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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Maze Runner, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and Identity
Stability and Order vs. Change and Chaos
Sacrifice
Growing Up
Hope
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
Inside the Maze, everything is dark and Thomas feels terrified, but he manages to find his way to Minho and Alby. Minho tells Thomas that he was stupid, not brave, to enter the Maze because now they’re all going to die. Thomas asks about the Griever and Minho says that when they found it, Alby touched it and it came back alive. Instead of attacking them, it ran away, but trampled Alby in the process, stinging him with its needles and rendering him unconscious.
Minho’s fear illustrates how life in the Glade has so ingrained in him the rule against going into the Maze at night that he believes breaking that rule will unavoidably lead to his death. This fear causes him to lose all hope for survival.
Themes
Thomas suggests they climb the vines in order to protect themselves from the Grievers, but Minho responds by saying that they’ve tried that in the past and it didn’t work. Minho yells at Thomas, saying his sense of hope is just making everything worse. They then hear a whirring and clicking sound in the distance. Minho stands up and says the only way they will survive is if they split up and run as fast as they can. At that, Minho runs into the Maze, leaving Alby and Thomas alone and defenseless against the approaching Griever.
As Minho’s reaction shows, hope can be painful in dire situations. It’s easier for Minho to handle the situation emotionally by accepting that he’s going to die rather than hoping that he may live. But without hope, Minho loses all courage and sense of responsibility, betraying Alby and Thomas by running away.
Themes
