Lord of the Flies and the Maze Runner

William Golding's book, Lord of the Flies, represents the deepest and most dangerous nature of human kind. The story unravels as the boys are left to take care of themselves with no adults and no laws; "their civilized and regular selves leave and they evolve into more dangerous and violent humans, the true nature of human kind." Similarly, James Dashner's book, the Maze Runner, represents a nature of human kind as well. However, although the boys are left to take care of themselves, their civilized and regular selves flourish as they keep their society structured and ordered. The major theme in both novels are civilization against savagery. The similarities and differences in the leaders in both novels are also quite pronounced. Finally, Golding and Dashner also demonstrate similar qualities in their characters.

In the Maze Runner, civilization vs savagery is a recurring and constant theme. The Gladers continuously strive for order and justice yet they still resort to extreme measures in their rules and laws. Here lies the border of civilization and savagery. An example of this is when the Gladers vote to banish Ben out of the Glade. Although they feel that justice needs to be shown and he deserves to be punished, banishing Ben to the maze seems like an extreme act. This act brings about intense feelings of guilt in some of the characters, yet they are reminded that the Glade is governed by a savage rule of law. It might not be morally correct or humane, but it reflects the manner in which the boys try to keep the Glade in order, by any means necessary for civilization within the community. The Gladers keep civilization as the prevailing system in their world.

Similarly, Lord of the Flies deals with...

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...n conclusion, both novels represent the true nature of human kind, with no barriers. The Maze Runner, almost being the modernized version of Lord of the Flies, shows how although there aren't adults in their society, left along humans can flourish and keep a structured society. Lord of the Flies however, deals with a more dark view on human nature, and brings about all of the savage impulses that reside within all humans. The leaders in both novels conduct themselves quite differently, yet it shows that all leaders don't have to be the same in order to "get the job done". Finally, both novels represent innocence in some of their characters. This shows that although everything else may fall apart, some people's true reason in life is to bring about strength and innocence in others. The novels resembled each other, yet still compared and contrasted quite well.