A-Maze of Technology

My blog post should probably start with an apology, because I did not do a very good job of describing what I want my final paper to be about. I'm still not sure exactly where I'm going or what to include, but I'm largely interested in the relationship between science and narrative and how technology has influenced young adult literature. I also want to examine stereotypes of scientists and intellectualism, which includes an examination of gender roles, especially given the rise of the female-villain-scientist character in recent young adult dystopian texts. My current aim is to examine some of these issues in the text Maze Runner, a book about the struggle of Thomas and his friends to survive a scientific experiment.

Spoiler Alerts: The narrative begins when Thomas enters the Glade, a community of teenage boys that has been built in the middle of a giant maze. He enters with supplies through an elevator they call the Box, and has no memory of who he is except for his name; the boys explain that this happens every month. Thomas is slowly introduced to the boys' way of life, including their distinctive lingo, and learns that they have been trying to escape the maze for more than two years without success. Their system is to rely on a group of boys called the maze runners, who run the maze every day and subsequently record what the maze looks like. Though they have thousands of maps, the maze changes every day, and they are unable to find any patterns that will allow them to leave. Furthermore, the maze runners must return before nightfall when the doors to the maze close and grievers, half-biological, half-mechanical creatures freely roam the maze. No one has ever survived the night in the maze. As the story continues, a girl is delivered through the box who can telepathically communicate with Thomas, and, through a series of dangerous misadventures, the group eventually escape the maze to meet its creators, a group called WICKED.

I aim to analyze this book using Hayles, Nakamura, and Johnson (User-Centered Technology), as well as other relevant texts. My goal is to argue that the whole book represents our interactions and fears as users of technology. I would like to examine the expert/novice binary and the idea of technology as a black box, technological determinism, humans as product or animal (they eventually have bar codes), the scientist and the user as post-human, the default identity online (white male), and the relationship between information and materiality, including the failure of scientific method to yield productive results. Hayles text is especially interesting in this regard, given that the boys discover that they don't even know their real names, and have instead been named after famous male scientists (Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, etc.). However, the female character is not named after a scientist, and Minho, the only character described as Asian, is named for a scientist of the future, according to the author's commentary after the fact.  

I would also like to explain that technology has changed our view of the maze narrative and what is savage and dangerous, using both Greek mythology and Lord of the Flies, one of the cited inspirations for this text. Comparing the beast and the Minotaur to the grievers could be a productive direction in this regard, as well as the role of feminine knowledge and how escape happens (the string, the fire, the digital window). I would also like to delve into how digital spaces influence memory, privacy, and language/slang, as well as the role of the woman as "the end of technology" (Teresa's appearance signals changes in the maze and their eventual escape).

Mark made the great suggestion that I should speak with Dr. Boyd, so I am doing that next week. It was also suggested that I take a look at Technologies of the Gendered Body. My main concern is that I may stretch evidence too much to fit my own interpretations or that I don't have a clear idea of which ideas are going to be the most fruitful in terms of working with sources. I chose this text because I'm also hoping to be able to watch the recent movie version, though I'm not sure how much to include that aspect (my original goal was to be able to compare the written description of a griever to the visual one). I also thought about looking at art and fan fiction inspired by the text, but I'm not sure how far to go or how useful that might be. The second book also reveals that there was a whole other maze with all girls in it and one boy, and I am not sure how much that should influence my reading of the original text.