The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials

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Recommended: Critical analysis of dystopian literature

Doomsday. Armageddon. 2012. The end of the world or the apocalypse is known by its many names and has become an extremely viral subject for this generation. But, imagine living in a world not playfully joking around about the apocalypse, but strategically trying to survive it. This is the harsh reality for Thomas, a teenager living in a virus polluted and self-destructing planet. A deadly disease has broken out called “the flare” which causes the most sane and rational people to become raging and hysterical flesh eaters. Not only has the virus taken the lives of millions, but the extreme climates have also killed the few remaining. In the novels The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials, Thomas and his friends will have to fight to survive a world taken over by the sick and protect one other from those who say they want to help. The two novels share a touching story of young lives entwined during a difficult time and the lengths the characters go through in order to survive the apocalypse. The ultimate question within these novels is what is one willing to risk in order to survive? Within the novels The Death Cure and The Scorch Trials, Thomas is forced to fight for his survival on a daily basis, and in doing so he is constantly faced with either having to betray those closest to him, or remain the honest and true man he is, in order to survive. Within these novels, relationships are tested to such extremes that the repercussions of each survival based decision the characters make have the possibility of endangering the lives of those closest to them, but ultimately is a test to see who remains true to themselves and does not sell out their friends or themselves.

In the novel The Scorch Trials, Thomas unknowingly awakens within ...

... middle of paper ...

...ou are on the line as well as your own, many are willing to fight, betray and kill to survive. But only a few are able to say they stayed true to themselves through it all, and within the novels only a few can ultimately say they have done just that. Therefore, the characters within The Death Cure and The Scorch Trials are unique because each character has different morals and ethics and at the end of the day so do the people on this planet, but as a reader one must ask themselves which character do they see living a life without remorse or guilt. In conclusion, when one is forced to fight for their survival many are willing to kill, betray and manipulate, but only the strong are willing to fight.

Works Cited

Dashner, James. The Scorch trials. New York: Delacorte Press, 2010. Print.

Dashner, James. The death cure. New York: Delacorte Press, 2011. Print.

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