The Long Walk

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This article concerns the novel by Stephen King. For the phenomenon seen in Judge Dredd comics, see The Long Walk (Judge Dredd). For the book about Slavomir Rawicz's escape from Siberia in World War II, see Slavomir Rawicz.

The Long Walk

Author	Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Horror
Publisher	New American Library
Released	1979
Pages	384
ISBN	ISBN 0-606-16924-5

The Long Walk is a novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was included in King's collection The Bachman Books after King revealed to the public that he was Richard Bachman. Set in an alternate history, the plot revolves around the contestants of a horrific walking contest, held annually by a somewhat despotic and totalitarian version of the United States of America.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Notable Deaths 2.1 Death List 3 The Route 4 Notes 5 Interpretations 6 See also 7 Editions 8 External links

[edit] Plot summary

One hundred teenage boys (picked at random from a large pool of applicants) are chosen to participate in an annual walking contest called "The Long Walk". Each boy must maintain a continuous four mile per hour pace, or receive a warning. Warnings are given for a variety of other offences, including assaulting another walker or deviating from the walk's set course. Walkers may lose warnings by walking for one hour without being warned. There are no fourth warnings; if a Walker with three warnings slows down again, or breaks any other rule, he is shot by soldiers monitoring the event from halftracks.

The event is run by a character known only as "The Major", who is the lead overseer of the Long Walk. He is likely a high ranking official in the United States military.

Watchers tend not to view The Long Walk for the winner — they enjoy seeing those that fail.

There are no stops, no rest periods, and no set finish line during a Long Walk. The race ends when only one "Long Walker" remains. The winner receives "The Prize" - anything he wants for the rest of his life. It is interesting to note that many winners of the Long Walk have died soon after the race - not because of any foul play, but because of the mental and physical stresses of the race itself. There have been contestants who actually tried to crawl at 4 mph in order to survive after their legs have given out. The Long Walk is not only a physical trial, but a psychological one as well. The story has several characters who suffer complete mental breakdowns, and most of the characters experience a degree of mental strain and degeneration from the stress and lack of proper sleep.

The Walk begins every year at 9:00 AM on May 1 at the Maine/Canada border and continues down the eastern coast of the United States until the winner is found. It is a rare event for the Walk to finish outside Maine; only six have done so. The victor of this season's Long Walk is main character Ray Garraty, a 16-year-old boy. Early on, Ray falls in with several boys — including Peter McVries, Arthur Baker, Hank Olson, Collie Parker, Pearson, and Abraham — who refer to themselves as "the Musketeers." Another Walker — Gary Barkovitch — quickly establishes himself as an external antagonist, as he is quick to anger his fellow walkers with his taunts of "dancing on their graves" multiple times. This results in the immediate death of a fellow walker known only as "Rank" who breaks the rules in an attempt to injure Barkovitch. Lastly, the most alluring and mysterious walker is a loner with purple pants. He is first seen sitting eating a jelly sandwich, promptly gaining the others attentions. Throughout the walk, "Stebbins" establishes himself as the loner, observing the ground beneath him as he listens to his fellow walkers complaints. The only character Stebbins truly interacts with is Ray Garrety, and their conversations allude to "Alice in Wonderland" as Garraty relates him to the cheshire cat. Stebbins however corrects him, and believes himself to be more of a "White Rabbit" type.

Along the road, the Walkers learn that one of their number, a kid named Scramm — who is initially the heavy odds-on favorite to win the Walk — is married. When Scramm comes down with pneumonia, the remaining Walkers make a deal amongst themselves that the winner will use some of the Prize to take care of his pregnant widow, Cathy. The Walk comes down to Garrraty and a cryptic figure known only as Stebbins, who reveals himself to be the illegitimate son of the Major; when Stebbins gives out, Garraty is declared the winner.

At this point, in a severely degenerated mental state, Garraty sees a "dark figure" beckoning to him. Some readers have interpreted this dark figure to be recurring Stephen King villain Randall Flagg, who is often referred to as "the Dark Man" (this is notably mentioned in the book The Stephen King Universe by Wiater, Golden & Wagner). Believing that he is not done with the Walk (because there is another person walking in front of him), Ray ignores both the cheering crowd and The Major himself. The novel's final line informs us that Ray found the energy to run towards the dark figure ahead of him.

[edit] Notable Deaths

During the Long Walk, if at anytime you exceed your three warnings, you are shot and killed. Many of the walkers in the story finally snap, and their deaths are more powerful than others.

