Analysis
Minho begins taking his leadership role quite seriously. He is the first one to walk through the Flat Trans. Then, he leads the group through the following tunnel. Even through the terrible head-slicing balls in the tunnel, Minho puts on a brave front, making the group move forward. He knows that there is nothing they can do about the people who have been sliced. Thomas, on the other hand, is the one who originally checked on the boys who died in the tunnel. This already demonstrates one of the general differences in Thomas and Minho’s leading styles.
When the Gladers finally emerge into the sun, they are almost blinded by its brightness. The sun is personified: it is almost like a character. It is described as “waiting just outside the open door” (91). The sun, like the barren wasteland environment of the Scorch, is almost like an active presence. This makes sense given the premise of the book’s near-apocalyptic world. The sun flares were the cause of all the trouble in the first place; thus, the sun is almost like an antagonist, especially in the hot Scorch.
Teresa shows up randomly in these chapters, and leads Thomas into a shack. Teresa’s behavior is very bizarre, confusing, and seemingly forced. This is reflective of how she will act in the majority of the story. Thomas can tell that Teresa is not in full control of her own body, but is still confused about what is going on. There is also no explanation for why there were speakers that broadcasted the girl’s screaming noise. The Gladers are still being kept in the dark from WICKED’s true dark motives, just as they were in the Maze.
As they move into the city, Minho makes fun of Thomas, and Thomas realizes that he has no sense of humor left. He wonders, almost humorously, if the memory Swipe had taken his sense of humor away, if he had been funny in his “old life” (129). This small consideration, although trivial, is a sad demonstration of how much WICKED has taken from Thomas. Thomas is not even a complete person: he has a gap in his memory, and does not even know who he really is—he does not even know if he has or had a sense of humor.
After the terrible lightning storm, Minho and Thomas see that there are only eleven Gladers left. There had originally been about forty in the Maze, just a few weeks before this. Minho is concerned about numbers and manpower for getting through the city. Newt criticizes him for thinking only about people as numbers (143). This is a harsh criticism, since it is a reminder of the way WICKED treats them. Ultimately, however, Newt apologizes, knowing that Minho is not someone who acts like WICKED at all. Yet Minho’s leadership abilities are again called into question when he and Jorge, the leader of the Cranks, get into a fight almost instantlyv upon meeting each other.
