Maze Runner Compare And Contrast Essay

Everyone is reading dystopian books lately. There are hundreds and all are so different, yet can have very similar characteristics. Like the books Maze Runner and Ender’s Game, they both have very different plots, but very similar dystopian qualities. In the novel The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, kids are sent to a maze called the glade and forced to run and face deadly monsters in order to escape. The novel Ender’s game, by Orson Scott Card, the government picks out the smartest kids in the society and sends them to battle school to become well trained military generals. Both of these novels use mood and dystopian controls to suggest the theme that people will take drastic measures to stay in power of other people. First, in the novel …show more content…
When Ender is getting ready to fight the buggers, he thinks about all it will do for his planet, and himself. He says that “I have to win this now, and for all time, or I’ll fight is everyday and it will get worse and worse.” He realizes that he needs to win this war now, or he will fight it for the rest of his life. Card uses Ender’s thoughts and feelings to make the reader feel desperate for Ender to win the war. While ender has been training for this war, he was pushed so hard by the government he became depressed and almost dies, he knows that if he doesn't win this now, it will continue for a long time, and he won't be able to handle it. The author makes us see that the government wanted to stay in control and not be taken over, so they pushed Ender so hard to become the best military general. Ender knows that he can no longer live like this so he is desperate for it to be over. It makes us realize that people who want to stay in power will take drastic measures to do so. Next, Dashner shows us very clearly who the dystopian control is. After the boys escape the maze, the people who built the maze explain what is going to happen to them, and why the creators built the maze. One of the creators states that, “‘The subjects will eventually recall and understand the purpose of the hard things we have done and plan to do to them. The mission of WICKED …show more content…
While in the battle school the government makes the students play games to become better commanders, but really they are putting the student against each other and putting all the kids in very hard physical and emotional situations, that make them break down. They do this to see who is the strongest but it hurts the kids more than it helps them. When Ender figures out what they are doing he says this to his friend Bean, "most boys in this school think the game is important for itself, but it isn't. It's only important because it helps them find kids who might grow up to be real commanders, in the real war. But as for the game, screw that. That's what they're doing. Screwing up the game.'" Ender doesn't like what the government is doing to them just to find out who would be a good commander to defend the government itself. In this case the dystopian control, or force that controls what everyone does and how they live, is the government. In the battle school the government controls everything they do from, how they play the game and who they are friends with and are enemies with. Ender realizes this after he had been put through many very tough situations that they created and opens Beans eyes to what is going on. The government making the boys go through this just so they can fight in wars that would cost the government their power, is showing us that people will take drastic measure