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“A few weeks, you’ll be happy, shank. You’ll be happy and helpin’. None of us knew jack on First Day, you neither. New life begins tomorrow.”
Alby speaks these words to Thomas in Chapter 2. When Thomas arrives in the Glade, he’s scared and confused, surrounded by people but feeling alone. As he attempts to cope with his fear and salvage any memories of his former home, he feels utter hopelessness. In this harsh environment, a loss of hope equals a death sentence. Alby, the leader and the Glade’s longest resident, recognizes these emotions in Thomas, as he’s seen them in every other new arrival. Though Alby admits that he’s not the best person to welcome newcomers, he also attempts to put Thomas’s mind at ease and let him know he’s not alone. Though Alby assures Thomas that his despair is normal and expected, Alby also understands that hope is a driving force in the Glade. With this encouragement that Thomas’s despair is temporary and that his circumstances will improve in his new life, Alby allows Thomas to grasp the crucial survival mechanism of hope.
The fact that the Gladers hadn’t given up said more about these people than anything else.
And now he was one of them.
This quote appears in Chapter 23 as Thomas sits alone on the outskirts of the Deadheads, pondering his fate. Having just performed a heroic act by saving Alby from the Grievers during a night trapped in the Maze, Thomas doesn’t celebrate but instead despairs. Thomas hears Alby screaming as he goes through the Changing, causing him to wonder if his act was a victory at all. With a quiet moment to think, the reality of his current life trapped in a Maze surrounded by monsters hits him, making him feel hopeless. He longs to find a way out, but wonders if that’s even possible given that the Gladers have been searching for two years. Though Thomas doubts he’ll ever find happiness in this world, he admires the tenacity of the other Gladers, who never give up hope and never stop trying. In this moment, Thomas realizes that adopting their hope is likely key to his own survival.
“Tonight we’re taking the fight back to the Creators, no matter what we have to go through to get there. Tonight the Grievers better be scared.”
Newt speaks these words to the Gladers in Chapter 54 as they prepare to storm the Griever Hole and escape the Maze. Minho has suggested that someone should give a pep talk to the group, and Newt delivers. Up to this point, the Creators have used the Grievers to create fear and keep the Gladers under control, and now the Gladers are ready to fight for their freedom. Though they are afraid and uncertain about the outcome of their most dangerous undertaking yet, here Newt assures them that they are aligned for success. His strong words are born not only out of hope for success but also of faith in what they can achieve together. His pep talk is designed to infuse the other Gladers with the hope they’ll need to face their greatest adversaries and come out on the other side of this world alive.
