True Friendship In James Dashner's The Maze Runner

"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend." True friendship, in the eyes of others, is different to all. Some may believe that for a true friendship to exist, there must be a strong trust or understanding of one another; others may think that the two must simply be willing to experience everything and anything together. Regardless of the many definitions people carry, there must always be at least one concept- a close, strong bond. Thomas and Newt from James Dashner's series "The Maze Runner" was a wonderful example of true friendship because of the climax of the third book. In this series, there is a disease called the Flare. Who ever catches this terrifing, dreaded disease will begin to lose their mind and humanity, with only a few actually being immune to it's effects. Farther into the book, we learn that Newt was never immune like the rest, and that he has caught the Flare. He begged his friends to end his suffering, but every single one of them turned their heads in shame. All except one, Thomas. Thomas knew his best friend was suffering; he knew that ever minute that passed, Newt lost his sanity. Thomas could no longer ignore Newt and his pain, so he

Freak, a crippled genuis, and Maxwell, a gentle giant, come together in a tight bond as they take on all the problems in each others lives. Jumping from the frying pan and into the fire, they battle and help each other through the thick and thin. To the audience, it seems as if the two's friendship could take on anything in their path until Freak's disease catches on to him. Devestated, Max mourns his lost friend and uses Freak's teaching to better his life. Instead of blocking Freak's death from his mind, Maxwell ends the movie by writing a book about their friendship and adventures so that Freak the Mighty could live on in the hearts of