Scorch Trials Setting

If there is anything that stands out in The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, it is the setting. From strange dormitories to dark tunnels to scorched deserts, the reader is in for a crazy ride in which the descriptions of compelling locations are described in much depth. A kind of dystopian book about a group of boys fighting to get through insane physical obstacles would need this type of impressive setting description, and this novel does not disappoint.

The first instance in which the setting creates a powerful visual representation is when the group of boys, the Gladers, have arrived from their last trial, which was in the last book. They finally feel comforted and safe. They think that they have made it out of the trials and into safety.

Part of what made this setting unique was the fact that it had its distinctive culture of a group of boys, trying to trek across a blazing hot desert. Their efforts to travel far in a little amount of time and to survive make their atmosphere very vivid. Since they must survive, the way they act and the way in which they do things is its own culture. What is that culture? Their own type in which they have made a system for when to walk, when to stop for breaks, and the way they plan their next step in the treacherous trials. Throughout the book, they try to stay organized in their group to try to defeat the trials, making their own little culture without realizing it. The reason that their culture is so important to the setting is how when the author shows the way the people interact with each other, it gives a clearer idea to what the setting may look like based on how they are acting, without bluntly stating the setting. Also, the setting can be the atmosphere in addition to physical features, and a huge portion of that atmosphere is the culture represented by that group. Now, not only is this an intense and memorable setting because of the culture, but some of the vivid descriptions in the novel paint a clear and picture in ones head while reading. Physical features were described in a way that the setting in this novel became very unique compared to other novels. Through specific detail, the author is able to guide the reader to realize how terrifying and miserable the setting is and how scared and out of their element the characters must be. For example, the book reads, “In front of him, a flat pan of dry and lifeless earth stretched as far as he could see. Not a single tree. Not a bush. No hills or valleys. Just an orange- yellow sea of dust and rocks; wavering currents of the heated air boiled on the horizon like steam, floating upward, as if any life out there