The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Summary and Review) (Maze Runner Trilogy) - Minute Book Report

Описание: This is a quick book summary and analysis of The Maze Runner by James Dashner.

Facebook Page -   / 1148331925195691  

This is a story about a boy named Thomas who finds himself in a mysterious camp, the Glade, with other boys, the Gladers. He doesn't remember anything about himself except his name.

The Gladers explain that they are trapped within a walled camp of which one wall is a door to an elaborate maze with moving walls. Each evening, the door to the maze closes, trapping anyone still inside. The maze is also patrolled by Grievers, mechanical slugs that have poisonous spikes and deadly claws.

Each boy is assigned a job in the Glade, yet Thomas wants to be a Runner, a person assigned to run in the maze each day and map out the walls.

Slowly, Thomas gets to know several of the other boys personally, such as Chuck, his best friend, Alby, the leader, Newt, Alby's second in command, Minho, the leader of the Runners, and Gally, Thomas' rival.

Surprisingly, the day after Thomas' arrival, another person enters the Glade: a girl named Teresa who is in a coma. And somehow, despite not remembering his past, Thomas recognizes her. They also are able to communicate telepathically.

After saving the life of Alby and Minho in the maze, Thomas is trained as a Runner. He discovers a secret door, a Griever Hole, in the maze where the Grievers enter and exit that is off a cliff.

Suddenly, things change in the Glade, as the sun disappears and the maze door stays open, meaning the Grievers can enter the camp at night.

The Grievers then take Gally and several other boys, one boy each night. Meanwhile, Thomas comes up with a plan to try to escape the maze through the Griever Hole.

After recognizing a secret string of words by using the maps, Thomas and several of the others decide to fight their way to the Griever Hole to try to escape.

The boys fight off a group of Grievers as Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck enter the Griever Hole and enter the secret words in a computer. It works and the Grievers shut down.

The survivors escape the maze and enter a high tech facility run by WICKED, an organization running experiments on the children. Gally returns and tries to kill Thomas, but Chuck sacrifices himself and dies instead.

The children are rescued by a group of armed adults who escort them on a bus. One of the leaders explains that there has been large solar flares that have destroyed most of the world.

In the end, the children are taken to a safe facility and it is revealed that the adults who rescued them are with WICKED.

As always a lot can be said about this story, but what draws my interest and attention is the idea of patterns and how we can judge and test people based on their reaction to a change in a pattern.

Although the maze beyond the walls of the Glade are always changing, life inside the Glade is pretty consistent. The boys have their jobs, supplies arrive on scheduled dates, and life runs smoothly.

The arrival of both Thomas and Teresa changes this. Their arrival is unexpected and the boys then struggle to react to what these two individuals bring to the Glade. Thomas' new ideas challenge the established rules that have been setup for the protection and safety of the camp, while Teresa is not only the only girl in the camp, but also acts as a catalyst for what she calls "The Ending".

And although our lives may not be inside the walls of a maze, we can find ourselves stuck in a comfortable pattern each day. Yes, maybe some of the smaller details are different, but for the most part, our lives are scheduled and routine.

But what were to happen if things drastically changed in your life? How do normal people react to change?

This is what readers should think about, since it's what the boys struggle with throughout the story. And often, it's how we deal with change that defines and reveals the person we really are.



Through Minute Book Reports, hopefully you can get the plot and a few relevant discussion points in just a couple of minutes.

Music: "Saturday" by Josh Woodward - http://www.joshwoodward.com