A common theme in Phase 1 of our research is that of survival. An example of this was when Test subject Thomas was stranded in the maze overnight. Test subject Thomas and test subject Minho attempt to survive by themselves without any weapons or any items useful for self defence. In addtion, Thomas tried to prevent Alby’s death. Thomas’ strategy was to suspend Alby in vines attached to the walls until the break of dawn, and the subsequent opening of the Doors leading into the Glade. However, our Grievers located Thomas, and so Thomas lead the Grievers away from Alby. Thomas then encountered Minho, who led the two to the Cliff. They did this by standing in front of the cliff when the Grievers charged, and with a perfectly timed roll out of danger, sent the Grievers over the edge of the Cliff. This shows at least a basic grasp of the Law of Inertia, in a addition to a desire to survive.
Another theme in our reasearch is the idea of omnipotence. One example of this is how the Subjects view us, the Creators. They believe we ultimately control whether the Subjects live or die, and when the Subjects recieve supplies. They also know that we have “Beetle Blades” to observe the residents of the testing grounds. Our robotic insect cameras also have “WICKED” written on their back, the acronym of our name. WICKED stands for: World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department. As the Subjects eventually discover, the Maze, the Glade and all of the Subjects are simply parts of an experiment run by us, in order to further our reasearch. None of the residents of the Glade know why we are doing it. We are omnipotent figures, to some extent, in the context of the maze, because we appearingly have the ability to manipulate the extensive range of Variables affecting the lives of those in the Maze.
A final important theme in our experiment is friendship and camraderie. Thomas quickly becomes friends with Chuck who distracts him from loneliness and gives him the determination and drive to escape the Maze because he wishes to freehis friend. Friendship aids the Gladers getting out of the Maze through teamwork and mutual trust. It proves how important friendships are to people with little else. People who refused to cooperate with the other Gladers ended up being left behind and killed by the Grievers. An example of this is Gally, who didn’t trust Thomas and was hostile towards the group after being Stung. He did not escape the Maze with the other Gladers. Friendship was the glue that held the Glade together as a community, and the expire,net would not have worked effectively had the Gladers not cooperated.
Maze Runner 