127 pages 4 hours read

James Dashner

The Maze Runner

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2009

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Symbols & Motifs

The Maze

The Maze is a symbol that represents both chaos and order for the Gladers. Every night, the walls of the Maze move and shift, making it harder for the Gladers to find an exit. The Doors close every night as well, symbolizing routine and order in the otherwise chaotic Maze. The massiveness of the Maze, the fact that the walls change nightly, and the Grievers that haunt its corridors, all symbolize futility and complete chaos for the Gladers. Thomas is able to see the horror of the Maze as a symbol, and in time, he shows the other Gladers how to benefit from the apparent chaos of the Maze. He also shows that the random movements are not so random, and thereby reveals a code to the Maze. By showing the Gladers how to view the Maze as a symbol, and by extracting the code, he ultimately shows them a new way of looking at life, and how things and events can seem futile and chaotic at the outset, but if a different perspective is applied, chaos can be transformed into order. 

Related Titles

By James Dashner

Study Guide

logo

The Death Cure

James Dashner

The Death Cure

James Dashner

Study Guide

logo

The Kill Order

James Dashner

The Kill Order

James Dashner

Study Guide

logo

The Scorch Trials

James Dashner

The Scorch Trials

James Dashner