The prevailing struggle throughout The Scorch Trials is the mental battle of perceiving deception vs. reality. The search for the truth is a significant theme in the Scorch Trials because it is what drives the group to complete their mission and keep hope alive.Ever since Thomas arrived in the Glade he has been bombarded with visions from his past and the feeling that something wasn’t right. When Alby, the first Glader arrived in the maze, he began building the foundation for their community in order to achieve one main goal: finding the truth of what lies behind the walls of the maze and beyond. Fast-forward to the Scorch,Thomas, along with the other Gladers as well as Group B, are all the subjects of W.I.C.K.E.D.'s trials that test their behavioral tendencies and responses to their circumstances and "variables" set in place by the Creators. At this point it has become evident to everyone that WICKED has wiped the memories of all of the Gladers and members of Group B. Little by little Thomas is learning about his past through dreams that have manifested themselves back into his psyche. The dreams range from him bonding with his mother, eavesdropping on top-secret meetings of WICKED, being interrogated by one of WICKED's psychiatric professionals and even memories of the very moments preceding his departure from his old life to the maze. Once Thomas starts putting the pieces together, he begins to realize the reason behind his ability to telepathically communicate with Teresa and the reason the Cranks outside the WICKED compound and the hanging bodies in the large room. WICKED is controlling everything not only in his and the rest of the groups heads’, but also their entire world as they can perceive it. Anything that happens for any reason could just be a variable put in place as yet another part of the test that W.I.C.K.E.D. claims is for the greater good of the survival of the human race, regardless of how many lives it costs at the end of the day. The disturbing part of this is that Thomas no longer knows whom he can trust aside from Minho, Newt and perhaps Frypan. Teresa, whom was once his greatest friend according to his fragmented memories, has betrayed him. Ironically yet logically these events were foreshadowed by her label (given to everyone by WICKED) which calls her the “betrayer” of the group. This act of deception by maybe his closest companion drove Thomas to be skeptical of anybody including the newcomers of Group B as well as Brenda and Jorge, who all had to earn his and each other’s trust through the course of the novel.
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March 2015
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