- "All I know is I don't want to be here. I want to go back to my family. Whatever's there, whatever I was taken from. I wanna remember."
- — Chuck to Thomas, The Maze Runner
Charles (better known as Chuck) was a Slopper who befriended Thomas in the Glade. He was Thomas's best friend, like a little brother he never had. He was named after Charles Darwin, the inventor of the theory of evolution.
Biography[]
The Fever Code[]
Thomas and Teresa first met Chuck while on their way to lunch with Newt, Minho, and Alby. Chuck, who was about seven or eight, was sitting in the hallway, crying, and when he saw them, he begged them not to tell anyone that he was out of his room. He also told them that WICKED was forcing him to call himself Charles. Thomas immediately nicknamed him Chuck.
Over the next few years, Chuck became like the little brother of the group. When the Maze Trials began, Chuck was initially excited by the thought of going into the Maze eventually; but once he witnessed the death of George on the viewing screens, he was extremely upset and his enthusiasm all but vanished. When he was finally put in the Maze nearly two years later, Chuck and Thomas had a very emotional goodbye, with Chuck telling the older boy that he would miss him.
The Maze Runner[]
Chuck was the last Greenbean before Thomas and the last one welcomed by Nick. He was the first Glader to befriend Thomas, to show actual interest in him, and to actually talk with him. The two became good friends, and when Chuck came to the Slammer to visit, and Thomas later promised to get Chuck home to his parents.
When Chuck entered the Griever Hole alongside Thomas and Teresa during the Gladers' attempt at escape, he was the first one to figure out that Teresa had to push the button right when the Grievers were about to attack them. After the remaining Gladers escape through the Griever Hole, they encounter Gally, who throws a knife toward Thomas. Thomas could only stand there, too startled to do anything. Right when the knife was about to collide with him, though, Chuck dove in front of him, which stabbed him in the chest and died in Thomas' arms.
The Death Cure[]
Although Chuck obviously does not make a physical appearance, it is confirmed that WICKED was controlling Gally when he threw the knife and was also controlling Chuck to make him jump in the way of the knife. It turned out that it was all just one of the Variables designed to be an interaction for not only Thomas and the other Gladers who witnessed it, but also for Chuck during his last few moments.Film[]
The Maze Runner[]
Chuck was introduced when Thomas first arrived in the Glade and Alby sent Newt to find him. Chuck was the newest Glader before Thomas. He was Thomas' first friend. They spent lots of time talking, and Thomas grew a soft spot for the boy.
Chuck carved a miniature figure in hopes of giving it to his parents when they escaped the Maze. When he finished carving it, he went to the Pit to visit Thomas, who was locked in there by Gally as punishment for running into the Maze to help Minho and Alby, and show him the finished product.
When escaping the Maze, the Gladers were forced to fight a group of Grievers, with Jeff letting himself be killed by them in an act of self-sacrifice to save Minho from them. Chuck and Teresa were tasked with carrying the key through the battle, and unlocking the exit. Chuck lost his grip on the key when they were halfway, and it rolled towards the edge of the Cliff. At the last moment before it rolled over, Chuck caught it, Teresa helping him back to his feet. They kept running when they saw a Griever climbing over the side of the Cliff. The two Gladers reached the door, put the code in, and they and the remaining survivors escaped the fighting.
After the group watched the video of Ava Paige explaining the reasoning behind putting the kids in the Maze, they started to look for a way out. They heard a voice calling out to them, and collectively turned around to find Gally, who was stung, which restored all his memories, and appeared in the lab behind them, a key in one hand and a gun in the other. He insists that they will never be free, and then raises the gun, pointing it at Thomas' chest. When Gally fired a bullet, Chuck lunged forward, taking the bullet instead in an act of self-sacrifice, giving Minho a chance to throw a spear at Gally, causing it to impale him in the chest, causing Gally to drop to his knees, drop the gun, and collapse on his right side on the floor. Thomas was shocked, and checked himself for a bullet wound, but found none. A faint voice spoke up beside him, and they looked to see that Chuck had taken the bullet in an act of self-sacrifice.
Chuck dropped to the ground, and Thomas caught him, clinging onto him. Chuck pulled out the miniature carving from his pocket and gave it to Thomas. Thomas tried to give it back to him, telling him that he'll be the one to give it to his parents, but Chuck refused, insisting that Thomas take it. Thomas then promised that he would find Chuck's parents and give them the carving. Chuck died in Thomas' arms before Thomas and the others are dragged out of the lab and to a helicopter by a group of masked soldiers.
The Scorch Trials[]
Though Chuck never made a physical appearance in the movie, Thomas mentions him while talking to Brenda, who has contacted the Flare. He notices Brenda's locket, which has a picture of a young Chuck inside it. When he asks her about it, she says he was her brother, and tells Thomas his name was Charles. Thomas gives her the figurine Chuck gave to him, reiterating that her brother is Chuck. When she asks how he died, he says Chuck died saving his life.
Thomas also mentions him when he, Newt, Minho, and Frypan are talking on a mountaintop, wishing that Chuck, Alby, and Winston had lived long enough to see The Right Arm.
Physical Appearance & Personality[]
Chuck was about 12–13 years old. He was described as short and pudgy, with long brown hair and blue eyes on a flabby face. He is referred to by Newt as a "wee little fat shank." In the film adaptation of The Maze Runner, Chuck had curly brown short hair and brown eyes, and was chubby.
Chuck was a mischievous Glader who loved to prank people in the bathroom before bedtime, which he demonstrated to Thomas on his first night in the Glade by tapping on the bathroom window before suddenly popping his head up and screaming as loud as he could. Because Chuck was the youngest in the Glade, everyone else treated him like a nuisance besides Thomas. He was also described by Thomas as being a quirky, excitable kid, funny and seemingly innocent.
Trivia[]
- In the film adaptation of The Maze Runner, Chuck dies from a bullet wound instead of a stab wound.
- The password to enter his tree fort was "Radagast," the name of a wizard in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
- Chuck is the youngest of the Gladers.
- In The Maze Runner Files, Ava Paige said she controlled Gally to kill Chuck to spare him from an even worse death, showing that she didn't want to have to force him to go through the harder Trial.
- In a deleted scene from the film adaptation of The Death Cure, Gally expresses remorse over killing Chuck, as shown when he explains to Thomas that he sees Chuck's face every time he closes his eyes.
- In the final scene of the film adaptation of The Death Cure, Chuck's name was engraved on the Memorial Rock by Gally at the Safe Haven. It showed that Gally has regretted killing Chuck while stung by a Griever, and engraved Chuck's name as a way to forgive himself.
Quotes[]
- "No. Well, I mean, I know I must have them. And wherever they are, I'm sure they miss me, but I can't miss them 'cause I don't remember them." The Maze Runner (film)
- "You're disgusting when you eat,' Chuck said, sitting on the bench next to him. 'It's like watching a starving pig eat his own klunk." The Maze Runner (Book)
- "You know, I'm really not all that scared. I mean, last few nights, sitting in the Homestead, just waiting for a Griever to come in and steal one of us was the worst thing I've ever done. At least now we're taking it to them, trying something." The Maze Runner (Book)
Gallery[]
.png "Screenshot 2020-10-04 223571-34493-0 jpg (JPEG Image, 320 × 240 pixels).png (787 KB)"){kind=tracking}
