The Maze Runner

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. Who was the last boy to arrive in the Glade before Thomas?

2. What does Thomas decide he needs to be?

3. What does Newt show Thomas on his second day to warn him never to be caught in the Maze after dark?

4. Who has been in the Glade the longest?

5. What does Teresa say when she first arrives?

6. Who stops Ben from killing Thomas?

7. What does Minho report he found in the Maze?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Thomas disoriented as he arrives in the Glade?

2. What is the relationship like between Gally and Thomas?

3. What is different about Teresa arriving in the Glade?

Paired Resource

“A Litany for Survival”

• Audre Lorde’s poem explores fear and survival.
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Sacrifice, Growing Up, and Hope.
• What connections might Thomas or others in the Glade make to the poem?

Chapters 13-16, Chapters 17-20, Chapters 21-24

Reading Check

1. When those in the Glade banish someone, what do the Grievers leave at the door?

2. Where does Thomas hide Alby from the Grievers?

3. What does Thomas do after he and Minho escape the four Grievers?

4. What do Thomas, Minho, and Alby succeed in doing that no one else has before?

5. During the Gathering, what does Minho suggest should be Thomas’s consequence for going into the Maze at night?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why did Newt stop being a Runner?

2. How does Minho react when Thomas runs into the Maze to help him and Alby?

Paired Resource

“What Is Chaos? A Complex Systems Scientist Explains”

• This article from The Conversation defines chaos and provides examples.
• The text connects to the theme of Order Versus Chaos.
• How do the leaders of the Glade attempt to impose order in the face of chaotic happenings?

“The Imperative of Personal Sacrifice, Today and During World War II”

• This New York Times article reflects on connections between sacrifices people made during World War II and the pandemic. (May require a subscription.)
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Order Versus Chaos, Sacrifice, and Hope.
• What sacrifices do people make in the Glade?

Chapters 25-28, Chapters 29-32, Chapters 33-36

Reading Check

1. At the Gathering, after Thomas enters the Maze, who threatens Minho and Thomas?

2. What punishment does Newt tell Thomas he will get?

3. What does Alby tell Thomas to protect?

4. How many sections of the Maze are there?

5. The day after Thomas’s first day as Runner, what disappears?

6. Besides speaking aloud, how does Teresa communicate with Thomas?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Alby tries to tell Thomas more about the world outside the Maze, what prevents him, and how do onlookers interpret it?

2. When Chuck visits Thomas in the Slammer, how does the relationship between Chuck and Thomas shift, and what promise does Thomas make him?

Paired Resource

“Whether They Have Forgotten”

• Emily Dickinson’s poem muses about forgetting and how knowing something can be worse.
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Order Versus Chaos, and Hope.
• How do memories of the world outside the Glade and Maze seem to support the ideas in the poem?

“When Are You Really an Adult?”

• This article from The Atlantic reflects on the definition, expectations, and paths to adulthood. (May require a subscription.)
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Growing Up, and Hope.
• How might those in the Glade answer this question?

Chapters 37-40, Chapters 41-44, Chapters 45-48

Reading Check

1. What happens to Teresa for triggering the end?

2. When they trace all 8 sections of the maze from a single day and put the tracings on top of each other, what is first revealed?

3. What six words do those in the Glade uncover from the Maze maps?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Thomas get stung by the Grievers on purpose, and how does he keep others from suspecting?

2. How is the Maze a test?

Chapters 49-52, Chapters 53-56, Chapters 57-60, Chapters 61-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. At the Gathering after his Changing, what does Thomas reveal that he expects everyone to be angry about?

2. Where does Thomas tell the others they need to go to escape the Maze?

3. As the Gladers try to escape, who sacrifices himself to the Grievers?

4. Who realizes they need to push a button to escape?

5. How many Gladers survive the escape from the Maze?

6. When Gally throws a knife, who sacrifices himself to save Thomas?

7. What does the Memo in the Epilogue reveal about the woman who has been taking care of the Gladers?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As some Gladers plan to escape, what does Alby admit to, and what were his motivations?

2. How do Thomas, Teresa, and Chuck get out of the Maze?

3. How does the Flare connect to Thomas and the other Gladers?

Recommended Next Reads 

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, Book Two) by James Dashner

• In this sequel to The Maze Runner, Thomas and his friends are put through another test: crossing 100 miles of The Scorch.
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Order Versus Chaos, Sacrifice, Growing Up, and Hope.
• Shared topics include friendship, trust, the environment, control versus free will, and survival.
• The Scorch Trials on SuperSummary

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

• Katniss and other teens are forced to battle each other in the Hunger Games arena while the Gamemakers watch and interfere.
• Thematic connections include Memory and Identity, Order Versus Chaos, Sacrifice, Growing Up, and Hope.
• Shared topics include adults controlling teenagers, friendship, trust, survival, and leadership.
• The Hunger Games on SuperSummary