The Scorch Trials Memory

Getting through The Scorch Trials would be hard enough under any circumstances, but what makes the whole thing even worse is that all of the kids have massive memory lapses. No, seriously—their memories were basically wiped. Thomas, for example, can't remember who he was and what he did before he was placed in the Maze, so he can't even make sense of the situation. All he knows is that his name is Thomas and that he's somewhat special.

Memory loss is damaging in so many ways, but possibly one of the worst ways it damages our heroes is that they were all very bright children before their memories were wiped clean. That means that every kid—yep, even Frypan and Winston—was somehow super important before the Maze trials. Without their memories, who are they now?

Questions About Memory

1. The Gladers can't remember their pasts. If they could, would that benefit the experiment?
2. Why is the loss of memory so debilitating for Thomas?
3. Teresa and Aris were seen in one of Thomas's memory-dreams. What does this mean?

Chew on This

The whole point of WICKED's experiment is to make the kids "new," which is why they need to wipe the kids' memories clean.

If Thomas had his memory back, WICKED's plans would be ruined.