• Percy - Percy "whatsisname" was a walker who was continually visited by his mother on the sidelines. He however cracks under the strain of the game, and attempts to escape by sneaking into the woods while he believes none of the guards are looking. Attracting attention from the other walkers, Percy leaves the walking area, only to be shot in the stomach - as the soldiers knew all along his intentions. His mother appears yet again later in the walk, screaming to see her boy.

• Hank Olson - From early on, Hank Olson was the character whom cracked jokes on the other competitors. He believed he had an edge over the other walkers, as the major told him to "Give 'Em Hell." Olson however tires very early in the game, becoming a "hollow shell." Despite his exhaustion, Olson continues to walk, seemingly oblivious to the entire world. Garraty compares his demeanor to that of the Flying Dutchman as he is manned even when "the entire crew is dead." Because Olson is seemingly out of it, his fellow walkers only watch in a foreboding pity. Olson however outlasts several walkers, until finally he admits to Garraty he "does not want to die." A haggard mess, Olson attempts to climb the halftrack, and is shot several times by the soldiers. To the shock and awe of his fellow walkers however, he continues to stand. He is repeatedly hailed with bullets, but is determined to stand and walk. Eventually, his intestines begin to spill out of his stomach "like sausage" and he finally dies after lifting his hands to the sky and shouting "I did it wrong."

• Scramm - Despite being the "odds-on favorite" of this years long walk, Scramm succumbs to pneumonia. Realizing his time is almost up, he thanks the rest of his fellow walkers for agreeing to help his wife with their financial problems. He then walks towards another walker who has developed stomach cramps, and the two head to the side of the road towards the crowd. They then flip off the crowd and sit in conversation. It is then that they are both shot by the soldiers.

• Collie Parker - The roughneck of the walkers, Collie outwardly expressed his disgust towards the soldiers, the game, and the crowds more than the rest of the walkers. While Ray Garraty is dozing, he wakes to hear a loud gun-shot, and thinking another walker had "bought his ticket" sees Collie holding one of the soldiers carbines. He had stolen it from one of the Soldiers, and yelled for his fellow walkers to help him. He yells "we can take-" before he is shot in the back from behind, his chest blowing out. He falls and is able to say "bastard" one last time before firing off two shots onto the cement, the bullets ricocheting into the crowd.

• Gary Barkovitch - Barkovitch had cemented himself as a loud-mouth walker whom everyone had hoped to outlast. However in a touching moment with Garraty, Barkovitch admits that he wishes he had friends, and that he just didn't know how to act any other way. It is then that he agrees to help donate some of the winning proceeds to Scramm's young wife. Later however, he goes back to his previous demeanor and continues to hassle the rest of the walkers. The others realize that Barkovitch had finally snapped and gone insane, the intensity of the walk too much for him. At some point during the night, several shots are heard and Garraty asks if it was Barkovitch yet. Barkovitch however yells from the back of the crowd he's not finished yet, but screams in agony. Snapping, Barkovitch tears out his own throat, and is shot by the soldiers.

• Peter McVries - Pete McVries was the wise walker who had helped Ray Garraty get out of many binds and near fatal moments. Continually providing advice for Ray, he admits early on that he is probably going to lose this game, and is waiting to die. He tells Ray that at some point in the game he'll "just sit down" and die. When the walk comes down to the final 3 - himself, Garraty, and Stebbins, he keeps his word and sits crosslegged in the street. He is shot by the soldiers after Garraty attempted to save him.

[edit] Death List

The asterisk (*) indicates that the walkers were mentioned dead at the same time, meaning that there is no way to tell for sure the exact order. (Note: Most "Reasons of Death" indicated with a "?" resulted from a walker dropping below 4mph too often.)

