The Maze Runner 2/2

Warning! This Summary Contains Huge Spoilers! Don't Read If You Don't Want to Ruin the Book! -Carter

Through and Through, I absolutely loved the first book of the series. From my friends, I know that there is three more following "The Maze Runner." I was very contempt with the ending of it, but I guess my gut told me to start reading the preview in the back of the book for book two. Wow, great job gut, you just made it so I'm stuck on the second book as well as a few other series. From reading the small preview, it left me feeling like I had just started the first book all over again, seeing how it tore me out of the maze and into the real world which is plagued by a disease called the flare. And just when I had been getting used to the gladers language! Now, there's just a bunch of new klunk that I have to learn. Seeing as I didn't stop at the ending of book one, I think I would have been just fine without reading the other books if I hadn't read that little beginning chapter. I mean, at the end of book one, it left all of the gladers who survived the greiver attack in a hospital sort of thing, safe from the maze and its many terrors. All and all, I absolutely loved the ending, and am looking forward to finding a copy of the second book and seeing what I just got into.

Putting my trauma cap on, I look at the glade as a place where every character finds an odd form of mortal terror and comfort. Looking at all of the gladers experiences, it seems to me that if I was a glader, I would feel safe in the homestead. Until right about the time where the walls stop closing, the greivers roam freely, and no new supplies are sent to the gladers. At that point, if I were a glader, I would have klunked my pants or worse. With plenty of trauma before that moment, I'm very happy that the author made it so the main characters all were at varying levels of stress. Newt, for instance, was always on the brink of post traumatic stress seeing that the guy was still recovering from his leg injury in the maze that almost cost himself his life. But when needed, Newt stepped up in the story to make sure that the glade didn't go into complete chaos. I guess I'll remember Newt as the kid who points out the complete obvious things that go on through the glade.

"The Walls you Shuck! The doors! They Aren't closing!" -Newt

I guess I can see the dystopia being a utopia for the scientists at WICKED. But if you look at it, the only thing they have that the gladers don't is relative safety. Even they aren't completely safe, seeing as they are living in a world with crazy, insane people who want to die because the disease literally is that bad. Also, some the scientists seem a little bit on the insane side, either that, or they're completely brilliant. I mean, seriously, putting kids into a death trap to try and save humanity is all they come up with? Really? Although, I seriously wouldn't want to be them when the gladers come down, especially since Minho is a hothead who will blow a socket and rage like no one ever did.

"Thomas took a step backward, seeing the others doing the same. A deathly silence sucked the life out of the room as every last glader stared at row of windows, at the row of observers. One of them looked down to scribble something onto his clipboard." - Thomas's thoughts.

The greatest thing about the series was that I actually felt a connection to all of the main/side characters, even Frypan, the cook who is only mentioned, like, twice! That was a great thing, until I was just about finished with the book, low and behold, Thomas, Chuck, and the other gladers come out of the maze only to find the creators have one last variable waiting. The death of Thomas! BUT NO! Chuck just has to sacrifice himself for Thomas. He may be the man character, but I really don't care what happens to Thomas since Chuck is the most lovable, coolest side character that I have ever possibly read about. Salute to Chuck, my favorite character in the entire series. ;(

"With unexpected speed, he threw the knife at Thomas... Then inexplicably, Chuck was there, diving in front of him..." (More sappy death scene stuff here, because if I were to list the entire quote, it would take up a ton of room.) "Thomas Stared at his dead friend. Chuck, the symbol that had driven him to get out of the dreaded maze. The one person Thomas had felt a love like no other for. Thomas's body entire body shuddered. And then something changed inside him. Thomas snapped, he completely snapped. Throwing himself at Gally, he slammed the boy with his fists where ever he could. He din't stop, letting out all of the pent up anger, stress, and panic from his entire experience in the maze. He kept going until Newt and Minho tore him from the limp body of Gally."

At least Gally got what was coming to him. :)

The Maze Runner 1/2

As I started to read the book, I loved how Thomas was frustrated with the ENTIRE topic of the maze and how no one would explain it. But when he finally would get someone to explain something to him, it would cause even more questions to bubble up that would cause even more questions. About 80-90 pages into the book, I feel like he finally started to realize that the maze was his new home, and that he needed to just get used to the gladers, grievers, and routine around the Glade. Excerpt : "The second hour was actually spent working with the farm animals-- feeding, cleaning, fixing a fence, scraping up klunk. Klunk. Thomas found himself using the Glader terms more and more."
Then, when Teresa comes in through the box, all of the boys are gathered around, waiting for someone to make a move. Then Teresa sits up, bright as day, and then spouts some random nonsense that says that everything is going to change. The note in her hand says that she's the last one ever, and that no one else will be sent to the Glade. Everyone stares in silence at the girl, and then some kid in the crowd says, "Who said Clint had first shot at her?" as if they were calling dibs on a girl right after she has practically sentenced you to death. Is it just me, or do some of the gladers seem kind of complacent with knowing they have been sentenced into a maze that evil creatures come out of and that the only thing protecting them is a wall. If I were one of them, I'd be prepared to do whatever it takes to get the heck out of the thing that keeps you safe but not safe at the same time. Too me, when I use the feminist/gender theory on this part of the book, I see how really only one gender is represented here. If you look close enough, you see that the only girl in the glade is represented as some sort of traumatic moment to further develop Thomas's, Newt's, and Alby's relationship as well as the rest of the gladers.
One of the things that really helps me to define Thomas personality and character is when he's seen the greivers, a creepy, green, metallic monster that will prick you with a needle that will kill you in mere hours if you don't get a serum. And the serum, the thing that saves you but makes you go looney, have spasms, and feel pain like no one has ever felt. Seriously, Thomas is either an idiot who knows no fear, or he has no fear and is one of the most fearless men I have ever read about. If I were Thomas, I would run straight to the slammer and lock myself in there, knowing good and well I would die of starvation, loss of sanity, or dehydration. But seriously, which way would you rather go? Get stabbed with really pointy needles and then have a chance of living by ways of a painful serum, or would you rather die peacefully but hungry, thirsty, or insane?