"The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner

“Stories nurture our connection to place and to each other. They show us where we have been and where we can go. They remind us of how to be human, how to live alongside the other lives that animate this planet… when we lose stories, our understanding of the world is less rich, less true.” - Susan J. Tweit, “Walking Nature Home: A Life’s Story.”

Have you ever read a book that you could connect to every single scene at every moment? Did you ever feel as if that one book was written to give you a better understanding of life and of why things happen? “The Scorch Trials” by James Dashner is the gripping sequel to The Maze Runner, it is also the perfect example of a book I could connect to, page after page. I felt as if every unexpected twist and  every sorrowful scene helped me understand the importance of stories in our life. It reminds me of the many thoughts that flashed through my mind when I experienced the empathetic feelings described in this book, and I can’t help but put myself in the characters’ situation.

“The Scorch Trials”  is a very compelling book that revolves around Thomas, his friends, the other surviving “gladers”, and the new characters of group B. The story is set around a deadly disease which is supposedly living in the bodies of all gladers and those from group B. Thomas and his friends go through many obstacles, such as a city full of ‘cranks’ (people with the flare who are passed the stage of mentality), in order to survive and get to  the ‘safe haven’ as promised to them by the organization called WICKED. In the book, James Dashner uses many themes such as pain, regret,and confusion. There are also many moments in which many themes are used to get readers to be pensive and empathetic. This is a story filled with heart broken friendships, betrayal, and losing the ones you love. No matter how unrealistic the story plot is in reality, as human beings we can connect to many themes of this book.

Pain is felt by everyone, and it comes in all forms. However, there is one form of pain that may hit you with a mixture of feelings, at a time when you are least expecting it. Loss. Loss is all around us. Whether we lose someone by death or by heart (like the loss of a friendship), many people can empathize to the feeling it gives you. Page 26 of “The Scorch Trials” is one example where many people can connect to this feeling. In the text it states, ‘ “They killed her.” Aris said back to him. “They killed my best friend.” ’ The phrase ‘best friend’ is someone special who you can talk to and can rely on. It does not always have to be a person. It can be something that is meaningful, whether it is a person or an object, once you lose that special something you feel devastated and mournful. You can lose that person (if it were a person) due to sickness or even during an argument. Additionally,  the character Aris felt as if a part of his heart was taken from him when he found out his best friend was killed, and that is how many people, who go through similar situations, may feel as well.

Recently, my grandfather passed away. After reading this book, I felt as if “The Scorch Trials” was my savior from this devastating event. I remember, like Aris, holding back my tears until the very last moment. The moment where there is a “pained beast” inside you that wants to get out, to break free. Like Aris, I too had to repeat the event multiple times, and like him, it is still the most hurtful thing that has happened to me. When I read the many scenes of this book in which the theme of pain and loss were incorporated, I felt as if there are people out there that know how I feel and what I am going through.  Moreover,this is how the theme of pain in this book connects to many readers.

At one point in our life we make mistakes, we’re human, it’s what we do. And when we make the most hurtful mistakes that harm others more than we thought it would, we feel guilty. Guilt is human nature and is expressed in many ways. When you resent something, you feel the need to go through everything that you did wrong and you realize, if it were a person you put down,that they had many other problems besides the ones that you forced inside their life. It makes you realize the situation the person is going through and how much you worsened that situation. For instance, in “The Scorch Trials” there are many forms of regret, some are subtle, and others are very open. Yet, not all are easy to believe. In “The Scorch Trials”, James Dashner uses imagery in order to describe this theme of regret. “He turned just in time to see the rain start falling outside, as if the storm had finally decided to weep in shame for what it had done to them.” (138). The author uses the image of a storm finally letting out its rain as if it were a person admitting to every wrong thing he/she has done. This is significant because it makes you wonder what pure regret is. Additionally, you can connect to many things in this theme because of the many mistakes that we may make.

“The Scorch Trials” is also a book that requires you to be really pensive especially when the scene is revolved around the theme of confusion. In the book, the author wrote a scene in which Thomas is confused as to why Teresa would tell him to leave when it is clear she needs him.‘ “Get away from me, Tom,” she said. “All of you need to get...away...from me. Don’t argue. Just leave. Run.” Her neck tensed with the effort to get those last few words out…” ’ (116). The mood described in this scene is very suspenseful, which revolves around the theme of confusion. Many people can connect to this because it makes you think a lot about your self, and it makes you wonder what you would do if you were in the same situation. For example, it makes you wonder what you would do if you were Thomas and Teresa were your best friend. It makes you wonder if you would run away from someone you love, who clearly needs your help, but is not admitting it. It also make you wonder what you would do if you were Teresa, would you push your friends away when you need them most and they are willing to help? To add on, these are questions and thoughts that were in my own mind that are also connectable to many other readers.

Furthermore, “The Scorch Trials” is a book that carries people to higher extents in order to get readers to be able to connect with the themes such as pain, regret, and confusion. There are many other things that are compelling about this book and other themes that are empathetic to readers, however, those three themes are used in the most thought provoking parts in this great book. The themes reminded me that there are still many things I don’t know about the world, and that there are many people out there who are experiencing the feelings this book gave me. It makes me wonder what I would do if I were the one living through every scene of this book. It makes me want to hold my grief, my guilt, and every single piece of mystery in this world, close to me. But most of all,  “The Scorch Trials” reminded me of two important things in life, it reminded me that no matter how confusing or devastating life may be ‘we must all suffer from one of two types of pain: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces 
while regret weighs tons.’ - Sean Covey.