Recently while I was in a pensive mood, I happened to see it in a whole new light.
The Maze-Runner is a scary depiction of our existence! The Glade is the universe we inhabit and we are the Gladers! They even talk of "Creators" which is theism. The Gladers have no memory of what happened before they turned up in the Glade and have no idea what lies beyond, except for a few rare disconnected recollections, which are akin to the supernatural phenomena reported by people of past lives or feelings of deja vu. There are the "Runners" who try to explore the Glade and understand its workings, similar to our scientists, while the others have other professions to make life run in an orderly way.
There are the "Grievers" who threaten the existence of the Gladers, acting like the personification of the troubles we go through in life such as disease, loss and other misfortunes. But even then, most Gladers are scared of the unknown and have settled down in the Glade going about their day-to-day lives, forgetting that they are trapped, helpless and have no clue what all this is about. Our universe is many times vaster and more complicated that life in the Glade so most people are even more lost in that, not contemplating those serious metaphysical questions at all. There are some however who do; the more spiritual people and then the scientists; the Runners.
The "Runners" understand that we are here in this strange situation, in a place we call the universe and they do not take anything for granted. They question everything; thirsting to know. The spiritual people want a way out; to go to what's beyond and escape the Grievers/troubles, while the scientists regard the environment with curiosity and fascination, desperate to understand the universe/Glade. The Runners/scientists can conquer the place and manipulate it if they understand its workings, and even find a way out.
The Maze which is full of dangers and inhospitable can be the rest of the universe while the habitable Glade is planet Earth. We risk venturing for short periods of time into the Maze/space and desperately try to learn about it. The Holy Grail for the Runners is the code to crack the Maze, and for us, that would be the Theory of Everything, which is a theory yet to be found that explains all the workings of the universe; the unification of Einstein's physics which governs the large, and quantum physics which governs the small. This was in fact, the dream of Albert Einstein which he never got to realize.
Einstein and the Theory of Everything
The story, especially the movie version, is adventurous and due to its strange premise, piques one's curiosity and keeps one engaged till the end. I also liked the fact that there was no unnecessary sensation which is found in most of the pornified media nowadays, and the story stuck to the plot.
