Totalitarianism In The Maze Runner

In addition to providing a figurative outlet for young adults to escape their reality, YA dystopias also provide a literal outlet for the exploration of political beliefs. Today’s generation of young adults has frequently been criticized for their political apathy and disengagement. In fact, according to a 2010 study conducted by Pew Research Center, “on a 13-question political news quiz, adults ages 18 to 29 score below all other age groups on all but two questions,” and one of these two questions concerned knowledge about technology (“Politically Apathetic Millennials”). The literature and “trashy” media that young adults consume in large amounts certainly doesn’t help the case that today’s youth should have a voice in society. Or does it?

According to Melissa Ames, an Associate Professor & the Director of English Education at Eastern Illinois University specializing in media studies, popular culture, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century American literature, the popularity of YA dystopias, which are ripe with political themes, suggests that young adults are interested in politics but simply prefer to wrestle with them in the “safe confines of fiction.” She further discusses that these kinds of texts mirror and criticize reality, forcing readers to consider reality, ironically at the same time as they are escaping from it (Ames). Young adult dystopian literature has also become increasingly popular in the post-9/11 climate, which has provided ripe context for these texts. All of these observations and more point to the idea that while young adults may seem outwardly politically apathetic, they can very easily be molded into more politically engaged citizens. Therefore, by providing a necessary mechanism to explore such serious topics, young adult dystopian literature has created an outlet for political exploration.
The Maze Runner, with the seemingly contrasting ideas of totalitarianism and anarchy, allows for young adults to explore these political themes in a fictional context.

In the novel, the overarching organization, WICKED, is conducting an experiment known as The Maze Trials, which the young adult protagonists are part of. WICKED manipulates everything in the Glade and Maze, as a way to study the teenagers in a controlled scientific experiment, something that readers quickly deem to be unethical. Simultaneously, all the individuals in the Glade have been brought in via a mysterious elevator box with no knowledge of their prior identities or previous life. With a desire to establish some form of order, the individuals form their own rules and allow for natural leaders to emerge under the newly founded anarchy. While the story told by Dashner may be fictional in nature, the ideas presented represent those of the real-world. In this way, The Maze Runner, just like many other YA dystopias, allows young adults to explore the political ideas of a totalitarian government and an anarchic

one.
Despite the fact that the aforementioned arguments point to the necessity of YA dystopias, critics frequently disparage it for being “transparently trashy stuff” and anything shy of real literature (Graham). But while the content of these novels may seem cliché and formulaic, it is this tried and tested formula that has generated more than just a propensity or fad and established the popularity of these novels. The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and several other popular young adult dystopian novels may repeatedly incorporate the same ideas and themes of dissent, freedom, independence, and a dark reality, but these are the themes and ideas that teenagers connect with. Others like Ewan Morrison, an author and short story writer, simply frown upon YA dystopias, indicating that parents should limit their kids’ exposure to the “freedom” expressed in YA dystopian fiction because they promote, as he describes, “tacit right-wing libertarianism.” But not only does Morrison miss the point of young adult dystopian literature, which strives to promote fighting back against the right-wing conservative authoritarian forces within novels that he cites such as The Giver, Divergent, and The Hunger Games, but he fails to recognize that YA dystopias have indeed had a positive impact on today’s youth. For today’s young adults, who simply seek to be understood, YA dystopias provide the source of comfort, familiarity, outlet and escape from real world problems that they need.
Evidently, the popularity of young adult dystopian literature is more than just a temporary trend.

It’s more than just a propensity towards dark and imaginative stories of our society’s descent into hell. Instead, YA dystopias represent a form of necessity among young adult readers by allowing them to explore alternative yet familiar realities ridden with political unrest where teenagers exercise authority to bring the world out of turmoil. As a young adult and mass consumer of dystopian literature, myself, if someone had told me six months ago that YA dystopias are anything other than trash and a temporary fad, I would’ve been amused. After all, how could they be anything other than trashy entertainment? But coming full circle, having taken a course specializing in dystopian literature and having now researched the topic and read dozens of scholarly and popular articles from various experts in the field, I now understand the significance of YA dystopian literature. Though our society has evolved in recent years, there is still significant room for improvement. My generation has been plunged into a bleak future of war, violence, terrorism, economic insecurities and racial inequality. Dystopian literature has provided the necessary coping mechanism for young adults of the millennial generation, and I only hope that YA dystopias do not simply remain a temporary trend in the aftermath of 9/11. Now, the only question that remains is: Will YA dystopias remain a powerful force and

necessity in today’s society or will they eventually appease the critics and begin a continuous descent into “young adult trash”?