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Literature Review: The Maze Runner

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Words: 544 |

Published: Jan 4, 2019

Words: 544 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Works Cited

• Dashner, J. (2009). The Maze Runner. Delacorte Press.
• The Maze Runner. (n.d.). In Goodreads. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6186357-the-maze-runner
• The Maze Runner Summary. (n.d.). In SparkNotes. Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/maze-runner/summary/
• Campbell, J., & Moyers, B. D. (2018). The Power of Myth. Anchor.
• Hero's Journey. (n.d.). In The Hero's Journey. Retrieved from http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm
• Vogler, C. (2007). The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (3rd ed.). Michael Wiese Productions.
• Foster-Harris, W. (1993). The Basic Patterns of Plot. University of Oklahoma Press.
• Propp, V. (1984). Morphology of the Folktale (2nd ed.). University of Texas Press.
• Hero's Journey: The 12 Steps. (n.d.). In Mythcreants. Retrieved from https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-heros-journey-the-12-steps/
• The Hero's Journey in Film: The Maze Runner. (n.d.). In Prezi. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/tadnnfmyg0l3/the-heros-journey-in-film-the-maze-runner/

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Book Review of The Maze Runner: English Literature Essay

In the novel, The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Thomas wakes up one day in a large, open room called the Glade (an elevator car) with no recollection of his life before. He finds that he is among a community consisting of 50 boys going by the name Gladers.

They have a leader named Alby, a co-leader by the name Newt and all they’re trying to do is solve the one maze. The entrance to the maze automatically closes every night at the same time, and that protects the Glades from Grievers (half animal, half robots) that will attack you if you get caught outside the maze. Chuck has to work alongside Thomas. They later become best friends. For the next several years, Thomas struggles to survive and find his way out only to learn that he is actually part of an experiment where they are trying to get teenagers from all over the world in order to create a cure for an unknown disease that has spread.

Uniqueness of The Maze Runner Essay

The tale is filled with suspense and adventure as Thomas attempts to find out more about the place, he has landed in. Surprisingly, a feeble teen girl with little of her memory remaining is brought in on his second day. The girl’s name is Teresa, and when she comes out from the coma, Thomas discovers that they can telepathically communicate. They, therefore, had this notion that they must have known each other before it happened to them. One evening, before the walls close and the time is running out, two runners named Minho and Alby did not return because they found a dead body the previous day. Just as the walls were almost closing, some of the runners soon discovered that they were not going to make it out and therefore they broke the first rule. Minho, therefore, decides to split up with Alby and leaves him to die because he got stung. They failed to accept that and tied Alby to the wall.

The maze runner book description

The end in The Glade gets triggered when they wake up one day, and there was no sun, after which they realized that they have existed in an environment of simulation. Thomas decides to solve the maze, and that is to get stung and go through the changing. Thomas realizes that all the teens were being used as experiments. They had been given false names from a scientist. He makes up a plan to get out of that prison, and it works. The bad thing is that half of the people die while trying to escape. When they finally managed to escape from the bondage, they met a rescue party after taking about two hours, where they get to some new location.

The maze runner characters’ description

Thomas is the book’s main protagonist, and he Is about 16 years of age, and his height is 5 ft 9. He also has black and brown hair and a set of blue eyes. Some people describe Thomas as ugly.

Among the many memorable scenes is when Alby, Thomas, and Minho got themselves trapped in the maze in the dark. I expected Minho to act as their leader, but he decides to ditch the group and go about his business on his own. The best part was the climax when they had run for about 3 hours, and Thomas meets with Minho and is surprised that he is alive. It is almost morning when they meet, but they are tired from the running, and from there, Minho comes up with a plan, and that’s when Thomas tricked the grievers into falling off the cliff. That scene was quite memorable and says that characters fought all odds, and you can even feel your adrenaline shooting even if you’re just sitting.

