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Chapter 20
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
Thomas turns around and sees the first Griever still pursuing him. Thinking he has a better chance at getting past just one Griever, Thomas charges at the first Griever. The Grievers runs at him too but before they collide, Thomas dives sideways and gets past the creature. As he continues to run, Minho grabs him from around a corner and tells him that Thomas’s sideways dive gave him an idea for beating the Grievers.
Thomas’ tenacious sense of hope inspires Minho to help him. This is the first of many examples where hope spreads from one person to another in the Glade.
Themes
Thomas follows Minho to the Cliff, where the Maze appears to end abruptly. The path looks over a seemingly infinite expanse of black sky. Since the path leading to the Cliff is narrow, the Grievers approach in single file. Minho tells Thomas to dive out of the way as soon as the Grievers charge.
The Cliff presents the closest thing to an “exit” from the Maze that the Gladers have found: suicide. In the metaphor of the Maze as adolescence, the Cliff represents the hopelessness that drives teenagers to suicide when they feel they have no other escape.
Themes
The first Griever charges and they dive out of the way. Without enough time to stop, the Griever falls off the edge, seeming to disappear into thin air. They successfully repeat this tactic with the second and third Griever, but the last one is able to stop just before falling of the edge. Minho and Thomas give each other a knowing look and they charge at the Griever together, kicking it in its center so that it too disappears off the Cliff.
Hope gives Minho the courage to change his longstanding method for surviving the Maze: running. Though running kept him alive in the past, this method fails to protect him or his friends in the Maze at night. Once he realizes that change is necessary for survival, Minho shows his willingness to adapt by taking the Grievers head on.
Themes
