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The Scorch Trials
By: Emily Smulewitz
Important People:
 Thomas: The main character in The Maze Runner series
 Newt and Minho: Thomas’s best friends
 Theresa: The only girl in the group of boys until later on in the
book and the only person that can communicate with Thomas
by telepathy
 The Gladers: Name for everyone that had lived in the Glade
(the area around the maze)
 WICKED aka W.C.K.D: Group of people that control the Maze
and Scorch Trials experiments and are enemies of the Gladers
 Brenda and Jorge: Allies of The Gladers
Important Places
 The Dorms: The Gladers live in
dorms created by WICKED that
protects The Gladers from The
Scorch
 The Scorch: A desert that used to be
the Earth’s equator
Summary:
 Thomas and the other Gladers are trying to find the
cure to an infectious disease called “The Flare”.
Because Thomas and most of his friends are immune
to this disease, WICKED thinks that they can find the
cure. The Flare is a virus that slowly deteriorates a
human’s brain and turns them into zombie-like
creatures known as “Cranks”. If someone is turned into
a Crank, then they slowly lose their sanity.
The Flare and Cancer
 The Flare can be seen as a mirror to cancer. This is
because both diseases do not have cures and they
give infected people harsh symptoms. Common
symptoms of cancer are shortness of breath, bone
pain, and coughing. Despite the fact that there is not
yet a cure for cancer, there are therapies that people
can undergo such as chemotherapy.
Cancer Cells in the Human Body
 Once a cancer cell enters the human body, the cell
divides quickly and out of control. When a healthy cell
turns into a cancerous cell, it invades other healthy
cells. Comparatively, when a person in The Scorch
Trials was infected by The Flare, it spread throughout
the body and invaded the healthy cells until there were
none left.
Examples of The Flare in The
Maze Runner Series
 One example of The Flare was when Newt was infected by
this disease and he almost killed Thomas. The reasoning for
this was because he lost his sanity.
 Another example of The Flare was when Thomas was
invited to a party that Cranks were attending. Even though
they were not at the part of the killing stage (when Cranks
lose all humanity they tend to kill people), there was still
something strange about them.
 Additionally, The Flare was mentioned when Thomas and
his friends were sent on a journey to try to find a cure for the
disease.
Structure of Cells
 In class, we are learning about the structure of cells.
For instance, we learned that cells have cytoplasms,
golgi apparatuses, cell walls, ribosomes, cell
membranes, and more. Diseases such as The Flare
and cancer can enter our body and cells through the
cell membrane. If a cell enters the cell membrane, it
can divide and be transported and affect other areas in
a body.
What I learned
 From my research, I learned that diseases cause many
symptoms and that many of the symptoms are
unpleasant. Furthermore, I learned that while there are
not cures to several diseases, people are always trying
to find a cure and there are many therapies that slow
down the inevitable. In general, science is present in
other numerous ways such as in energy, technology,
medicine, and our bodies.
Recommendation
 The Scorch Trials is not just my favorite book in The
Maze Runner series; it is my favorite book overall!
From the amazing descriptions to really loving the
characters to the science fiction, I would definitely
recommend this book and the rest of the series to
anyone who loves sci-fi, action, adventure, and
dystopian societies.
Quiz
 What is the disease from The Scorch Trials called?
 What disease can The Flare be compared to?
 Who is Thomas?
 Do cancer cells multiply?
 What do cancer therapies do?
 Why isn’t Thomas affected by The Flare?