Other individuals who would like to read the same book would be interested in a series of books like Harry Potter. The readers must be lovers of Adventures or mystery. By reading the book, you will get hooked and know the next time that will happen, especially with all the twists within the storyline.

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner - review

First The Hunger Games, then Divergent and now The Maze Runner, a dystopian novel, is being adapted as a film and will be released in cinemas later this year.

The Maze Runner is the first book in a trilogy written by the American author James Dashner. The book was first published in 2009. The similarities between The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner are striking. Firstly, the setting is a post-apocalyptic world with an authoritarian regime, secondly a young teenage hero or heroine decides to fight against the rulers, and finally the heroes are being tested in a trial and have to fight for life or death.

In The Hunger Games the hero, Katniss Everdeen, and the world the story plays in, Panem, are introduced at the beginning and only later in the book the actual trials start. Quite in contrast, The Maze Runner kicks off directly in the middle of the trial and as the title says, a seemingly unsolvable maze must be solved.

Thomas, the sixteen years old hero, remembers nothing about himself except his name. His memory has been wiped, as have all the memories of the Gladers, the teenagers who inhabit the maze. The only thing Thomas can recall is that he must solve the Maze to save himself and the other Gladers. The maze is gigantic and the fifty boys who are caught in it live on a farm in the middle of the maze, an area called the Glade. Every day a small number of the boys, the Runners, leave the Glade and head out into the unknown to find a way out and Thomas wants to become one of them.

As if solving a gigantic maze wouldn't be challenging enough, the walls of the maze move every night to create new dead ends and new paths. And each night the walls directly surrounding the Glade, the place where the boys live, close and shield the Gladers against the dreadful monsters that inhabit the maze. It has been two years since the first boys have found themselves in the maze with wiped-out memories and now Thomas has joined them. He soon notices that he knows more about the maze and the reason why they have all been placed in it. With his help the Gladers are closer to solving the maze than ever before.

The story is very action-packed and reading the book feels very much like watching a movie. In contrast to The Hunger Games, where twenty-four boys and girls must kill each other, The Maze Runner seems more like a mystery book. In my opinion, The Maze Runner is more suitable for younger readers. Reading The Maze Runner really feels more like watching a movie. The book is also written in the the third person, whereas The Hunger Games is written in the first person, which allows reals insight into Katniss's thoughts and puts you in the middle of the action.

I think The Maze Runner definitely is a good book and I am looking forward to the movie, which will be action-packed and thrilling, just like the book. However, in comparison to The Hunger Games The Maze Runner doesn't feel as realistic and serious, thus isn't as engaging and shocking.

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For readers and writers, the maze runner – book review.

Dystopian novel fans hold your breath! The one of the most amazing and full-of-awesomeness-series is here!!

I completed The Maze Runner yesterday. And I have no words to describe it. Okay I have a few words, so start reading!

Book cover blurb When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas can remember is his first name. But he’s not alone. He’s surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade, an encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible maze.

Like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they came to be there, or what’s happened to the world outside. All they know is thay every morning when the walls side back, they will risk everything to find out.

*No spoilers included*

My review- I watched the movie first and then I decided to read the book. My experience told me the movie will be almost same as the book. Same ending, same scenes. But it is not so in The Maze Runner . The first half I knew what was going around and I knew what will really happen to Thomas. After reaching half of the book I thought ‘everything’s the same, why read more to know what happened. I know it already!’

But I was wrong. The while second half of the book doesn’t even resemble half the movie. The story twists so much I have to read every chapter now to know what’s gonna happen next.

And James Dashner, that man knows how to keep the readers at the edge of their seats. Every chapter ends with such an unexpected event and I am forced to read the next chapter to find out how the hell did that happen?

Now let’s get to other things.

Plot The main theme of the book is new and so different. However, it is somewhat based loosely on the concept of Hunger Games. Like children trapped somewhere unknown and they need to escape. The fans of Hunger Games will surely love the Maze Runner series. The story takes us to the Glade which is situated in the middle of the Maze which is yet to be solved.