Order	Name	Number	Reason for Death
1.	Curely, ?	No. 7	Charley horse
2.	Ewing, ?	No. 9	Blisters
3.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
4.	Zuck, ?	No. 100	Excessive bleeding
5.	Travin, ?	No. ?	Diarrhea
6.	Fenter, ?	No. 12	Foot cramps
7.	Larson, ?	No. 60	Sat down
8.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
9.	Toland, ?	No. ?	Fainted
10.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
11.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
12.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
13.	Baker, James	No. 4	?
14.	Rank, ?	No. ?	Fighting/Rage
15.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
16.	Unknown boy	No. ?	Tried to Escape
17.	Unknown boy	No. 45	Fell Down
*18.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*19.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*20.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*21.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*22.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*23.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*24.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*25.	Davidson, ?	No. 8	?
26.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
27.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
28.	Yannick, ?	No. 98	?
29.	Unknown boy	No. ?	Convulsions
30.	Gribble, ?	No. 48	Blue balls
31.	Harkness, ?	No. 49	"Burnt Out"
32.	?, Percy	No. 31	Tried to Escape
33.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
34.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*35.	Wayne, ?	No. 94	?
*36.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
37.	Morgan, Frank	No. 64	?
38.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
39.	Unknown boy	No. 38	Crushed Feet
40.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*41.	Tressler, ?	No. 92	Sunstroke
*42.	Unknown boy	No. ?	Convulsions
*43.	Aaronson, ?	No. 1	Feet Cramps
*44.	Unknown boy	No. ?	Sunstroke
45.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
46.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
47.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
48.	Jensen, ?	No. ?	Panic Due to Hailstorm
49.	Unknown boy	No. ?	Fainted
50.	Fenum, Roger	No. 13	Fainted
51.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
52.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
53.	Olson, Hank	No. 70	Climbed the Halftrack
54.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
55.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
56.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
57.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
58.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*59.	Scramm, ?	No. 85	Pneumonia/Sat Down
*60.	?, Mike	No. ?	Stomach Cramps/Sat Down
61.	?, Joe	No. ?	?
62.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
63.	Gallant, ?	No. ?	?
64.	Milligan, ?	No. ?	?
65.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
66.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
67.	Quince, Harold	No. ?	?
68.	Barkovitch, Gary	No. 5	Ripped out his own throat
*69.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*70.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*71.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*72.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*73.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*74.	Pearson, ?	No. ?	?
75.	Field, Charlie	No. ?	?
76.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*77.	Klingerman, ?	No. 59	Appendicitis
*78.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*79.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
80.	Tubbins, ?	No. ?	Insanity
81.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
82.	Parker, Collie	No. ?	Snuck onto Halftrack and stole a gun
83.	Wyman, Marty	No. 97	Layed Down
84.	Sledge, Bobby	No. ?	Tried to Escape
85.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
86.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*87.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*88.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*89.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*90.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
*91.	Unknown boy	No. ?	?
92.	Abraham, ?	No. 2	?
93.	Paster, Bruce	No. ?	?
94.	Fielder, George	No. ?	Insanity
95.	Hough, Bill	No. ?	?
96.	Milligan, ?	No. ?	?
97.	Baker, Art	No. 3	Excessive Blood Loss
98.	McVries, Pete	No. 61	Sat Down
99.	Stebbins, ?	No. 88	Fell Dead

[edit] The Route

• Based on details in the book, the most likely starting-point for the Long Walk is Van Buren, Maine.
• In the novel's alternate America, the Walk travels along U.S. Route 1 through Limestone, Caribou, Jefferson, Oldtown, Augusta, Lewiston, the completely fictional Porterville, Garraty's hometown of Freeport, Portland and South Portland, Kittery, across New Hampshire, and ending in Danvers, Massachusetts.
• Jefferson is mentioned as being the "Century Club" city, since it marks the 100 mile-point of the Walk. In reality, Jefferson is 287 miles from Van Buren (assuming that to be the Walk's starting point), and 150 miles from the nearest point along the Maine/Canada border (Saint Croix Junction).

[edit] Notes

• The Long Walk depicted in the novel breaks the record for the longest distance covered by a full complement of Walkers; Walker #7, Curley, earns his ticket just shy of the nine-mile point, surpassing the former record of 7¾ miles.
• The Long Walk depicted in the novel breaks the record for the most Walkers to reach Jefferson; 64 Walkers join the "Century Club" in the novel, surpassing the former record of 63.
• The Long Walk depicted in the novel is the seventh to cross over from Maine into New Hampshire, and the second to end in Massachusetts, covering 446 miles over five days and ending in Danvers.
• Ray Garraty is the second contestant from Maine to win a Long Walk, after Reggie Cotter.

[edit] Interpretations

The ending has been a source of confusion for many people. The most commonly accepted interpretation is that Ray has either gone completely insane, or that he was moments away from death, or some mixture of the two. Some people believe that he is merely about to faint.

What makes the novel rather gruesome (and gripping storytelling) is King's exploration of the slow-paced race to death. He relishes in the walkers' psychological breakdown with great detail, as they push themselves to the limit of human endurance and test their will to live.

The story delves into several themes, particularly the survival mentality, and mental and physical exhaustion. The Hands on a Hardbody contest held annually in Texas (and the movie by the same name) explore similar ideas.

