The Death Cure

“I know we’ve lied to you. Often. We’ve done some awful things to you and your friends. But it was all part of a plan that you not only agreed to, but helped set in place. We’ve had to take it all a little farther than we’d hoped in the beginning—there’s no doubt about that. However, everything has stayed true to the spirit of what the Creators envisioned—what you envisioned in their place after they were…purged.”

Thomas thinks of the Rat Man as evil, however, throughout the novel, it is apparent that the Rat Man believes in his mission and believes it is being done for the greater good. This passage exemplifies WICKED’s beliefs and hints at what Thomas and Teresa set in motion before they had their memories taken away from them.

“Thomas took off his nasty clothes and got to work making himself human again.” 

The human condition is questioned and contemplated in different ways during the book, but this quote plays into Thomas’s state of mind. Before this moment, he was stuck in a padded room believing that he was sick and that the anger he felt toward WICKED and Teresa was a symptom of the Flare rather than the reality. He becomes human by shedding what he wore during the time he believed he was infected, and therefore, not human.

“Don’t trust them. Do not trust them. Only me and Chancellor Paige, Thomas. Ever. No one else.” 

In the previous novel, Brenda helped Thomas through the Scorch. Thomas understands that, to a point, Brenda lied to him about who she was because she was working for WICKED at the time. However, her words refocus him during a confusing time. It is these words that color his actions for the rest of the novel.

“Thomas knew the odds were bad, but it was all they had. ‘After what we’ve been through, this is nothing.’ He smiled as he realized it was true. ‘Thanks for the training.’” 

Thomas begins to realize that his hardships have shaped him as an individual. Although he does not admit it, Thomas does not want his memories back because he likes the person he has become. The training WICKED has provided him makes him the perfect enemy.

“He immediately thought they were leaving him. First Teresa and the others, now his closest friends and Jorge. He couldn’t take any more betrayal. It hurt too much.” 

Thomas has trust and abandonment issues. This quote exemplifies Thomas’s insecurities directly. Teresa’s betrayal hurt him so badly that he expects the worst of all those he cares for the most.

“He made it halfway. Turned to look at his friends. They were backing toward him, all three now firing. Minho had to stop and reload, and Thomas just knew he’d get shot or blasted with a grenade. But his friend finished and started up again. The three of them reached the bottom of the hatch door, so close now.” 

Like the previous quote, this moment demonstrates Thomas’s hopelessness. He has watched several kids die before his eyes during the trials, and he and the others have not discredited the idea that this is yet another trial. Just as in the trials, his friends make it through, and they are able to help him continue forward as well.

“Thomas didn’t respond, didn’t know what to say. All he knew of life was the Maze and the Scorch and the splotchy memories of his childhood with WICKED. He felt empty and lost, like he really didn’t belong anywhere.” 

Thomas struggles with his place among his friends and in the world, a struggle that causes him to overlook his friends’ hardships. Although Thomas knows only the Maze and the Scorch, he refuses his memories. Somehow, the idea that Thomas is lost and does not belong mismatches his insistence against regaining his memories.

“And a memory bubbled up in Thomas. Something about a fail-safe programmed into his implant to prevent it from being removed. He wanted to shout at his friends, tell them to sedate him. But he couldn’t.” 

A question about Thomas’s past arises: did he decide on the fail-safe to protect himself from the memories or did WICKED decide on the fail-safe to keep the tracking device and memory implantation in place? There were no issues at WICKED with the subjects who chose to have their memories given back.

“Thomas realized that though it was possible he could get hurt by the fleeing crowd, he really had nothing to worry about. He was immune.” 

Although Thomas speculates that the immune cannot live freely on a planet full of infected, he walks around as if he is untouchable. He has nothing to worry about. He is immune. But he does have things to worry about, like Newt, who is not free to walk where he wishes.

“To Thomas, everyone’s actions and mannerisms seemed…exaggerated. Some people were laughing hysterically, a wildness in their eyes, as they slapped each other’s backs roughly. Others cried uncontrollably, sobbing all alone on the ground or walking in circles, faces in their hands.” 

Throughout the book, the Cranks are referred to as creatures that are not human. This passage exemplifies the difference between humans and Cranks. The Cranks are exaggerated, wild. 

“‘And you, Tommy,’ the boy said, lowering his voice. ‘You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here and asking me to leave with you. A lot of bloody nerve. The sight of you makes me sick.’ / Thomas was stunned silent. Nothing anyone had ever said had hurt so much. Nothing.” 

Thomas is stunned when his friend lashes out at him. At that moment, Thomas does not remember the letter his friend gave him. He thinks no one has said anything so hurtful, but Thomas’s own words urging Newt to come with them have perhaps hurt Newt as well.

“Kill me. If you’ve ever been my friend, kill me.” 

Thomas finally reads Newt’s note. Thomas has failed his friend.

“It’s crazy out there. It’s all happened really quickly. Like they’ve been hiding and waiting for a signal or something. This morning the police were overpowered and the gates were opened. Some Cranks from the Palace joined them. They’re everywhere now.” 

This passage hints at something that is never fully explored in the book. How and why did the Cranks attack Denver with such power? How did they become organized when, as Thomas points out earlier in the novel, they are so exaggerated and wild? The passage creates questions outside the scope of the novel.

