MANIPULATION:
Everything that happens to the kids trapped in the maze is a direct result of someone pushing buttons for entertainment. Every little detail was thought out and distributed amongst each, designed for torture. All of the details, right down to the movement of the maze walls, was in an effort to experiment and get results. As if these boys were lab rats being tested on. Manipulation is the most obvious idea presented throughout the novel The Maze Runner. Because of the involvement of WICKED, the group of evil conspirators, the 60 boys and 1 girl are forced to experience tragic and unbearable sequences of events. Grievers are sent out into the maze every day to tempt and torture the young boys, killing them off as they please. This is an attempt to discover who has the ability to kill when necessary. The Griever’s existence also shows mental and physical strength, by the way the boys can trick, or fight against the monsters. Not only does WICKED send killing machines out into the maze every day, but they control the movement of the walls within the maze. This can lead to mass casualties and lost victims. When the walls move, the boys either retreat, or discover new trails to survive by. Thomas, the main character, eventually realized that the walls were moved every day, not only in an act to misguide the boys, but to spell out certain words made by the WICKED cult. Of course none of these twisted acts of horror are for a certain purpose, but used as different variables for an experiment controlled by the vicious WICKED group.