Sacrifice Theme Analysis

In The Maze Runner, many characters risk their lives for the sake of saving those around them in various acts of self-sacrifice. Thomas risks his own life, entering into the Maze to save Alby and Minho. In contrast to Thomas’s act of bravery, Minho leaves behind the two of them in order to save his own life. Like Thomas, Gally sacrifices himself on the night of the Grievers’ first raid so that no one else would be killed. Although Gally may have seemed selfish and arrogant for most of the novel, this sacrifice is an act of redemption that makes up for his past behaviors.

In the end, most of the Gladers are willing to risk their lives in order to protect Thomas and Teresa as they look for an exit to the Maze. Although half of the Gladers die, their sacrifice makes it possible for the rest of them to escape. Thomas, however, wonders if the escape was worth their sacrifice because he thinks it’s unfair that half of them died while the other half got to live. Thomas’ negative feelings about sacrifice become most pronounced when Chuck sacrifices his life to save Thomas’. At first Thomas feels guilty about Chuck’s sacrifice, but Teresa tells him it was Chuck’s choice to throw himself in front of the knife. She tells Thomas that now he has a responsibly not to waste Chuck’s sacrifice. Thomas agrees and comes to the realization that sacrifice is a tragic but noble act as long as people have the right to choose to sacrifice themselves.

In contrast to these self-sacrifices, the author structures the novel around a sacrifice that is not chosen by the people who have to make it. The Creators took teenagers, wiped their memories, and put them in the Maze without their consent. Although the Creators knew that many of the boys would die, they were willing to sacrifice the boys’ lives for what they thought was the greater good of humanity—this logic is presented as morally dubious within the novel, as it amounts to using people regardless of hoped-for ends of that use. Thus, sacrifice only appears as a positive act when the person doing the sacrifice has had the opportunity to make that choice for him or herself.