The Long Walk is a dystopianhorror novel by American writer Stephen King, published in 1979, under the pseudonymRichard Bachman. Set in a dystopian alternative version of the United States ruled by a totalitarian regime, the plot follows the contestants of a grueling annual walking contest. While not the first of King's novels to be published, The Long Walk was the first novel he wrote, having begun it in 1966–67 during his freshman year at the University of Maine, some eight years before his first published novel, Carrie, was released in 1974.[2]
It was collected in 1985 in the hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books, and has seen several reprints since, as both paperback and hardcover. In 2023, Centipede Press released the first stand-alone hardcover edition.[3] In 2000, the American Library Association listed The Long Walk as one of the 100 best books for teenage readers published between 1966 and 2000.[4]
Plot
Set in an alternative, dystopian version of the United States, the plot revolves around the Long Walk, an annual contest in which 100 young men walk continuously along a pre-arranged route (presumably on Route 1). Walkers must keep a minimum pace of 4 miles per hour (6.4km/h), and are issued verbal warnings by soldiers monitoring their progress if they fall below this speed for 30 seconds. A walker can lose one warning if he walks for an hour without earning another. If a walker receives three warnings and falls below the minimum speed for 30 seconds again, he is shot and killed by the soldiers. Walkers must walk day and night, without any breaks: walkers eat without stopping, and are given no breaks for using the bathroom or sleeping. The walk may continue for hundreds of miles, over many days, while exhausted walkers who fail to keep pace are killed. The Walk continues until there is only one survivor, who can have whatever he wants for the rest of his life as his prize.
Ray Garraty, from Androscoggin County, Maine, arrives at the start of the Walk on the Canada–Maine border, where he meets the other walkers, among them the sardonic Peter McVries, the friendly Arthur Baker, the cocky Hank Olson and the enigmatic Stebbins. The Major, the leader of the secret police force known as the Squads, starts the Walk. Throughout the first day, Garraty befriends Baker, Olson, and several other walkers such as Abraham and Pearson, growing particularly close to McVries and becoming intrigued by Stebbins. The men speculate on who will be the first walker to be eliminated. A walker named Gary Barkovitch reveals to a reporter that he is in the Long Walk to "dance on the graves" of other participants, and later provokes another walker into attacking him, resulting in the latter's death and Barkovitch being ostracized.
Garraty succeeds in surviving the night. Scramm, the odds-on favorite in Vegas, tells Garraty that he has a pregnant wife and will have sufficient motivation to keep going. Garraty decides that his motivation will survive until Freeport, where he hopes to see his girlfriend Jan in the crowd. The walkers begin to resent the Major, and McVries stops walking in an attempt to fight the soldiers, but is saved by Garraty. In return, McVries saves Garraty's life after Garraty experiences a panic attack. This camaraderie infuriates Olson, who is now severely fatigued. Garraty reveals to the others that the Squads took his father away, and a fight almost breaks out between McVries and another walker, Collie Parker, when Parker claims that only "damn fools" are "Squaded".
Stebbins tells Garraty that he believes he will win, but that all walkers have a death wish. McVries tells Garraty that he will sit down when he cannot walk farther. Stebbins advises Garraty to watch Olson, who has become unresponsive. After Garraty brings Olson out of this state, Olson attacks the soldiers and is executed. Scramm falls ill with pneumonia and seems likely to collapse. The other walkers agree that the winner should provide financial security for Scramm's wife. Garraty asks Barkovitch to join the agreement, and Barkovitch agrees, as he has suffered in isolation from the others. Scramm thanks the others and is killed in an act of defiance against the soldiers.
After developing a charley horse, Garraty receives three warnings, but recovers and resumes walking with less than two seconds to spare. To distract himself until he can lose a warning, he tells McVries about how he felt a compulsion to join the walk and that his mother allowed herself to be persuaded by the thought of financial security. McVries reveals that he joined the walk against his family's wishes. Abraham tells Garraty that he did not withdraw after being accepted due to the amusement it provided to his town. Garraty begins to suffer from doubts about his sexuality and masculinity due to suppressed memories re-emerging, especially after McVries hints that he is sexually attracted to Garraty. This causes Garraty to lash out at a deteriorating Barkovitch, and Barkovitch dies of suicide when the rest of the walkers begin taunting him. The next morning, Garraty finds that many walkers (including Pearson) have died overnight, as Barkovitch predicted.
When the walkers arrive in Freeport, Garraty attempts to die in Jan's arms but is saved by McVries. As a response, Abraham convinces the walkers to make a promise to stop helping each other, which Garraty does reluctantly. This has disastrous consequences: Parker starts a revolution against the soldiers but is killed when nobody joins in; Abraham removes his shirt and catches a cold overnight because nobody can offer him a replacement, resulting in his death; Baker falls over and gains a severe nosebleed, and is given three warnings as nobody helps him up. On the morning of the 5th day, Stebbins reveals to Garraty and McVries that he is the Major's son, and his prize would be acceptance into the Major's household. However, Stebbins has become aware that the Major is using him as a "rabbit" to cause the walk to last longer, which has worked, as seven walkers make it into Massachusetts. Baker, now delirious, tells Garraty that he cannot walk any farther and thanks Garraty for being his friend. Garraty unsuccessfully tries to talk him out of suicide.
With Baker dead, the only remaining walkers are Garraty, Stebbins, and McVries. As Garraty tells him a fairy tale, McVries falls asleep and walks towards the crowd. Garraty breaks his promise and saves him; however, McVries chooses to sit down and die peacefully. A distraught Garraty is beckoned by a dark figure further ahead and decides to give up because Stebbins cannot be beaten. When he tries to tell Stebbins, Stebbins clutches at him in horror and falls over dead.
