The Death Cure
discussion
Who are the characters named after?
message 1:
by
Rosa
(last edited Oct 17, 2011 09:48AM)
(new)
-
rated it 1 star
Oct 17, 2011 05:28AM
I've not read a single interview w/ the author, so I could be wrong, but given that their aliases were supposed to be derived from those of renowned geniuses, I'd guess that Chuck comes from Charles Darwin, & Aris from Aristotle. Mother Teresa I could see, since the aspects of her character that WICKED often factors as a "variable" or whatever seem to align w/ the whole Mother Teresa thing. The one I don't get is Minho - admittedly, I'm not that caught up on my science history & could have missed it, & not to make everything about race (yawn), but that name doesn't sound based on anything - does he not get a scientist name because he's Asian? WTF? PS - forgot to say earlier that Gally is probably Galileo...
reply
|
flag
The only two I know are the two you already mentioned, Newt's (<3) and Alby's. Oh, and Thomas's, duh. Hmm.... *can't think of others*
Minho is the one that has me lost
I googled 'Minho' and the only thing that came up was a Chinese rapper. haha and his name was Choi Minho.
I dont know where i came up with this but I was thinking Minho was from Minho-tep, one of the great egyptian pharaohs. Havent heard of any other Minhos that i could think of. But he is supposed to be Asain so i dont know if that fits either.
Wildfan003, that's a HUGE stretch (why a pharaoh, and why such a relatively obscure one?), but certainly much better than anything I can come up with. I don't think it matters that Minho is Asian - as I recall, Alby was black, and neither German nor Jewish :) I kind of feel like we're putting more effort into this than the author did himself... not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, though. But yes, despite what I wrote above about Teresa, I don't really think the characters' qualities correspond much to the famous people whom they're named after (except for Gally - I guess you could argue that he was unfairly punished for speaking the truth, much like Galileo himself). Why Mother Teresa, after all? Why not Marie for Marie Curie (the only scientist - scientist, mind you - not female scientist, but scientist, period) to have been awarded the Nobel Prize twice? I think it's nice that the book has our mental gears churning & has us talking (part of the fun of reading & of this site, no?), but another part of me thinks that's way more than Dashner deserves...
Gally= GalileoThomas=Edison
Newt=Issac Newton
Alby= Albert Einstein
Theresa=Mother Theresa
Ben= Ben Franklin
Frypan= What the... is this a nickname?
Harriet=Harriet Tubman
Jeff=Thomas Jefferson
Minho= King Minos of Greek Myths(guess)
Aris= Aristotle
This is just my opinion. I have no idea.
I feel like I read somewhere that some of the characters (like Minho) are named after scientists in the future and don't actually exist... at least not yet!
The thing is with King Minos being Minho, well, Greek myths were actually BEFORE SCIENCE EXISTED. The whole reason they were there is to explain rain, and that stuff.
I think there was a Rachel and a Beth in there too, from the girl group.
Well, theres Rachael Carlson, who pretty much made humans aware of the eco system. Beth could be
That's the only Rachel that I could think of too. Beth could be for Evertt Willam Beth, a Dutch philosopher, or for someone named Elizabeth, of which there are a lot.
For Minho it is a famous Pianist
Sam wrote: "I googled 'Minho' and the only thing that came up was a Chinese rapper. haha and his name was Choi Minho."Seriously! Choi Minho is NOT Chinese, he's Korean from an awesome Korean boy band called Shinee.
http://www.randombuzzers.com/the-buzz...From the author (I copied and pasted):
blkwingangel wrote:
Hi James! I've asked fellow booksellers that have read MR but none could figure it out. We all know by now that all of your characters were named after scientists/geniuses. However, the only one character that I cannot say, "Oh, that's that guy!" is actually Minho, Keeper of the Runners. Who is he named after?
Thanks so much for answering!
Ah - I'm proud of you for being so observant!
Minho was purposely inserted because the book is set in the future, and it stands to reason that great minds will come along between now and then. My editor asked me the same question very early on. So kudos!
Useless trivia: Frypan's real "name" is Siggy, though it's never mentioned in Book 1. I think you can figure that one out.....
Posted 2 years ago
Does this sound weird? But when I think of Minho, it reminds me of a fish... Is that like a fishes name or something?
