#good that

[generic-enthusiast]

What "Good that" means for each of the Gladers

(Book 1)

For Newt, "Good that" is an instinctive part of his vocabulary, and it comes out in casual and stressful situations, although mostly stressful, as a way to calm down. He uses it 9 times in the first book (6 more than Thomas, second place), and a lot of them are during the Gathering, where he's under the pressure of being the leader for the first time, not even being able to lean on Alby's authority, even if Newt has to actually make the decisions. For Newt, it's comfort.

For Alby, it's also a sign of comfort, but in a different way. Rather than using it indiscriminately, in every situation, Alby saves it. He doesn't instinctively use it to answer anything, he only uses it twice; in the scene where he and Newt realize he can't take care of himself anymore, and when he realizes he's doing a terrible job of introducing Thomas to the Glade. In both, his leadership position is coming under pressure, and he's doubting himself and his actions. For Alby, it's self assurance.

For Minho, it's a sign that everything is fine. He also only uses it twice, but he uses it when he's pretending everything is fine when it clearly isn't. First, after proposing Thomas be Keeper of the Runners, and getting shot down to just a Runner, his original goal. He has to keep his emotions together, not show anything, and he also knows there's a chance (small one, but it's there) that Thomas will be put in the Slammer. The second one is after they figure out what "The Maze is a code" means, when he tells Thomas to go into the Maze with him. He's desperately trying to keep up a pretense of normality when the word around him is anything but. For Minho, it's composure.

For Thomas, it's a way of feeling included. Throughout the book, he's constantly othered by being called "Greenie", "Newbie", "Greenbean", etc, and being excluded from everything they know, which we clesrly understand that he doesn't like from the constant complaints he directs towards the nicknames, asking people to call him Thomas or Tommy. No one really bothers to explain things to him well. By using "good that" (although only at 3 uses, he's the second most frequent user), he tries to establish himself as "one of them". For Thomas, it's inclusion.

For Chuck, it's similar to Thomas, but a bit different. When he says it to Thomas, it's a way of separating him from the Gladers and establishing himself as one of the in crowd. He's trying to include himself by excluding someone else. For Chuck, it's belonging.

I have way too many thoughts on this (it's literally two words that are mentioned about 18 times in the first book) so I'm definitely going to keep on overanalysing it in the other books.

[generic-enthusiast]

"Good that": an origin

Now that I've analyzed the meaning of "Good that" for each character that says it in the first three books of the series (as you do), I've slowly realized that there's really only one place the phrase can come from.

Alby, Newt, Minho, Thomas. Their use of the word spikes whenever they're put into a position of leadership. They use it as a form of confidence.

Several people use it as a way of unity, of making the Gladers come together.

Newt and Alby, in particular, seem to relate it to each other.

What does this all mean? Nick. It means Nick.

For Alby, Newt, and Minho, Nick was their first leadership reference. He could introduce the Greenies well, he kept the Glade running smoothly, he put out fires quickly, and did it all for two years.

The first time we se it being used is by Alby during the scene where he messes everything up with Thomas's introduction to the Glade. Thomas was his first Greenie since Nick died. He was desperately in need of help, of guidance from some sort of leader.

Then there's Newt, whose use of it spikes when Alby's stung, and he becomes the de facto leader. He's seen both Alby and Nick, the two leaders of the Glade, using it.

Then we have the second and last time Alby uses it, when renouncing his leadership, and letting others lead the Glade because he doesn't trust his own mind anymore. He makes the decision a good leader should make.

Minho starts using it more frequently after discovering his tattoo, and realizing what he's going to be expected to do. He uses it to form unity amongst the Gladers, to remind them of their history together. After all, all the Gladers besides Thomas knew Nick. They all heard him say it for at least a month.

Then we have Thomas. Thomas, who never had Nick as a leader, but heard his effect on everyone. Thomas, who never heard the original, but heard all the others. Who heard Alby use it to reassure himself, and Newt use it to gain confidence, and Minho use it to unite the Gladers.

