Characters and Plot: Thomas: He is 15 years old, and in the beginning of the novel, he wakes up in a dark, and enclosed place while remembering nothing but his name(1). When the lift he was on came up to the surface, he is greeted with people that he has never seen before, but are actually in the same position as him; trying to escape The Glade. He is very athletic, and smart, but has this strange ability to talk to Teresa; another main character, with his mind, and she can respond. Alby: Alby is the leader of The Gladers, and to sum up his behavior and the way he acts… he is a bit of a psycho hot head. He regulates what goes on in The Glade when it comes to the boys. He is also in charge of the new bloods that come out of the same box that Thomas came out of. Minho: Minho has a really defined role in the novel. His job in The Glade is to traverse the maze everyday and try to find a way out. In a way, he is very similar to Thomas. He is very athletic, and him and Thomas weren’t very fond of each other when they first met, but as the novel progresses, they become allies and focus on one thing; finding a way out of the maze. Chuck: Chuck is a character who isn’t much on the athletic side, like Thomas and Minho, but he is one of Thomas’s best friends, and they consider themselves as brothers. Chuck is very talkative, and can sometimes get on the character’s nerves, and was assigned to Thomas as a guide. Teresa: Teresa is a girl who is also very close to Thomas, and when they first met, it was like they made a connection, and felt like they had known each other for years. Thomas and her can communicate through their minds, and they don’t know how they can do it.
Themes and Symbols: I think that one of the major themes in this book is definitely Bravery. In the novel “The Maze Runner” each of the gladers have to be brave to even traverse the maze. Even in the beginning of the book, Alby was showing Thomas what a griever was, and in this quote “Somehow he knew he had to do it. It was such an odd thing to feel, especially after what he had just seen...'Now you know this isn't joke time. You've been sent to the Glade, Greenie, and we'll be expectin' ya to survive and help us do what we've been sent here to do”(39), you could see Thomas showing bravery because he knew that one of these grievers could mangle him apart, and kill him. Although he has the risk of being killed with ease, he still feels the need to help the rest of the gladers. This is common in this novel; putting other’s safety above your own. When the Author says "Instead of responding, Alby took off running- he headed straight for the pack of Grievers between him and the cliff." (333). Then Minho says "...He freaking sacrificed himself for us - and they aren't attacking, so maybe it worked. We'd be heartless if we wasted it”(334) This quote is describing when Alby charged a pack of grievers, and sacrificing his life for the safety of everyone else. Without bravery, the group of gliders would not be able to traverse the maze, because just going into the maze takes bravery. Bravery is found all throughout this novel, from beginning to end. Even in the beginning when Thomas risks his life to save Minho and Alby. Now there are characters who don’t value bravery in a positive ways. Minho has left people behind to save his own life, instead of trying to save someone else’s life. Although we have some characters like Minho, we still have characters like Thomas, and Alby. In essence bravery is definitely a major theme in “The Maze Runner”.