Maze Runner Themes

Theme Analysis There are some common characteristics between the books The Maze Runner by James Dashner and The Giver by Lois Lowry. One of the similarities between the books is the theme. The theme in The Maze Runner and The Giver could both be interpreted as “Things aren't always as they seem.” The characters, settings and plots of these books all connect to the theme that is present in these books, “Things aren’t always as they seem.”

How does “Things aren’t always as they seem.” apply to the characters of these two books? What conveys this important idea throughout the books? In The Maze Runner, Thomas, the main character and protagonist, lives in a place called the Glade. The Glade is a very controlled, mysterious environment. The Glade is a large box, without a roof, which is made out of stone. The

These halls create a maze. Inside of the Glade, (the stone box) there are many jobs for the Gladers, (the Glade’s inhabitants) keeping them busy, in order, and productive. The community in The Giver, is also a very controlled, deceitful society. It is a community that appears to have a jovial essence to it, but in reality, it holds many sinister secrets. The society is controlled by a board of people called “The Elders”. there is also a another elder; superior over others, called, “The Chief Elder”. She is the one who ultimately makes the final decision. She decided to implant the idea of “sameness”. Sameness is really how it sounds, it’s where everything is how it sounds, it’s where everything is similar. They would try to assign people their jobs, children, spouses and home. You didn’t have many choices. The way this relates to “Things aren’t always as