Even if he never knew Nick, it's still leadership to him.

The only logical conclusion to this extremely over analytical reading of a simple phrase is that Nick, the first leader of the Glade and the role model for every one else, created it.

[generic-enthusiast]

"Good that" for each of the Gladers

(TDC)

For Newt, it slowly loses meaning as he loses all his memories. The only time he uses it is very close to the beginning, when Rat Man first tells him he's not immune. He's forcing a grin, forcing himself to seem like nothing is wrong. Then Thomas says "If you're cool with slowly going crazy and wanting to eat small children, then I guess we won't cry for you.", trying to joke about it to make it go away. Enter the Good That. It was just another way to try and make it seem like everything was normal and fine when it clearly wasn't.

But even as things get worse, Newt doesn't use it again. In the past books, he used it to called upon old memories of Alby, or didn't use it so that he could get over Alby's death. His use of it always revolved around Alby. But now he's forgotten him. He's forgetting everything they went through and everything that simple phrase meant to him. For Newt, it means nothing.

For Thomas, it gives him confidence. Whenever he uses it, he needs a boost of confidence, or to fake being confident: after being controlled by WICKED and made to attack Minho, trying to convince everyone to go visit Gally, leaving alone with Brenda to the Right Arm's headquarters, getting out of the van to see Newt, feeling like he's being lulled into a false sense of security when he's going to the headquarters with Lawrence, and when Minho essentially tells him to blindly follow Brenda's instructions. He's become the leader now, and he needs to seem more confident than ever. For Thomas, it's confidence.

For Minho, it's a bit more complicated. The three situations he uses it in during this book are:

1. When Thomas jokes about never having another Gathering on the Berg after the first one includes talking about WICKED controlling them, Newt insulting Brenda (which means they can't ignore the Flare), and just generally being pessimistic about the future.

2. When Thomas tells him Newt is probably fine when they're going to Crank Palace.

3. As a response to Thomas's own "Good that" near the end of the book, when they've reached the safe haven, and they're realizing they're going to have to spend the rest of their lives without Newt.

As you may have noticed, all three of these have Thomas in them. Whenever Minho says "good that", it's in response to something Thomas said. Because for Minho it's not something he says of his own accord, but it's something he started to say only around Newt and Alby, as a response to their own "good that"s. Now that connection has been transferred to Thomas, the only other person who still says it. For Minho, it's Thomas.

[generic-enthusiast]

What "Good that" means to the Gladers

(TST)

For Newt, the meaning of "good that" has drastically changed in relation to the first book for one main reason: Alby. Newt and Alby were the two characters who were the most comfortable using it, and that used it more often, so it probably has something to do with their history. The comfort those words brought him died with Alby, and it's now dripping with bitterness. He only uses it twice throughout the whole book. For Newt, it's a cruel reminder.

For Minho, it's come to symbolize how close the Gladers are. He uses it with Aris much like Chuck did with Thomas, using it to try and other him with their expressions and vocabulary. He uses it in situations where they need to feel cohesion amongst the remaining Gladers, like when they find Aris, discover the tattoos, go through the FlatTrans, or enter the Scorch. For Minho, it means unity.

For Thomas, it's a way to recover from discomfort. Not so much a comfort in the way it was for Newt in the first book, but as a verbal crutch. When he's uncomfortable, he uses it to recollect himself, like when he's told they might be used for breeding, or when someone's just tried to cut his nose off, or when he's just come back to the Gladers after having been taken by WICKED. For Thomas, it's a safe space.

[anonymousyellowlizard]

Rent lowering gunshots really be working XD

[ilikeunicornsactually]

Was going through my notes for my A Levels. Got to the stats and mechanics section of my normal maths, and it was blank and all it said was “I wish you the best of luck.” Gee fkin thanks past me.

[alvadee]

@mooncustafer reblogged your photo:(”The Echo” October 11, 1974)

Buono reading “My Last Duchess” would be awesome and chilling.

i know :’)