Thomas also gets frustrated with the Runners’ attitude towards solving the Maze. Even though he saves them, the other Gladers force him to spend a day in their jail for breaking their rules. Although it’s against the rules to be in the Maze after dark, Thomas goes inside to save Alby and Minho.
Thomas, however, initiates necessary changes that disrupt the normal routine and order of things. Most of the Gladers, however, take pleasure in banishing Ben, showing how their desire to uphold order and discipline has become stronger than their sense of empathy or mercy for their fellow Glader.
When Ben, terrified and crying, pleads for mercy and forgiveness, Thomas sympathizes with the boy and realizes that the cruelty of the punishment is disproportionate to Ben’s crime. The laws are so rigid that the Gladers don’t take into account the circumstances of Ben’s attack, banishing him into the Maze, which is effectively a death sentence. The Gladers banish Ben for attacking Thomas despite the fact that Ben was in a state of obvious mental distress during the attack. Thomas quickly learns the value of order when he finds relief from his sense of hopelessness about ever leaving the Maze by committing himself to the daily work routine in the Glade.Īlthough order provides stability, the Glade’s systems of laws and punishments verges on being cruel. With a rigid system of laws, a well-defined leadership hierarchy, and daily work assignments, the boys set up a functioning society despite their young age and extreme circumstances. Thrust into this mysterious and dangerous world, the boys use order and rules as a way of preventing panic and despair from taking hold of their lives. Throughout the novel, a tension exists between the benefits of order for maintaining a self-sustaining society and the necessary changes that must occur for the Gladers to survive the Maze.
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