Full Tilt

Blake’s earlier comparison of his mother to a blue whale manifests on the third ride. In the chaos of the ship ride, Blake recognizes his mother’s eyes in the whale’s head, and the captain, Carl, exclaims, “I’d hate to be a krill caught in her baleen” (80). This is how Blake sees most of his mother’s boyfriends—she swallows them into her life before they disappear forever. Blake and Quinn reunite on the third ride for a reason. In earlier moments, Quinn was more upset by his mother’s engagement to Carl. This ride makes it clear, however, that Blake also has misgivings and fears about the father figures in his life. This plays a pivotal role in a later ride and provides a bridge between Blake and Quinn.

On the third ride, Blake and Quinn replay the earlier incident on the Raptor coaster. Before Quinn can be struck by lightning, Blake pulls him away from the mast and they fall to safety. Much as in the Raptor incident, Blake’s display of guardianship does not heal the rift between him and Quinn. It does illuminate the depth of Quinn’s trauma, though. When Blake tells Quinn, “If you went down with that ship, you wouldn’t be coming back up,” Quinn responds, “Who says I wanted to?” (84). Without discovering that Quinn’s trauma is as serious as his own, Blake would not find balance with his brother.

The revelation does not immediately bridge the differences between Blake and Quinn. Given the choice to survive the rides together, Quinn refuses. Though Quinn is characterized by his adaptable and adventurous spirit, he is avoiding his trauma. Whereas Blake uses safety to counteract his trauma, Quinn utilizes chaos. By refusing to work with his brother, Quinn illustrates that Blake is not the only brother who refuses to confront his emotional pain.

Cassandra arrives to give Blake more information about his quest. Blake learns that no one has survived all seven rides by dawn; this is a crisis moment for Blake. The odds stacked against him are more unfavorable than he imagined, and his only companion—Quinn—abandoned him. Blake chooses to move forward, a choice that caused fear in the real world: “here was a moment not of blind helplessness, but of decision” (90). The choice is clear when Blake unexpectedly kisses Cassandra.

As foil and antagonist respectively, Quinn and Cassandra shed more light on the bus crash that caused so much of Blake’s fear. Quinn doesn’t know every detail of the incident because he asks, “Is it true that you’re the only one who survived?” (86). Blake refuses to answer, suggesting that he was the lone survivor. This slow trickle of information creates suspense; readers know that there is more to learn about the crash and are therefore compelled to read further.

The mirror maze, the fourth ride, is not a physical threat; it takes an emotional toll instead. This plays directly into Maggie’s fears. In the real world, Maggie is afraid of being ugly or overweight. In the maze, her body contorts into a deformed shape. For Blake, the effects of the mirrors’ transformations are less terrifying than their psychological effects. Some of the mirrors sap his self-esteem and confidence.

Despite these differences, Maggie and Blake choose to escape the maze together. This stands in contrast to Russ, who ran from Maggie when she first transformed. Maggie shares a supportive connection with Blake; Russ, on the other hand, is more controlling. The shallowness of Russ and Maggie’s relationship is exposed, which pushes Blake to show his loyalty. The strength of Blake and Maggie’s friendship gives them the strength to walk through the mirrors together, whereas Russ’s desertion damns him in later sections.

It is important for Blake’s journey that Maggie doesn’t leave the maze. A hero’s journey is about overcoming obstacles; in the end, the hero must stand alone to overcome the antagonist. This inevitably sets Blake back in his quest, but it also presents him with a choice. A hero cannot continue one’s journey unless one chooses to do so. Here, Blake is again choosing to pursue Quinn and defeat Cassandra, even if he must do so alone—which mirrors his movement to college and away from his support system.

Blake sees The Works for the first time on the deck of the ship. Again, this illuminates the stakes of his success or failure. If Blake doesn’t escape the park by dawn, he could be doomed to a life of repetition and enslavement. The Works represents Blake’s life if he continues to allow his fear to dominate his choices: He will be a cog in the gears of an unhappy life.