- Tags:
- Show more
- Pages:
- 1
- Words:
- 550
Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Themes in Maze Runner The main theme that comes out clearly for me in the book is memory and identity. This theme runs throughout and applies to all characters who are sent to the Glade. James Dashner brings this out clearly by using teenage vocabulary in the book. All Gladers lose their memories before being put in the box. Thomas memory loss is the worst of them all. He tries hard to remember who he is and why he has come to Glade. Throughout the novel, Thomas makes the recovery of his memory and true identity one of his main goals. The novel reads, ‘and yet he didn’t know where he came from, or how he’d gotten inside the dark lift, or who his parents were…’ (Chapter 1, page 2).In the process, he is faced with questions of self-worth and identity. He starts to question himself if really people are the sum of their memories and experiences in the past or one's identity can exist regardless of present and past experiences. He wonders why he is in Glades. At first, thinking that Glades is a prison, he wonders whether he had been engaged in criminal activities that landed him there. Newt at the end of the novel concludes that regardless of one’s past identity, they become different. This suggests that a person is not the sum total of their past experiences and memories. The Gladers have however not lost all their memories as highlighted in the novel. Their memories are instead suppressed deep in their minds, and these still determine their behaviors and feelings. For instance, Thomas feels connected to Teresa immediately they meet and feels he can trust her despite her being a stranger. Later on, it is revealed that Thomas and
Leave feedback