The Death Cure

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2011

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Chapters 34-38 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 34 Summary

They head out in the morning and notice there are still not many people on the streets. Minho confides with Thomas that he is worried about the state they will find Newt in. They pass an empty lot and Thomas notices movement. He points out a man in the lot. The man is hunched over and moving his hands. “Without warning, the man sprang up and turned toward them; blood covered his mouth and nose” (161). The infected man does not pursue them, but goes back about his business.

Once back at the Berg, Jorge opens it up. Thomas expects Newt to be waiting for them, but “nothing moved inside or out, and his heart sank. Minho obviously felt the same way. ‘Something’s wrong.’ He sprinted to the door and ran up the ramp before Thomas had a chance to react” (163).

“They could hear Minho calling Newt’s name somewhere deep in the ship, but the infected boy wasn’t responding. A cavity seemed to open within Thomas, widening and sucking the hope out of him” (163). Thomas finds Minho with a piece of paper in his hand. Minho is near tears. Newt’s note says someone got inside and took him to live with the other Cranks.

Chapter 35 Summary

The four gather for a meeting and sit in silence for several minutes. Minho speaks up to say that they must find Newt before anything. Brenda says they probably took Newt to the Crank Palace, a place that every city has to send the infected. Jorge tells Minho where the closest one is and agrees to fly there. The get there quickly and step outside. Thomas notices half the trees are dead.

Two guards at the front gate grudgingly allow them to pass after Jorge says they are there from WICKED to pick up an infected that was taken by mistake. They allude to some conflict within the Crank Palace. Thomas asks them if anyone new has been brought there, and the guards try to get money from them before they say. Jorge shows his cash card and tells them to show the group the way. The guards open the gate.

Chapter 36 Summary

The guard tells them about the Palace and how it was intended as a last good place to live for the infected before they go crazy. However, “the developments became havens of debauchery” (169). Seeing the state the place is in and listening to the guard tell a grim story about what is done with Cranks “left Thomas with a heavy dose of gloom. The world was in pitiful shape. Maybe he was being selfish by not helping WICKED complete the tests” (170). Thomas asks the guard to keep them away from the crowds and find Newt.

The guards stop and ask the group to wait. When they return, they tell the group that they found Newt but that he told the guards to tell the group to leave.

Chapter 37 Summary

Minho orders the guards to show them where Newt is. After the guards argue for a moment, they agree and ask the group to follow them. Minho leads the way right after the guards. The guards bring them to the Central Zone of the Palace and tell them that Newt is at the bowling alley. Thomas, the others, and the guards go into the Central Zone. “To Thomas, everyone’s actions and mannerisms seemed…exaggerated. Some people were laughing hysterically, a wildness in their eyes, as they slapped each other’s backs roughly. Others cried uncontrollably, sobbing all alone on the ground or walking in circles, faces in their hands” (176). As they approach the bowling alley, an infected woman grabs Thomas and tells him she wants to kiss him. They get away from her and continue walking.

Chapter 38 Summary

The group arrives at the bowling alley and Jorge tells the guards he will pay them more if they can get them back to the Berg safely. Minho walks into the building first. Both Brenda and Thomas look at each other. They both have a bad feeling about the situation. The bowling alley is torn up, and people are sleeping all over the place. They spot Newt and walk over to him. When he sees them, he says, “I told you bloody shanks to get lost” (179). “Hearing those words come out of Newt somehow let [Thomas] know that it was over and done. Their friend would never be the same—he had only dark days ahead” (180).

Newt has a Launcher and reveals it when Thomas tries to reason with him. He tells them again to go away and Minho gets mad, insulting him. Newt shuts him down and turns to Thomas, “‘And you, Tommy,’ the boy said, lowering his voice. ‘You’ve got a lot of nerve coming here and asking me to leave with you. A lot of bloody nerve. The sight of you makes me sick.’ Thomas was stunned silent. Nothing anyone had ever said had hurt so much. Nothing” (181).

Chapters 34-38 Analysis

These chapters afford a glance into Minho and Newt’s character development. Both revolve around Newt’s illness, but the effects are different. Where Minho lashed out at the beginning of the book, he now worries quietly, only revealing briefly to Thomas that he is unsure what they will find at the Crank Palace. Where Newt was withdrawn at the beginning, he is now angry. He is especially angry at the betrayal he feels toward Thomas, though Thomas does not understand why.

The definition of human is explored further. The narrator goes so far as to call Newt, “the infected boy,” denoting that he must be identified as infected from then forward. An entire “palace” is dedicated to the Cranks, which is, in reality, far from a palace. The structure demonstrates the breakdown of community and society, which are defining parts of humanity in many ways. Finally, Thomas feels his friend is gone and only has dark days ahead. Thomas no longer believes Newt can be reasoned with because he no longer believes Newt is human enough to listen.