“Newt looked horrible. His hair had been torn out in patches, leaving bald spots that were nothing more than red welts. Scratches and bruises covered his face; his shirt was ripped, barely hanging on to his thin frame, and his pants were filthy with grime and blood. It was like he’d finally given in to the Cranks, joined their ranks fully.” 

Newt’s appearance stuns Thomas because Newt has come to represent the inhuman infected. Thomas does not consider the possibility that Newt has not fully joined their ranks and is merely doing what he must do to survive, just as Thomas has done.

“‘You think that thing out there is still your friend?’ the pilot asked coldly. ‘Those Cranks are way past the Gone. Can’t you see that? Your friend is nothing but an animal now. Worse than an animal.’” 

Again, the world views the Cranks as nothing close to human. They are animals. This quote from the pilot pushes Thomas to go out and convince his friend to come with him, a rational, human act that he believes will be met with Newt’s consent. 

“Thomas had closed his eyes when he did it. He heard the impact of bullet on flesh and bone, felt Newt’s body jerk, then fall onto the street. Thomas twisted onto his stomach, then pushed himself to his feet, and he didn’t open his eyes until he started running. He couldn’t allow himself to see what he’d done to his friend. The horror of it, the sorrow and guilt and sickness of it all, threatened to consume him, filled his eyes with tears as he ran toward the white van.” 

The moment Thomas is pushed to do what his friend trusted him to do, Thomas closes his eyes and runs. He does not know for sure where he hit Newt, nor does he know if Newt it dead. He believes that he shot Newt in the head and that Newt is dead.

“[T]hey looked like structures that would exist there forever, unyielding to whatever man or weather threw at it. It called to mind a barely held memory of something from storybooks—some sort of haunted asylum.” 

Thomas looks at the WICKED compound and sees it as a place that could exist forever. WICKED represents mankind’s belief in technology and research. He also sees the place as a haunted asylum, a place where ghosts live and people go insane. Many people have died there and gone insane from contracting the Flare. 

“And now, after all he’d been through, he stood at WICKED’s threshold, there by his own choice. He reached out and knocked on the cold, dark glass in front of him. He could see nothing on the other side.” 

Thomas willingly goes back to WICKED for what he believes is the greater good: the Right Arm. He hopes to help all his friends by sacrificing himself. At the start of the novel, he is running away from WICKED. At the end of the novel, he walks right into WICKED’s arms.

“Played to the end, Thomas thought bitterly. His own attempts to rebel had turned out to be exactly what they wanted. Every ounce of his anger directed at the man sitting in front of him. At the Rat Man. To Thomas, Janson had come to represent WICKED from top to bottom.” 

Rebellion is the basis of Thomas’s survival. He survived the Maze and the Scorch because of rebellion. He survived the events of this novel because of rebellion. It is revealed that his rebellion is exactly why they chose him for the final test. Rebellion could lead to his demise. This passage also presents Thomas’s view of Janson as a representation of WICKED. At the beginning of the novel, Thomas views Teresa as a representation of all the bad that had happened. Teresa and Janson represent the same thing to Thomas, despite their differing roles.

“Thomas closed his eyes. He wondered if the weapons-disabling device had done its job. Wondered if anyone would find him. Then he realized, did he even want them to? Was it really possible that WICKED almost had a cure? He forced himself to breathe evenly, focus on trying to move his limbs. But nothing happened.” 

Thomas questions whether he wants his friends to find him for the same reason that he came to WICKED alone, willingly, to begin with: the greater good. If WICKED has a cure, should his friends really find him and take down WICKED? The lines between good and evil are blurred. Who is doing the right thing? Thomas wonders this right before he falls asleep, sedated for his procedure.

“For a long time, Thomas knew only darkness….Somewhere on the edge of it all, he knew that he was supposed to be asleep….So he wasn’t dead yet.” 

Thomas’s sleep and his dreams reveal much about what happened before these moments. This particular passage reassures the reader and Thomas that he is not yet dead. He may continue to survive.

“Let me tell you something, kid. I’ve never thought of myself as a violent man, but you and your friends sure have driven me to the brink. My patience is stretched to a minimum, but I’m going to show restraint. Unlike you, I think about more than myself. I’m working to save people, and I will finish this project” 

If readers look at the novel as a whole, there is plenty of truth in Janson’s words. He does not think much about himself. He is worried about the project, about the subjects involved. Despite his position as an antagonist, he is trying to save people. He believes in his project and, like Thomas and the Gladers, he has a will to survive.

“A splintering, shattering noise split the air so loudly that Thomas looked back. His eyes drifted upward, where a massive section of the ceiling had torn loose. He watched, hypnotized, as it fell toward him. Teresa appeared in the corner of his vision, her image barely discernible through the clogged air. Her body slammed into his….the huge piece of building landed on top of Teresa” 

For the entire novel, Teresa is a negative figure to Thomas. He sees her as a betrayer and as someone he cannot trust. Although they are not together for much of the novel, she has a more profound impact on Thomas than any other character. Despite Thomas’s treatment of and attitude toward her, she saves him from dying, sacrificing her own life.