On a deeper level, it has been suggested that the storyline is a metaphor for life itself, replete with all of its trials and tribulations. Every participant in the walk either continues to walk, or dies (reminiscent of the phrase, "It sucks to grow old, but it beats the alternative"). Like life, every participant finds different reasons to endure what the walk has to offer. And like life, some just give up and allow themselves to be shot (an equivalent of suicide). And like life, it is only the promise of a better life down the road that propels the participants forward.

It can also be interpreted as the way humans worship death. This is shown with the audience cheering at the deaths of the walkers. Rome is mentioned as is humanity's long history of celebrating violence and death. It is also suggested that each participant of the Walk, somewhere deep inside, wants to die, to become a part of the spectacle that is lauded by the Crowd. In this sense, the ending can be seen as Garraty getting his wish, his "prize" in death, but only after he realizes that the Long Walk is really a metaphorical sham.

Perhaps a more persuasive interpretation is that the plot allegorizes the Vietnam War: America's youth are either forced or volunteer to "walk," to persevere, march, death their ultimate penalty, provided no apparent purpose and promised an ambiguous "reward." "The Major" represents America's so-called "Military-Industrial Complex;" the Walkers represent the soldiers whose lives are lost in pursuit of a fundamentally meaningless end. The "Crowd," then, can be seen as the American public, mindlessly cheering on the deaths of American teenagers so that someone might achieve a "win" in an essentially win-less contest. Imagine the "Long Walk" taken through the jungles and swelter of Vietnam. It's difficult to disagree that King intended some parallel to be drawn.

[edit] See also

• Battle Royale: a film/manga/novel with similarities to King's "Long Walk."

[edit] Editions

• ISBN 0-606-16924-5 (prebound, 1999)
• ISBN 0-451-19671-6 (mass market paperback, 1999)

[edit] External links

• Stephen King's Official Page: the section on the Long Walk
• Three Warnings: a fansite and fanlisting for the book
• Horrorking.Com: Character list and description of the book

Stephen King
Bibliography
Novels: Carrie (1974) • ’Salem's Lot (1975) • Rage (as Richard Bachman) (1977) • The Shining (1977) • Night Shift (stories) (1978) • The Stand (1978) • The Dead Zone (1979) • The Long Walk (as Richard Bachman) (1979) • Firestarter (1980) • Cujo (1981) • Road Work (as Richard Bachman) (1981) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (1982) • Different Seasons (novellas) (1982) • The Running Man (as Richard Bachman) (1982) • Christine (1983) • Pet Sematary (1983) • Cycle of the Werewolf (1983) • The Talisman (written with Peter Straub) (1984) • Thinner (as Richard Bachman) (1984) • Skeleton Crew (stories) (1985) • The Bachman Books (novel collection) (1985) • It (1986) • The Eyes of the Dragon (1987) • Misery (1987) • The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three (1987) • The Tommyknockers (1988) • Dark Visions (cowritten with George R. R. Martin and Dan Simmons) (1988) • The Dark Half (1989) • Dolan's Cadillac (1989) • My Pretty Pony (1989) • The Stand: The Complete & Uncut Edition (1990) • Four Past Midnight (stories) (1990) • Needful Things (1990) • The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands (1991) • Gerald's Game (1992) • Dolores Claiborne (1993) • Nightmares & Dreamscapes (stories) (1993) • Insomnia (1994) • Rose Madder (1995) • Umney's Last Case (1995) • The Green Mile (1996) • Desperation (1996) • The Regulators (as Richard Bachman) (1996) • Six Stories (stories) (1997) • The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass (1997) • Bag of Bones (1998) • The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999) • The New Lieutenant's Rap (1999) • Hearts in Atlantis (1999) • Dreamcatcher (2001) • Black House (sequel to The Talisman; written with Peter Straub) (2001) • From a Buick 8 (2002) • Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales (stories) (2002) • The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger (revised edition) (2003) • The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla (2003) • The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah (2004) • The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower (2004) • The Colorado Kid (2005) Cell (2006) • Lisey's Story (2006)
Non-fiction: • Danse Macabre (1981) • 1988 Nightmares in the Sky (1988) • 2000 On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (2000) • 2005 Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season (cowritten with Stewart O'Nan) (2005)
Original ebooks: Riding the Bullet (2000) • The Plant: Book 1-Zenith Rising (2000)
Audio Recordings
Audiobooks: L.T.'s Theory of Pets • Blood and Smoke (2000) • Stationary Bike (2006)
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