Thomas remembers only his name and rest memory is just wiped out. He helps the other boys and find different ways to escape. I am not going to include any spoilers so you have to figure out yourself if they get out of the Maze or not!

Characters The characters are so relatable. They are the kids next door, all confused and worried how did they got here and why their memories are wiped. Thomas too is confused. Teresa, the only girl among almost 50 boys, is also confused. No one really knows anything. There’s so much confusion! Mainly the characters are scared of what lies in the Maze, how can they escape and do they even have a family outside this?

Writing style At first after reading maybe 5-6 pages I didn’t think I’d like this book that much. But once I went inside the story everything changed. The writing flow is so good, sometimes I don’t feel like keeping the book down.

The chapter endings are so good, they leave you with an event or something you never would’ve guessed happen and so you are forced to read the next chapter!

Now please grab the first opportunity you get to read the series.

You can find The Maze Runner here .

Guest review provided by Vrushali . Vrushali reads books like people eat food. As an aspiring writer, she enjoys examining the form of writing when she reviews books.

A valuable art collection disappears turning a treasure-hunting duo into crime-stopping sleuths committed to vindicating family members in Kaylin McFarren’s action-packed suspense novel, Banished Threads.

While vacationing at the stately Cumberforge Manor in Bellwood, England, Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen attend an elegant dinner party hosted by her uncle, Paul Lyons, and his aristocratic wife, Sara. Before the evening ends, a priceless collection of Morris Graves’s paintings are stolen from her uncle’s popular gallery, throwing all suspicion onto his wife’s missing granddaughter.

Determined to clear Sloan Rafferty’s name and, in the process, win Paul’s favor, Chase scours the countryside looking for answers. In his absence, the police accuse Rachel’s uncle of an unsolved murder and secrets surrounding her grandmother’s death and the deaths of Sara’s former husbands turn his wife into the most likely suspect. With the true villains hell-bent on destroying Paul Lyons and his family, solving both crimes while ensuring her uncle’s freedom not only endangers Rachel’s life but that of her unborn child. Will Chase save them before the kidnappers enact their revenge or will the ultimate price be paid, as predicted by a vagabond fortuneteller?

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7 thoughts on “ the maze runner – book review ”.

Loved the books, not so much the film

Like Liked by 1 person

I’ve watched the film and thought there’s no point to reading the book – but you have changed my mind now :)

I happened to have read the book before watching the movie and I ended up not liking the movie! This book is as you said different and new with it’s concept!

A good read this one!

I loved this series! Hope you do to.

[…] via The Maze Runner – Book Review — The Book Review Directory […]

Reblogged this on A Writer's Path .

I really enjoyed the Maze Runner. Like I read it on a five hour plane ride and just could not stop reading. This said though, I didn’t like the sequels. I thought things got too whacky and odd.

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The Maze Runner

James dashner, everything you need for every book you read..

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on James Dashner's The Maze Runner . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Maze Runner: Introduction

The maze runner: plot summary, the maze runner: detailed summary & analysis, the maze runner: themes, the maze runner: quotes, the maze runner: characters, the maze runner: symbols, the maze runner: theme wheel, brief biography of james dashner.

Historical Context of The Maze Runner

Other books related to the maze runner.

• Full Title: The Maze Runner
• When Written: 2006
• Where Written: USA
• When Published: 2009
• Literary Period: Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
• Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
• Setting: The Glade and the Maze
• Climax: Thomas and other Gladers fight off the Grievers and find the exit to the Maze
• Antagonist: The Grievers and the Creators
• Point of View: Close Third-Person

Extra Credit for The Maze Runner

Blockbuster: The Maze Runner was adapted into a 2014 film of the same name. The popularity of the film has ensured that the book’s sequel, The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials , will be made into a movie.

Prequel: For those interested in the events leading up to the story in The Maze Runner , Dashner wrote a prequel entitled The Kill Order , which tells the story of the sun flares that hit Earth and threatened to wipe out humanity.

