thought he was a traitor but then they realized that he was trying to find a way for everyone to escape.  This  was the best option they had for survival and  they had to trust Thomas and work together to support his escape. So forty-two  Gladers volunteered to battle the Grievers and create a diversion while Thomas, Chuck and Teresa found the exit from the Maze.  Twenty-one Gladers lost their lives so that that others could be free.  Only together could they achieve their goal of escape.

This book had a very unique story line that made it very interesting.  It also was very detailed in the descriptions of the scenery like the ivy covered stone walls and the slug like machines called Grievers. The characters, their personalities, and the way the characters bonded and acted around each other also made the story very interesting. Their relationships were intriguing and realistic.  For example, Gally felt like he knew Thomas from life before the Glade and was convinced he was evil. Gally tried to convince the other Gladers that Thomas was not a good person and that he must be sent to the maze to be killed by Grievers. This created a lot of tension in the book because Gally definitely had supporters who thought badly of Thomas.  The book definitely made me feel a lot of emotions.  At times I felt like I was a part of the story.   For example I felt actual hate for the Creators and what they did by imprisoning teenagers in the Glade. It was a genuine feeling that I have rarely ever felt when reading a book. As a result, I enjoyed reading the Maze Runner because I felt like I was a part of the story and one of the Gladers.

Theme of The Maze Runner

The theme of the novel Maze Runner is that you cannot do things on your own. It is always better to work together than fight over the decisions that should be made and stay individual. This theme is demonstrated throughout the novel like when Thomas finds a way to escape the Maze. At first everyone thought he was a traitor but then they realized that it was the best option they had and that they had to work together. So the Gladers ended up gathering up 42 people willing to risk their lives to save others and without the 21 who lost their lives, they could not have fought off the Grievers alone. Together many Gladers survived and made it out of the Maze. But, Only together could the achieve their goal of escape.

Interesting use of language

Imagery	‘He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale dusty air’ This took place in the very beginning when Thomas was in the elevator on his way to the Glade
Simile	‘Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory’ This is what the elevator sounded like on his ascent to the Glade.
Simile	‘the room jerked upward like an old lift mine shaft’ This when Thomas is still in the elevator
Descriptive words	‘wiped the fresh beads of sweat off his forehead’ This was when Minho had just returned from the Maze to report the first dead griever.
Descriptive words	“Were the metal spikes in or out of its body? Did it move at all-was its skin still moist?” This is when Alby was asking Minho about what the dead Griever looked like.
Imagery	‘Ben’s head snapped violently to the left, twisting his body until he landed on his stomach, his feet pointed toward Thomas. He made no sound’ This is when Ben goes crazy from the ‘Changing’ and attacks Thomas. Alby had to shoot him in the face with an arrow to stop him and his madness.
Imagery	‘the long shaft stuck from bens cheek, the blood surprisingly less than Thomas had expected, but seeping out all the same’ This is Ben was dead from the shot from the arrow.

Character Chart

Character	Importance in the story	Quotation
Thomas	Main character who is the first person to survive in the maze overnight.	‘The West Door to the glade towered over them and it was open. They’d made it back.’
Chuck	Thomas’s buddy in the glade. He keeps him company.	“yeah but we’re buddies now right...”looks like you’re not giving me much choice on that one.”
Alby	He is the leader of the Glade	‘That must be their leader, Thomas realized.’ “Isn’t he the leader?” “General Alby” “Admiral Alby”
Minho	Minho is the Keeper of the Runners	“I nominate this shank to replace me as keeper of the Runners.”
Newt	Helps lead the Glade also and he helps shed some light on the mysteries to Thomas.	“That there is the Maze” “We call ‘em Grievers”
Teresa	First girl to be in the Glade EVER!!!	“It’s a girl!”

Setting sketch

"The Glade" does not seem to be a very great place. .Thomas (the protagonist) thinks of it as dark and evil and later on he feels like it is familiar. All the children at the Glade hate it. "where am I?"..."nowhere good", this is a quote from when Thomas first enters the Glade. The glade is basically an open area with 4 gargantuan concrete and metal walls that act like doors at night. These walls have spikes coming out of them to act as locks for when it is night time. Outside of the Glade is a giant maze. People run out into the maze to try and escape or something else (not yet specified). The Glade is an awful place to life for these teenagers and young adults. There are no beds for sleeping or rooms for sleeping in. The teenagers must sleep outside. Life in the Glade is terrible.

review on the first 3 chapters

Here is the first 3 chapters in brief.

Thomas (the Protagonist) woke up in an elevator. He does not know who he is, what family he is from or even where he was born or what time it is. suddenly the door out opens and he hears voices. the voices were not those of adults but of children and teenagers. when he exits he is in a caged in room that was very large. the kids start to laugh at him and murmur about him. Then a larger boy came and introduced him. he looked like he was in charge or a leader of the kids.


Quotes in the first chapter:

"He began his new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air."
"Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory."

"Nice to meet ya, Shank."
"Welcome to the Glade."
"Where am I?"..."Nowhere good."
"I told ya, Shuck-face."


interesting words

Shuck-face: a slang insult
Shank: normally means a home made knife (generally not very good) but in this case it probably means a person who is not very good or dusty.
Glade: a tract of land with few or no trees in the middle of a wooded area

picture of James Dashner