Like Aesop's Fables and Orwell's Animal Farm, The Maze is populated with animal characters who, in their words and actions, reveal truths about human nature. In The Woods, a very popular, clever, and ambitious rat named Sniff-who commands a pack of deputy rats known as The Five-intends to replace the aging leader, Owl, when he retires on election day in two weeks. As a famous athlete of the air in his youth, Owl has established The Tradition of Wings. In his speeches to the animals, Sniff-an assistant to Owl but already acting as if he's the leader-promises to establish what he calls "e;The Kingdom of Sharing,"e; in which rats will be "e;leaders"e; and all other animals will be "e;followers."e; Opposing Sniff's rise to power are two winged animals-a well-known poet hawk, Wing, and his studious friend, Butterfly-and Claws, a young, robust, and competitive squirrel. The central image of the story is a maze. Sniff has one built ostensibly for community recreation but actually to make money and to display rats' superiority as maze-runners. Other characters in this sometimes-humorous story include Spider, an architect; Snake, a "e;shady"e; character; Stub, a mole who assists Sniff; and Frog, an instructor of bug-catching. The Maze is not only about human nature but about animal life in general. It explores necessities of survival such as status and power, altruism and self-interest, the defense of territory, and the conquering of enemies through group cooperation.