The Maze Runner

By james dashner, the maze runner study guide.

The Maze Runner is the first book in a dystopian science-fiction trilogy aimed at the young adult reader. The story follows Thomas , a teenage boy, who awakens in an elevator with no memory of the past except his own name. When the doors open he finds himself in the Glade, a large open living area surrounded by stone walls. There are other children living in the Glad who also have no idea why they were brought there. Every morning in the Glade the stone walls are opened, revealing a maze. Every evening these doors are closed again. Every 30 days a new boy arrives.

The Maze Runner was written by James Dashner following the success of The Jimmy Fincher Saga . Although his publisher had pressed Dashner to write another book in the series, Dashner decided to try to reach a larger market with new material. He conceived of a story in which children are led into a large maze full of monsters and creatures to have their minds studied. The series has been critically well-received. Fox Searchlight Pictures has optioned the book for a film although the project has not yet been green lighted.

The Maze Runner Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Maze Runner is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

How do the graders ask the creators for something that they need

They wrote a note and put it in the box.

Thomas was surprised. "You mean, you can make requests? Supplies you want?" Why would the people who'd sent them there help so much? "Of course we can. Just drop a note in the Box, and there she goes....

There ends up being a twist with who the boy in the hooded sweatshirt is. Who is the boy and what do you think that the boy will do? Explain why your prediction makes sense.

The boy im the hooded shirt was Gally. We can predict that he will try to kill Thomas. My prediction makes sense because he tried to kill Thomas in the glade.

IF Thomas is correct about his suggestion at the end of chapter 50, what does it tell you about the Creators?

Thomas says that inside the Griever Hole is a computer and that plugging the code into the computer will disarm the Grievers and open an exit.

Study Guide for The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner study guide contains a biography of James Dashner, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Maze Runner
• The Maze Runner Summary
• Character List

Lesson Plan for The Maze Runner

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to The Maze Runner
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• The Maze Runner Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for The Maze Runner

• Introduction
• Development

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The Maze Runner Review

Favorite Quote: No, I'm busy.

James Dashner’s The Maze Runner is a majestic piece of work. His flow of important events and keeping the pace together along with extensive character descriptions make this book a delight. From the beginning Dashner leaves the reader no questions besides, “can there be more?”. Dashner answers all other questions before you can even ask them, however still manages to hook his readers in with cliffhangers, from Thomas being unaware of his surroundings and worried, to the foreshadowing that Thomas might die in the maze. This book was an amazing piece of work from James Dashner.

In The Maze Runner, teenage boy Thomas is awoken by a group of teenage boys in a

place known as the Glade. For the other new arrivals they are given a random helping job, but for Thomas he knew that deep down he was meant to be a Runner. As time progressed Thomas makes the executive decision and breaks the number one rule to save his fellow Gladers and jump into the Maze. With willpower and might they become the first survivors thanks to Thomas. From there on Thomas is second in command with the Runners and help them on their endeavor to escape.

Dashner leaves no breaks for complaints in his writing of The Maze Runner. He keeps up with the suspense with Thomas fighting off the deadly Grievers in the Maze, and when Ben tried killing Thomas. Dashner is the first author I have seen who manages to constantly keep suspense, while also answering any question readers may have about what’s happening. His writing style is impeccable and wonderful. An example of his use of suspense is when Thomas is faced by a Griever in the Maze on page 125, “And then something rounded the corner… Something unspeakable. A Griever.”. Dashner leaves you with that immediate question, “what is it”, but then answers it instantly, hooking you in. I would recommend this book to anyone who can read without a doubt, it is a treat to read.

To some the idea of not being able to have unanswered questions is boring, but trust me as an avid readers of this genre of books, this is one of the greatest. Dashner manages to hook you in every time you open his books, especially The Maze Runner. Like I said, to anyone who can actually read, read this book, it is worth your time.

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