Masashi. K’s Reviews > The Maze Runner > Status Update

It worries me how Thomas will react to Chuck's death. On page 356, Chuck sacrifices himself for Thomas, which unfortunately ends up in his demise. What's concerning is that Thomas thought of Chuck like family, stating on page 371: "Feels like I lost a brother." Knowing Thomas, he'll probably end up doing something on an impulse, and do something that he'll regret.

I think that the words Newt and Teresa decoded are a code to solving the maze. On page 290, Newt shows Thomas the words that he and Teresa discovered from the Maze's movements, and even tells him that "The Maze has been repeating those words for months". This means the Maze probably just wants them to use the words in that specific order. As for where to input the code, it is probably somewhere in the WICKED lab.

Thomas seems to have a special connection with Teresa, for two reasons. First, she can talk to him in his head, which might be a result of the creators' experiments. Next, Thomas always felt that she looked familiar, and she seems to know who he is because of something that happened outside the Maze. This is probably because her memory wasn't fully erased, or because it wasn't meant to be.

I felt it was very frustrating when Thomas kept his connection with the girl a secret. On page 150, he avoids telling Newt about the feeling he had. Newt even told him "if something even seems familiar, you better start talking. Promise me," which makes it even more irritating that Thomas didn't speak up about his connection with the girl, and that he never talks about anything that the Gladers would find useful.

A puzzling part of the Maze Runner is Thomas's urge to become a Runner. My confusion stems from page 101, when the text states that "The desire to become a Runner was the only thing driving him on". On top of this, his talk with Newt on page 100 ends in him stating: "I want to be a Runner", only further bewildering me. These two moments both show reasons for my confusion over Thomas's yearning to become a Runner.

A part of the story that both Thomas and I found surprising was the existence of a vast maze outside of the walls. We first learn of this Maze when Thomas's "tour guide", Chuck, states: "Same thing happens out in the Maze-those walls shift every night too". The narrator's description of the wall "crunching" and "grinding shut", and Thomas's reaction to the development shows how surprising the Maze's reveal was.