Oksana wrote: "Does this sound weird? But when I think of Minho, it reminds me of a fish... Is that like a fishes name or something?"Haha me too! :)
Jc wrote: "Gally= GalileoThomas=Edison
Newt=Issac Newton
Alby= Albert Einstein
Theresa=Mother Theresa
Ben= Ben Franklin
Frypan= What the... is this a nickname?
Harriet=Harriet Tubman
Jeff=Thomas Jefferson
Mi..."
Yeah... I thing that frypan's got something going here..
I think that Theresa is named after Tesla.Mother Theresa wasn't a scientist.... So I think Tesla makes the most sense.
The females in the trilogy are named after female revolutionaries. In book one Thomas said Theresa wasn't a scientists name
Yeah, Harriet Tubman wasn't exactly a scientist either.But thanks Melody! It's nice to know what was actually going through the author's mind. It seems rather sloppy to not actually mention that in the book though. I'm not terribly surprised though. While this series is very entertaining, you can't claim it's written very well. I would say it's not even up to the standards of, say, The Hunger Games.
Teresa is 100% mother Teresa. The sign next to her door says Teresa Agnes. Mother Teresa's real name is Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu. There is no doubt in my mind that she is named after Mother Teresa.
Haha to the first comment. Chuck Norris and Indiana Jones, that made me laugh quite a bit!
Who Minho was named after really bothered while I was reading the series. He was my favorite character, and I'm also an asian, but I don't think I've ever heard a scientist named Minho. The only thing I had in my mind was a Korean actor named Lee Min Ho.
Jay wrote: "Yeah, Harriet Tubman wasn't exactly a scientist either.But thanks Melody! It's nice to know what was actually going through the author's mind. It seems rather sloppy to not actually mention that ..."
Wow, really? That's not fair. Of course it isn't gonna "live up to the standards" of The Hunger Games. They are different stories, and they don't need to be compared. The Hunger Games is The Hunger Games, and The Maze Runner is The Maze Runner. That's the thing about this series. People don't give it a chance because it's not their precious Hunger Games. Of course it isn't going to be. Sorry, I like both stories, I really do. I just don't like it when people complain that a book's not the next Harry Potter, or the next whatever. They're not! They are different stories and there are a billion more out there!
My cohort in crime, Jenny, and I interviewed James Dashner awhile back and had the same question. Here's his answer in regards to Minho:
Jenny: Okay, so changing subjects a little bit, let’s talk names. Everyone has a historic names: Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton… with Theresa Agnes, I was guessing Mother Theresa. Is that right?
Dashner: Yep.
Jenny: Cool! So what’s the significance of all the names?
Dashner: The thing with the names is there really is no significance to them. The reason it’s important is that I wanted to show the creators, the people who started this process, they thought that by almost dehumanizing [the candidates], by taking away their real names and giving them nicknames, it would create a separation between them, make it seem less real that you’re doing this to kids. What name they were given doesn’t have anything to do with their personality or the plans for them. People always ask me who Minho was named after. Well, I purposely did that: because the story is set pretty far in the future, I wanted to have at least one or two names that we don’t know, so it’s someone who doesn’t exist yet.
Ruby: Yeah, I tried Google-ing that and I came up with a lot of South Korean pop stars!
Dashner: I wanted to have an Asian name in there, so that’s where it came from."
You can read the whole interview here if you're interested...
http://bit.ly/ykL8UG Part I
http://bit.ly/yU2HS6 Part II
Jenny: Okay, so changing subjects a little bit, let’s talk names. Everyone has a historic names: Thomas Edison, Isaac Newton… with Theresa Agnes, I was guessing Mother Theresa. Is that right?
Dashner: Yep.
Jenny: Cool! So what’s the significance of all the names?
Dashner: The thing with the names is there really is no significance to them. The reason it’s important is that I wanted to show the creators, the people who started this process, they thought that by almost dehumanizing [the candidates], by taking away their real names and giving them nicknames, it would create a separation between them, make it seem less real that you’re doing this to kids. What name they were given doesn’t have anything to do with their personality or the plans for them. People always ask me who Minho was named after. Well, I purposely did that: because the story is set pretty far in the future, I wanted to have at least one or two names that we don’t know, so it’s someone who doesn’t exist yet.
Ruby: Yeah, I tried Google-ing that and I came up with a lot of South Korean pop stars!
Dashner: I wanted to have an Asian name in there, so that’s where it came from."
