Themes In Dystopian Society

Dystopia, the antonym of Utopia, is the total opposite of an ideal society – most likely describing a darkly-imagined and unfavorable society. Dystopian societies commonly portray an exaggerated futuristic world and are used to represent existing issues in real life. Writers explore the social and political structure of a society and use it to criticize a current trend or political systems. They typically share similar features, for example: dehumanization, environmental disasters, totalitarian authorities, etc. In dystopian novels, they take these characteristics to extreme, but at the same time most themes and elements can still be applicable to real life. It brings attention to real life issues and can act a cautionary tale to the readers.

We then learn that teenagers were placed in the Glade against their own will, their daily lives are constantly surveyed by the “creators”. They had no recollection of their past and have no communication with the outside world. They were required to sustain and build their own society. They cannot leave the Glade and have to find ways to escape. Every move they make are surveyed by the creators to monitor their brain patterns. The characters endure hardships and has to overcome obstacles in order to survive. The setting indicates typical features like freedom restriction and surveillance. Furthermore, one of the major components to the plot was the Flare virus. The outside world was ruined by an environmental disaster like the solar flare, crawling with people who were infected by the deadly disease. The harsh and unpleasant environment fulfills the requirements of a dystopian novel. Later as the story progresses, it turns out WICKED was using the teenagers as test subjects and attempted to find a cure to the Flare. They were trying to save the entire human race by carrying out test and trials on the Gladers. The Gladers were dehumanized by the creators, as they were treated as lab rats. They were given no choice but to give up their rights of survival and freedom when they were forced to fight for their lives. Some characters, like Ben and Alby, lost sense of humanity when they were undergoing the Changing. They started attacking others and acted as if they were animals.The second dystopian element of this book is that the society in Maze Runner is under technological control. The role of science and technology is hugely apparent in the book. The whole Glade is a scientific experiment, that is carried out in hopes of developing a cure to save the world, Gladers are tested to fight the disease.