The Scorch Trials

It was once said, “The art of the storyteller is to hold the attention of the readers.” If a novelist is able to grab the attention of the readers, they can easily convey ideas and themes represented in the story successfully to its’ readers. For instance, Zora Neale Hurston is considered to be a brilliant writer, who has the ability to form a storytelling chain within her novels and to “render a world complete with its codes and disciplines within a few sentences” (Danticat). This is shown in her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston uses various literary elements such as foreshadowing, point of view, imagery, and metaphor in order to capture the attention of the readers.

In the book, The Scorch Trials, by James Dashner, Thomas and the Gladers are resting after being rescued from the Maze. They soon realize that their situation is far from over. They go through the Scorch Trials, encountering Cranks and other predicaments along the way, emotionally and physically. This page-turning novel displays literary elements such as foreshadowing, imagery, and external conflict.

A typical novel, flooded with the complexities of the author’s creative mind, conveys the plot amidst vivid descriptions of the setting and

A great American mathematician, John W. Tukey, once said “The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.” This quote relates to stories because the author can use figurative language and descriptive language to paint a picture in the reader’s head. By using these, the author can almost assure the reader that they have the same vision as the author has. In the novel The Pigman by Paul Zindel, many examples of figurative language and descriptive adjectives are present to help the reader envision the story in their minds and to develop characters.

In James Dashner’s “The Scorch Trials” friendship, memory and manipulation are important themes. An example of how friendship is an important role is how Thomas, Minho and Newt stay together no matter what they face. Thomas is offered a deal from the Crank’s leader Jorge that in exchange for him taking Minho’s life and a cure for the Flare he will help them reach the Safe Haven. The boys step in immediately and so no to this offer and demand a better deal and Jorge complies. Manipulation from WICKED is driving the boys insane. WICKED is allowing Thomas to see visions of his past in his dreams and they are hard for him to handle. He is only seeing small snippets and they are slowly driving him crazy. As the boys are walking to “Crankville” they

Fiction has been around for centuries, feeding the imagination of young and older minds. Usually when people read a fictional story, they don’t think about the connotation the story tries to convey. But every story has a message, and whether it be big or small, it takes a complex, deeper thinking to be able to find that message. It is apparent that the reason we study fiction is to be able to find that deeper thinking within ourselves and enrich our imagination.

One of the primary rules that the gladers rely on is The Gladers rely on order, to prolong their way of life. Order gives their lives in the Glade regularity, hope, and purpose. Without order, their situation would turn on each other and become aggressive to one another to who could be the leader. Order allows them to maintain a community instead of fighting against one another.The Maze is chaotic. It changes every night, making it nearly impossible to map and solve. In the Maze there is no mercy and normal rules do no apply. The Grievers have no set of ethics and extreme caution must be employed at all times. Unlike the Glade, it is not a safe place. The Glade is set in stark contrast to the Maze as a place where some form of civilization

Trust is a valuable asset in which many people rely on everyday. Once trust is broken, it becomes difficult to move forward in life and trust new people.Individuals must be cautious in the ways trust will affect their life. In the novel Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts, the main characters often contemplate if there are other people going through the same traumatising moments as they are, and whether they would be considered trustworthy. These characters go through many times of struggle, confusion, and bravery in order to find out whether the path they travel on will lead them to victory, or traps they will regret falling into. Mason’s risky encounter with Twiggy, Aries’ questionable friendship with Daniel, and Clementine’s great trust in her mother are all ways in which involve the difficulty of trust.

The Scorch Trials, a dystopian story written by James Dashner, takes place in a world, plagued by the deadliest illness in human history. Thomas gets his memory wiped out by WICKED, an organization that is devoted to find a cure to a disease called the flare. Thomas is sent out with a group, and they are put through enormously difficult tests for WICKED to study their reactions. One recurring lesson in the book suggests that people will do anything to survive, even if you have to give up the people you love.

However, even though he is a newbie, Thomas pursues answers about the glade and queries more than the other gladers ever did know about their surrounding. At first, anyone would somewhat pity Thomas because he felt lonely, sad and desperate. The other boys were harsh towards him and the new environment, language and the laws he was not aware of were almost disorienting. Yet, as time passes by, Thomas ponders on more question, although the boys have already told him how the glade runs. For Thomas, too much information is never enough. There is one point in the story where he feels connected with the maze, so never being satisfied with answers he asks, “Oh, you say that to stay out in the Maze overnight is a certain death sentence? Lemme give that a try."(100) During this scene he yet again attempts to be independent yet also

When Thomas was put into the glade all he wanted to know was what was going on. All the simple questions he had were not answered. The rules of the glade were pretty simple, follow the rules and your time at the glade will be easy. Thomas’s thirst for answers was unquenchable, so he had to take matters into his own hands and figure out everything on his own. Thomas started as a whining greeny and grows to help everyone find a way out. Thomas went against all odds and most people of the glade just because of his curiosity for where he was and the answers he wanted.

The Scorch Trials starts out with Thomas, the main character, being put in a concealed room with no one to talk to and he gets separated from everything. When he finally gets released he's got some attitude with everyone. While the story is moving along they find a group hiding from the Cranks. When they find them in the middle of the storm, they scare them with a bunch of Cranks at the entrance. As Brenda gets to know Thomas and his friends they start to adventure together. Near the middle they come across some challenges and overcome them together. In the end, Thomas thinks they escaped WICKED but one of the main characters becomes a trader to Thomas and tells WICKED where they are located.

Authors use figurative language like carpenters use nails, a necessary ingredient to achieve an interesting final result. Authors use these craft moves to help the reader to imagine the story and better understand the plot, theme or lesson. Terry, the main character in Stop the Sun by Gary Paulsen, is faced with the struggle of confusion and the unknown. Terry’s father fought in the Vietnam War and has vietnam syndrome. Puzzled on why this has happened to him, Terry tries everything to discover why his father is this way. Gary Paulsen focused on multiple craft moves: allusion, flashback, and imagery to help the reader understand and relate to Stop the Sun better.

One aspect of this story that the graphics of this novel help to depict is emotions and opinions of the characters. By physically showing drawings of each character and their various facial expressions, the reader

The Scorch Trails is the second of five books from the Maze Runner Series. As a reader, one of the most fascinating elements in a book is the excitement. This book has sent me wonder to wonder from the seemingly endless possibilities of the world and will not disappoint when it comes to excitement.