"The Maze Runner" Reading Response

            The book “The Maze Runner”, by James Dashner, is a mysterious post-apocalyptic story about Thomas, a boy with no memory of his past life as he enters the glade. As he stays there more, he slowly learns that everything is not as it seems and he is the center of it. Thomas has a very important archetype, he is a wide-eyed hero, and without this, the book wouldn’t make sense. Thomas arrives at the glade with no memory of anything except his name and by the end of the book (SPOILER ALERT!) he leads the remaining gladers out of the glade, an innocent “greenie” to a leader.

            At the beginning of the book, when Thomas first arrives at the glade in the box he has no idea where he is, who he is, or how he got there. He is clueless. ‘’It was all too much – where was he? What was this place? Was it some kind of prison? If so, why was he sent here, and for how long?”(Page 11) He is wide-eyed because he is innocent, and with no knowledge or experience how can he be anything else?

            In the middle of the book, Thomas starts to understand the glade, as he stays there longer. This newfound knowledge beckons him to the Maze surrounding him and the Gladers. When he first learns about the maze he wants to explore it and is curious about it. Then when finally his chance comes when Minho, the runner, and Alby, the leader, get stuck in the maze when the doors are closing and he runs in with them. Although, Thomas says he goes because he doesn’t want to let them die in there, but I believe that he also did it to find more about the mysterious Maze. When they make it out alive in the morning, Thomas takes a big step in becoming a leader from his innocent past self.

            At the end of the book, Thomas completes the change from innocent boy to a leader when he and Minho work a way out of the Glade through the Maze. He leads the remaining Gladers to freedom. Thomas leads the gladers through the maze and into the hole in the Cliff, fighting many grievers in the process, half of them dead, but 21 make it through because of Thomas’ leadership.

            Throughout the book, Thomas completes the change from innocent boy to strong leader, going through many different obstacles and challenges to get there. This portrays the wide-eyed hero archetype perfectly. I can’t wait to read the second book in the series and find out what new changes in character he undergoes, because I know that he will change drastically.