that occurs immediately after a person is stung by a Griever. After the Changing, the person gets back some of the memories that were wiped before he or she came
into the Glade. As well as Alby, he regains some of his memory and he is really sure that their life will get worse after they successfully get out from the Maze.
However, Thomas does not give up with his situation, he still attempts to regain all of the Gladers‘ trust including Alby.
c. Thomas conflicts against all of Gladers
The conflict between Thomas and all of Gladers happens because Thomas‘ attitude often annoys all of them. Thomas often asks a lot of questions to the
Gladers and annoys all of them. One of the examples is when Thomas tries to help Alby and Minho who trap inside the Maze. Thomas and Minho have different
perception toward Thomas idea to enter the Maze. Thomas just tries to help Alby and Minho, he feels that he cannot just do nothing and leave them inside the
Maze. However, Minho thinks differently, he thinks that Thomas‘ assistance is useless and he thinks that Thomas just committed suicide. Minho also believes
that there is nothing they can do in order to survive inside the Maze because no one ever
survives inside the Maze at night. Thomas feels angry with Minho‘s attitude because he is trying to remain hopeful.
Thomas was annoyed at Minho‘s attitude constant negativity. ―Oh, come on
—there has to be something we can do. How many Grievers‘ll come at us?‖ He peered down the corridor that led deeper into the Maze, as if
expecting the creatures to arrive then, summoned by the sound of their name Dashner, 2009: 114.
Even though it seems hopeless for them to survive, Thomas still believes that there is a way to survive inside the Maze. Suddenly, Thomas remembers
about Ben and Gally who are also the Gladers. He asks if anyone has ever been stuck outside during the night and survived like Ben and Gally, but Minho
answers in the negative. A thought sprang into Thomas‘s mind, giving him hope. ―But…what
about Ben? And Gally, and others who‘ve been stung and survived?‖ Dashner. 2009: 115.
All Thomas‘ questions make Minho angry because he thinks that Thomas tells implicitly that he is a stupid person. Minho believes that all of Thomas‘
thought are already tried and it does not work at all. He also believes that there is not a way to survive inside the Maze at night. In contrast, Thomas still believes
that there is something that they can do in order to survive inside the Maze. Therefore, he asks several questions to Minho, so that he can learn the strategy
that he can use to survive inside the Maze. The other conflict which happens between Thomas and all of Gladers is
when Thomas tries to persuade all of the Gladers to follow him in order to find the way out of the Maze. Thomas proposes an idea that all of them should enters to
the Grievers hole, a place where all of Grievers live. However, some of the Gladers think that Thomas‘ idea is crazy and as a result they do not agree with his
idea. The other factor why some of the Gladers do not agree is because Thomas is the one of the Creator who helps design the Maze.
In previous event, Thomas realizes that he must sacrifice himself for get stung by the Griever in order to go through Changing phase. Thomas believes that
go through Changing phase is the only way to regain his memory, so that he can find a way out from the Maze.
All the same, Thomas now had a plan. As bad as it was, he had a plan. They needed more clues about the code. They needed memories. So he
was going to get stung by a Griever. Go through the Changing. On purpose. 2009:291
Thomas sacrifices himself to help the Gladers find a way out of the Maze and back to home. He does not know whether he will survive or not through the
Changing, he is uncertain about what he will experience and the after-life of the Changing but he does it anyway for everyone else. After went through Changing
phase, finally Thomas finds the answer why all of them are sent to the Glade. The Creators are testing all of them and they want the winners or survivors to do
something important. Then, Thomas also makes confession that Thomas and Teresa who is the
only girl in the Glade are different because both of them have the ability of telepathy. The confession made all of the Gladers doubt, but Thomas tries to
convince them that he and Teresa can find a way out from the Maze. ―It‘s true, and I‘m sorry,‖ Thomas continued. ―But I can tell you this—I‘m
in the same boat with you now. Teresa and I were sent here just like anyone else, and we can die just as easily. But the Creators have seen
enough
—it‘s time for the final test. I guess I needed the Changing to add the final pieces of the puzzle. Anyway, I wanted you to know the truth, to
know there‘s a chance we can do this‖ Dashner, 2009:308. Thomas tries to reassure all of the Gladers that he can help all of them to
find the way out even though they already know the true identity of Thomas and Teresa. They are one of the Creators who design the Maze and create the whole
thing. Thomas also convinces them that he needed the Changing in order to get the final clue to get out from the Maze.
After go through Changing phase, finally Thomas finds the answer why all of them are sent to the Glade. Thomas believes that there must something about
the code which obtains from the Maze ‘s movement. He believes that there is a
connection or relation between the code and the Maze. He also believes that all of them could get out from the Maze if they already have the code. He has a plan to
get out but there‘s no assurance whether the plan will be a success or a failure. No one knows whether they will be alive or dead by the end of the night. Then,
Thomas proposes the idea of jumping into the griever hole when they decipher the hidden words concealed in the Maze patterns. The plan sounds crazy for some of
the Gladers, but it is the only choice for them if they want to exit from the Maze. Finally, Thomas success to convince all of the Gladers to follows his plan in order
to find a way home.
C. The Messages as Revealed through the Thomas’ Conflicts
