Universal themes are apparent across time, culture, and place, which are evident in all stories. For example, The Maze Runner by James Dashner exposes universal themes in a dystopian science fiction society. Some universal themes that appear in this movie are heroic scenarios, social cohesion, interesting ways in which the story is told, and building empathy.
Heroic scenarios are when a character jumps in at an attempt to save the day. In The Maze Runner, Thomas was often the hero. In one instance, Alby and Minho were about to be trapped in the maze, so Thomas jumped in to save them, regardless of the chances at making it out. The next scene when he appeared to be a hero was when he killed the griever and lived through the night. Upon returning to the Glade, Newt told Thomas, “no one has ever survived a night in the maze” (The Maze Runner). Everyone was amazed that Thomas had the ability to do so, when there was a
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Throughout The Maze Runner, Thomas had a series of flashbacks. During the first one, he kept hearing a voice saying “everything is going to change.” In the second flashback, a girl appeared. She told Thomas that he has to choose. The timing of this flashback was perfect because soon after he had it, the same girl was sent up to the Glade. The last flashback Thomas had is critical to the storyline because in this particular flashback, he sees Theresa and himself at the WCKD headquarters. He recalls watching Alby, Newt, Gally, and the others struggle in the maze from the other side. During this time, Thomas says, “guys, I’m one of them. The people who put us here, I worked for them. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you’ve been here, I was on the other side of it” (The Maze Runner). This was interesting because you wouldn’t expect WCKD to send two of their best members into the Glade. Thus, it is quite noticeable that The Maze Runner is told in an interesting