Subtle Symbolism



The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Dashner, J. (2009). The maze runner. New York: Delacorte Press.

I read The Maze Runner by James Dashner and found it very captivating.  There were a number of elements of the story that struck me as possibly symbolic for young readers.  Thomas, the protagonist, and the boys around him have no memory of their past, which seems similar to how so many teenagers seem to live in the moment.  The Glade in which they live is surrounded with high walls, which symbolized to me the limitations and restrains that teenagers often find in school, in their parents’ house, etc.  The maze suggested the rules and responsibilities adolescents encounter in school and society at large; and the scary Grievers might represent teachers, police and other authority figures who can punish teenagers who do not follow the right path through the maze of rules and regulations.

I’m not saying that all this was, in fact, what Dashner had in mind when he wrote his book; nor am I saying that this is what young readers should be expected to find in The Maze Runner.  I’m just saying that these symbols came easily to my mind, and I wonder if they might likewise come to mind either directly or subliminally, to teenagers who read this story.

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