Conflict In The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner is a novel written by James Dashner in 2009, and is book 1 in the #1 New York Times bestselling series by the author, Dashner. The protagonist of the novel is Thomas. Thomas is a teenaged boy who enters the Glade with no memories other than of his first name. Although Thomas comes to the Glade scared and confused, he shows himself to be brave, and strong-minded when he saves the lives of the Gladers Alby and Minho. With Teresa’s help, Thomas struggles to reveal his memories and discover the truth of his identity. By the end of the novel, Thomas realizes that rather than his memories, it is his actions that determine his identity. So, as shown in the novel, Thomas has drastically developed since his arrival to the Glade. There

There are also internal conflicts thomas, as the protagonist was facing during his journey. One of the conflicts he was facing was knowing that he was supposed to be a Runner and not knowing how to prove to the others. “Thomas swallowed, wondering how he could ever go out there. His desire to become a Runner had taken a major blow. But he had to do it. Somehow he knew he had to do it. It was such an odd thing to feel, especially after what he 'd just seen”(Dashner, 39).... “Thomas knew he was a smart kid- he somehow felt it in his bones. But nothing about this place made any sense. Except for one thing. He was supposed to be a Runner. Why did he feel that so strongly? And even now, after seeing what lived in the maze?”(Dashner, 40). As proved in the quotes Thomas has a feeling that he is convinced that he has a greater purpose to serve in the Glade, but the only problem he is facing are his thoughts and the Gladers telling him that he is not a Runner. Later on, Thomas overcomes the load of questions he was asking himself and proves to the Gladers his bravery and persistence which both are the themes of the novel. He feels that his main purpose is to serve as a Runner and be at the front line where he will be placed in an immediate danger role regardless of the danger it poses. At the end of the day, Thomas convinces the Gladers with his bravery and

For example, the Gladers thought that they will never make it out of the Maze, but they took chances and by doing that they were able to successfully escape the Maze. Other themes include, friendship, bravery, persistence, and reflection. In the novel, at one point Thomas witnessed two people struggling to get inside the walls of the maze, so Thomas decided to go inside the maze and help them out. He was then assigned to be in the Slammer for a day because of him breaking the number 1 rule, which is to never enter the maze unless you are a runner. "I didn 't do anything wrong. All I know is I saw two people struggling to get inside these walls and they couldn 't make it. To ignore that because of some stupid rule seemed selfish, cowardly, and...well, stupid. If you want to throw me in jail for trying to save someone 's life, then go ahead. Next time I promise I 'll point at them and laugh, then go eat some of Frypan 's dinner”(Dashner, 166) This quote proves that Thomas can’t stand anyone facing trouble. He has to in any way help out or reach for help. It also shows how he fights for what is right and creates connections just to prove his point rights. Based on the quote and the incident that occured, Thomas has affected and created the theme of friendship at that moment. If Thomas just let those two individuals