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Chapter 62
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Maze Runner, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and Identity
Stability and Order vs. Change and Chaos
Sacrifice
Growing Up
Hope
Sexism
Summary
Analysis
This chapter is formatted as an email written on the date “232.1.27” by Chancellor Ava Paige. The email has the the subject line, “Thoughts on Maze Trials, Group A.” She writes that she is surprised about how many of the boys survived the Maze. She also writes that the “rescue” and the boy’s murder were a good “finale.”
This email reveals that the rescue and Chuck’s death were not as random as they seemed. Like the nightly changes in the layout of the Maze, those events, although appearing chaotic, were in fact not random at all. Once again, the novel suggests that what may seem like chaos can sometimes have an underlying order.
Themes
She then writes that the boys will soon recall their memories and eventually understand that WICKED is good. She says that they’ll come to understand that all WICKED did to them was for the sake of humanity. She writes that the boys will be allowed a full night’s rest before stage two begins. The email ends with her writing that Group B’s trial results were just as good but that she needs more time to process the data.
Ending on a cliffhanger, the novel encourages us to read the sequel to learn more before judging the ethics of WICKED’s decision to sacrifice the lives of children for “the greater good.” Just as the meaning of the novel’s symbols often changed, the meaning of sacrifice may also change in the sequel. Sometimes it may be necessary to sacrifice the few for the sake of many. Perhaps, in the end, WICKED will turn out to be good…
Themes
