Humor

Okay, The Maze Runner series takes place in a dystopia. In other words, things aren't exactly happy-go-lucky in this world. In fact, everything is pretty much depressing and bleak. But hey, the best way to survive in a dystopia might just be give in to some old fashioned humor.

That's what the Gladers do, anyway. Instead of crying for their mommies and giving up, they often resort to humor so that they can stay sane. Minho, in particular, lightens up the mood constantly. He jokes about life and death on a regular basis, and though it might seem a bit messed up, his humor's a good way to cope with suffering and loss.

Here's an example of Minho's dark humor:

"Yeah, right," Minho said. "And Frypan's gonna start having little babies, Winston'll get rid of his monster acne, and Thomas her'll actually smile for once." Thomas turned to Minho and exaggerated a fake smile. "There, you happy?" "Dude," he responded. "You are one ugly shank." (10.30)

Sometimes, the best way to make a situation better is to stare it in the face and just mock it. Sure, these kids' lives are pretty terrible, but that's been pretty obvious for a while now. They've already had time to mope and freak out about it. Now, they have to try to survive, and humor does make matters just a little better.

Hey, we've all been there. A little dark humor never hurt nobody.