The Maze Runner Characters: Full List & Analysis

Who drives the story

Main characters

Thomas

A boy about sixteen who arrives knowing only his name and privately wonders if he has been in the Maze before. He becomes the first to survive a night inside, deliberately endures the Changing to recover his memories, and learns he helped design the Maze for WICKED—then leads the escape anyway.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Greenie in the Box; Part 2: The Night in the Maze; Part 3: The Ending; Part 4: The Griever Hole
Themes:: Memory as identity; Order versus survival; Sacrifice and who pays for the mission; Trust and manipulation; Community under pressure

Teresa

The first and only girl sent to the Glade, arriving comatose with a note reading 'She's the last one. Ever.' She shares a telepathic link and fragmented memories with Thomas, and together they trigger the Ending and solve the Maze's code.

Appears in:: Part 3: The Ending; Part 4: The Griever Hole
Themes:: Trust and manipulation; Community under pressure

Alby

The dark-skinned leader of the Gladers who holds the Glade together with rules. A Griever sting and the Changing break something in him; he sets fire to the map room and later commits suicide by walking into a group of Grievers.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Greenie in the Box; Part 2: The Night in the Maze; Part 3: The Ending
Themes:: Memory as identity; Order versus survival; Sacrifice and who pays for the mission

Newt

Alby's second-in-command, blond and limping from a broken leg. Kind where others are suspicious, he mediates the Glade's fights, sentences Thomas to one day in the Slammer and then Runner training, and eventually hands leadership decisions to Thomas.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Night in the Maze; Part 3: The Ending; Part 4: The Griever Hole
Themes:: Order versus survival

Minho

The sarcastic, brave Keeper of the Runners who maps the Maze's nightly shifts. He abandons Thomas and Alby in the Maze when Grievers come—then returns, helps lead four Grievers off the Cliff, and becomes a close friend to Thomas.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Greenie in the Box; Part 2: The Night in the Maze; Part 3: The Ending; Part 4: The Griever Hole

Chuck

A chubby thirteen-year-old who befriends Thomas like a little brother from his first day. He realizes 'PUSH' means to push a button, and dies taking a knife Gally threw at Thomas.

Appears in:: Part 1: The Greenie in the Box; Part 4: The Griever Hole
Themes:: Memory as identity; Sacrifice and who pays for the mission

Gally

The Keeper of the Builders and the Glade's chief antagonist, who distrusts Thomas from the start and storms out of the Gathering rather than accept him. Having been taken and controlled, he returns at the end to throw a knife at Thomas—and kills Chuck instead.

Appears in:: Part 2: The Night in the Maze; Part 3: The Ending; Part 4: The Griever Hole
Themes:: Memory as identity; Order versus survival; Trust and manipulation; Community under pressure

Also in the story

Supporting characters

Ava Paige

The chancellor of WICKED, who appears in the facility and in the epilogue's memo, calmly announcing that Phase Two begins now.

Appears in:: Part 4: The Griever Hole

How they are connected

Key relationships

Teresa Thomas
' She shares a telepathic link and fragmented memories with Thomas, and together they trigger the Ending and solve the Maze's code.
Newt Alby
Alby's second-in-command, blond and limping from a broken leg.
Newt Thomas
Kind where others are suspicious, he mediates the Glade's fights, sentences Thomas to one day in the Slammer and then Runner training, and eventually hands leadership decisions to Thomas.
Minho Thomas
He abandons Thomas and Alby in the Maze when Grievers come—then returns, helps lead four Grievers off the Cliff, and becomes a close friend to Thomas.
Minho Alby
He abandons Thomas and Alby in the Maze when Grievers come—then returns, helps lead four Grievers off the Cliff, and becomes a close friend to Thomas.
Chuck Thomas
A chubby thirteen-year-old who befriends Thomas like a little brother from his first day.
Chuck Gally
He realizes 'PUSH' means to push a button, and dies taking a knife Gally threw at Thomas.
Gally Thomas
The Keeper of the Builders and the Glade's chief antagonist, who distrusts Thomas from the start and storms out of the Gathering rather than accept him.

Go deeper

The Maze Runner themes & symbols

Memory as identity · Order versus survival · Sacrifice and who pays for the mission · Trust and manipulation

Themes explained

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The full story act by act, the ending explained and a quick quiz.

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