You can read the whole interview here if you're interested...
http://bit.ly/ykL8UG Part I
http://bit.ly/yU2HS6 Part II
Paulina wrote: "I know Newt is named after Isaac Newton, Alby after Albert Einstein and Thomas after Thomas Edison. Also I read somewhere that Aris is named after Indiana Jones and Chuck after Chuck Norris. I'm no..."Chuck is Charles Darwin and Aris is Aristotle.
Kesiah wrote: "Sam wrote: "I googled 'Minho' and the only thing that came up was a Chinese rapper. haha and his name was Choi Minho."
Seriously! Choi Minho is NOT Chinese, he's Korean from an awesome Korean boy ..."
OMGee!! SHAWOL ALERT!! Both Minhos are AWESOMEE!!! flame forever^^
Seriously! Choi Minho is NOT Chinese, he's Korean from an awesome Korean boy ..."
OMGee!! SHAWOL ALERT!! Both Minhos are AWESOMEE!!! flame forever^^
Adeline wrote: "Who Minho was named after really bothered while I was reading the series. He was my favorite character, and I'm also an asian, but I don't think I've ever heard a scientist named Minho. The only th..."
haha same here. The rapper and the actor was the only thing that popped in my mind ^^
haha same here. The rapper and the actor was the only thing that popped in my mind ^^
Why are people still discussing this? It's determined from the two author interviews posted. The discussion is resolved.
Jc wrote: "Gally= GalileoThomas=Edison
Newt=Issac Newton
Alby= Albert Einstein
Theresa=Mother Theresa
Ben= Ben Franklin
Frypan= What the... is this a nickname?
Harriet=Harriet Tubman
Jeff=Thomas Jefferson
Mi..."
i think that is right
These people he is basing the characters names off of are all from different time periods.... So how are they all the same age and living together? I'm just starting death cure... So maybe it says it in there
Gabe wrote: "I feel like I read somewhere that some of the characters (like Minho) are named after scientists in the future and don't actually exist... at least not yet!"I've read this somewhere too, though I can't remember exactly where. I agree.
I cant think of Siggy for some reason...And I like that idea that the female characters arent scientists, like Harriet Tubman and Mother Teresa. And now I guess Minho is a futuristic scientist (AKA James Dashner's nephew)
I cant think of Siggy for some reason...And I like that idea that the female characters arent scientists, like Harriet Tubman and Mother Teresa. And now I guess Minho is a futuristic scientist (AKA James Dashner's nephew)
Jc wrote: "Gally= GalileoThomas=Edison
Newt=Issac Newton
Alby= Albert Einstein
Theresa=Mother Theresa
Ben= Ben Franklin
Frypan= What the... is this a nickname?
Harriet=Harriet Tubman
Jeff=Thomas Jefferson
Mi..."
Thats absolutely brilliant!!!
Gally=GalileoAlby=Albert Einstein
Thomas=Thomas Edison
Aris=Aristotle
Newt=Isaac Newton
Minho=Future scientist
Rachel=Rachel Carson
Frypan/Siggy=Sigmund Freud
Zart=Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Chuck=Charles Darwin
Harriet=Harriet Tubman
Beth=Elizabeth I maybe?
Sonya=?
Ben=Benjamin Franklin?
Stephen=Stephen Hawking
Winston=Robert Winston or Winston Churchill
For some reason I like how Aris and Teresa are both rather easy. Aristotle and Mother Teresa. It's good because those two, who were the key to escaping, were named after great thinkers,
Siggy (Frypan) is Sigmund Freud.
I saw on james dashner's blog that Mhino is named after a future genius that has not been born yet (he is insisting that there will be a genius named Mihno so keep your eyes open.
Wait... who the hell is Stephen???
Sam *awake and unafraid* wrote: "I googled 'Minho' and the only thing that came up was a Chinese rapper. haha and his name was Choi Minho."Excuse me... Choi Minho is a Korean rapper from the boy band called "Shinee"!!!
I read this from James Dashner's website about Minho"Who is Minho named after? I get this question often. And the answer is very simple. The events of THE MAZE RUNNER take place well in the future, so I purposefully wanted a main character who is named after someone who doesn’t exist yet in our day. So keep an eye out for the great man who will rise up in our society called Minho. (Could it be my niece’s husband? Maybe!)"
badabingbadaboom thangs google
I agree that Minho probably is a scientist from the future and we haven't heard about him because he never existed. I'm sure not everyone has a historical name like that anyways. It was probably just a name Dashner liked.
I think Beth might be Elizabeth Blackwell? She was the first woman doctor
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic
