The Scorch Trials Time

This is when everything seems like it's going to be okay. Thomas is just enjoying his momentarily solitude with Teresa in the dormitories. Time seems to fly when you're having fun. These moments set up a vivid contrast to what happens in the rest of the book, when there is never enough time, and life itself is at stake.

The problem with the Gladers' situation is that they're constantly crunched for time. Thinking for just a second could probably be the best idea any of them have had, but as Minho says, there's really no time for thinking when everything around you is going nutso bananas.

WICKED equips all of the Gladers with watches while they're in the dormitories; this might seem like an advantage since they'll know what time it is, but it's really a disadvantage: having a watch makes time drag.

In other words: pain. When you're feeling extreme pain (like hunger pains), time seems to go so slowly that every second feels like a thousand needles being stabbed into your liver. So we're told, anyway.

When time runs out, there's only one option: do something. Are the Gladers' actions better when they act on impulse, or are they better when the Gladers think things through?

Time not only makes the Gladers move more quickly and with less caution, but it also separates them. If they had more time to reach the safe haven, Thomas could have regrouped with his comrades; the less time, the more stress placed on the individual.

Now that's what we call torture. Sometimes having too much time to reflect is definitely not a good thing.

Ever had one of those moments where you're at an utter loss for time? Well that's how Thomas feels, except he's caught in a situation in which he's about to be killed. What he needs to here, it seems, is act rather than reflect. But how is he supposed to act if he doesn't even understand his situation?

A classic method: the man from WICKED in this quote starts the count up to five so that Thomas has to make a quick decision. Often, this technique causes people to fold because of the extreme pressure.

Carpe diem. Seize the day. Time is money. Wasting time. All of these phrases are just ways of telling us that when we think about how time is passing, we're inhibiting ourselves from acting. Sometimes, of course, this is necessary. But what if you think too much and never end up acting?