The Glade

The Glade was the area in the centre of the Maze that served as the living place for the Gladers. It was the only place that the Gladers could be safe from the Maze and the Grievers. The Glade had four large Walls that encase it and separate it from the Maze. Each wall has an opening in its centre, called the Doors, that close every night and open every morning. Outside the Glade lies the Maze with many twisting and turning paths that contain horrifying slug-like, spike-covered creatures called Grievers. In the Book, the Glade and Maze are actually all underground, below the WICKED headquarters somewhere in Alaska, whereas in the Film, the Glade and Maze are in the desert, on the surface. The Maze was located in Alaska, were the WICKED Headquarters was located above it. The Godhead, a group of survivors led by Alexandra, lived above the Maze and worship it. The Godhead explored the Maze, trying to unravel the history and the purpose of the Maze.

Description

The Glade was large, according to Thomas, who said it was several football fields in length. It consisted of four sections:

1. Homestead (North-West): A double story building where some of the Gladers slept. It also contained the kitchen. The Gathering was held in one of the rooms in the Homestead. At the back of the Homestead was the Slammer, a place that functioned as a jail.
2. Gardens (North-East): The grassy area where crops were grown and water was pumped, as it never rained in the Glade. Some Gladers slept on it at night in sleeping bags since there was not enough room in the Homestead.
3. Deadheads (South-West): A small forest area with a graveyard containing some of the deceased Gladers bodies.
4. Blood House (South-East): A large barn where livestock was raised and slaughtered.

In the centre of the Glade, there was a metal elevator that the Gladers called "The Box". Once a month, a Newbie arrived in the Box with their memories wiped. Supplies, clothes, and blank paper for mapping also arrived in the Box once a week.

Near the Box, there was a rectangular concrete building with no windows. It was the Map Room, where the Runners drew and analysed the maps.

Rules

1. Never go outside the Glade, unless you are a Runner.
2. Never hurt another Glader. You have to trust each other.
3. Everyone does their part. No slackers.

• In the Film, Alby told Thomas the rules in reverse order.

Jobs

For more information, see: Maze Roles

Every Glader had a job and worked almost all day long, the only regular break being for lunch. Each type of job had a Keeper, who had his own seat at the council during a Gathering.

There are ten known jobs in the Glade, but possibly several more. These and their leaders are, according to Zart:

• Runners (Minho): As the only Gladers allowed to enter the Maze, they run through it every day. Runners accumulate information about the wall movements in order to find a way out. At the end of each day, they return to the Map Room to draw maps using their memory and quickly jotted notes from within the Maze. Runners in total spend around ten hours every day exploring the Maze and creating their maps. Each Runner is responsible for their map.
• Builders (Gally): They build new places and upgrade buildings in the Glade.
• Cooks (Frypan): They cook and prepare the meals.
• Slicers (Winston): They work in the Bloodhouse and take care of livestock and slaughter the animals for food.
• Track-hoes (Zart): Gladers who work in the Gardens. Tasks are tilling, weeding, planting, and harvesting.
• Med-jacks (Clint): They act as doctors and medics.
• Baggers (Billy): They act as guards and deal with any dead bodies.
• Sloppers (Unknown): They do dirty tasks, housework, basically any job no Glader wants to do; treated as the lowest-ranked job. This job is given to Gladers who are bad at every other job.
• Map-makers (Unknown): They make the maps of the Maze, and could be Runners.
• Bricknicks (Unknown): They have almost the same job as Builders, but are actually tasked with repairing buildings.

Trivia

• In The Maze Runner, Newt told Thomas that Newbies were usually assigned to work with the Slicers when they first came.
• In The Maze Runner, the sun and sky are artificial images created on the ceiling of the area, which is why it never rains.
• In the Book, it is stated that the Gladers had been in the Glade for two years, whereas in the Film, it was over three years.

Gallery

The "Fight Circle" in the Glade as shown in the film.