This leaves Garraty the uncomprehending winner. He ignores the Major and keeps following the dark figure (whom he believes to be another walker), declaring that there is "still so far to walk" and, hoping to catch up, even finds the strength to run.
Characters
Raymond Davis "Ray" Garraty (#47)
The novel's main character and point-of-view character, a 160-lb. 16-year-old boy from Pownal. Garraty's father was Squaded for his outspoken political opinion when Garraty himself was very young, shaping his identity over time and leaving his mother - and himself - alone and with very little money. Garraty is a natural leader, demonstrating sincerity, benevolence, and a considerable measure of discipline. He also tends to be sensitive and somewhat naïve, as well as insecure in his masculinity. Garraty is more familiar with the Long Walk area, and the boys find themselves consulting and relying on him throughout their struggles; he is also one of the few Walkers who has seen a previous Walk in person. He felt a compulsion to join the Walk that he struggles to understand, but exhibits a tenacious will to live.
Peter "Pete" McVries (#61)
Garraty's closest companion and staunch ally; one of the original "Musketeers", a 167-lb. 16-year-old boy from Passaic, New Jersey, where he lived with his mother, father, and his four-year-old sister, Katrina. He is described as very fit, with black hair and a bad scar along one cheek that stands out when he is nervous, frightened, or angry. A natural leader in his own right, McVries demonstrates wit, charisma, and compassion; he is also very bitter, and despises himself after a recent traumatic breakup. McVries struggles to reconcile his own altruistic nature with the brutally competitive reality of the Walk. He encourages and often saves his companions through his actions, advice, and quick thinking; conversely, in several instances, he intentionally goads them into pushing him away. McVries is Barkovitch's foil and openly detests the other boy for his deliberate cruelty.
Stebbins (#88)
A loner who walks at the rear of the group, Stebbins is described as "skinny and blond, wearing purple pants and a blue chambray shirt under an old green zip sweater." Stebbins is enigmatic, sardonic, and self-assured. He is also intelligent and very insightful, with an uncanny ability to predict others' thoughts, feelings, and reactions, which he uses to rattle the other boys. He later reveals himself to be one of the Major's many illegitimate children and presumes that he was chosen for the Walk as a tool to galvanize the other Walkers and prolong the competition.
Arthur "Art" Baker (#3)
One of the original Musketeers, a 17-year-old former Night Rider from a large impoverished family in Louisiana; before the Long Walk, he was considering a career as a mortician. He is described as "young and beautiful," walks with "deceptive leisure," and speaks "with a very slight Southern accent" that he consciously suppresses. Baker is gentle, thoughtful, and soft-spoken, but he is also elusive, acquisitive, and somewhat morbid: death intrigues him, and he dwells on it constantly.
Henry "Hank" Olson (#70)
One of the original Musketeers, Olson is a boy of unknown background who is full of bluster and bravado. His audacity quickly fades, however: he becomes panicky, helpless, withdrawn, and—eventually—nearly unresponsive, though he persists with the help of McVries and Garraty. He considers himself a man of simple needs and doesn't believe in love as an earthly concept. Olson is deeply religious; his profound devotion to the Catholic faith shines through in moments of desperation and despair.
Gary Barkovitch (#5)
A boy from Washington, DC, described as a "dark, intense-looking boy" with olive skin, a rather sharp nose, and hooded dark brown eyes. Barkovitch is sadistic and provocative, with narcissistic tendencies. He demonstrates a craving for attention, but due to his personality, he tends to be either ignored or ridiculed, which agitates him; he is ostracized after goading a boy to his death. Scramm speculates that Barkovitch willingly joined the Walk in order to watch others suffer and die. He is loathed by most, if not all, of the other Walkers, but particularly by McVries.
Scramm (#85)
The predicted winner of the current Long Walk, he's from Arizona, where he lives with his pregnant 17-year-old wife, Cathy. He is described as a "big bull of a fellow" with a moon face, a crew cut, a "mooselike" build, and few remaining teeth. Though he is considered dim-witted, Scramm is friendly and remarkably dignified. He appears to have a great deal of respect for the Hopi.
Abraham "Abe" (#2)
One of Garraty's companions, a 17-year-old described as "a tall boy with reddish hair in jeans and a T-shirt" as well as Oxford shoes. Abraham is droll, somber, and irritable; he applied to the Walk on an impulse, then followed through out of spite after his acceptance—an achievement he was proud of—was treated as a joke by his loved ones. He is understandably bitter about his resulting participation.
Collie Parker
One of Garraty's companions, a boy from Joliet, Illinois, described as "a big-muscled blond in a polo shirt." Parker is naturally cocky, rowdy, and abrasive; Garraty initially dislikes Parker, believing him to be a bully. Parker mellows over time, however, and they earn each other's respect. Parker demonstrates an astonishing capacity for camaraderie and fortitude; he is the only Walker known to have successfully killed a half-track soldier.
Pearson
One of Garraty's companions. He is described as a tall young man with glasses and pants that are too big for him. Pearson is morose and enjoys poetry, game theory, and chess, and views the Walk as a competition that can be solved logically. For luck, Pearson keeps 99 pennies in one pocket and moves a penny to his other pocket whenever another Walker dies.
Harkness (#49)
One of Garraty's companions, a boy described as wearing "glasses and a crewcut," with a naturally florid face. He carries a notebook to record the other Walkers' names and numbers and aspires to write a book about the Long Walk from an insider's perspective.
Curley (#7)
The first walker to die. After he gets a charley horse in his leg, he is unable to maintain the limit despite encouragement from Garraty, and is promptly executed.
The Major
The Major is described as "a tall, straight man with a deep desert tan" and a salt-and-pepper mustache wearing khakis, reflective sunglasses, and a pistol strapped to a Sam Browne belt. He appears intermittently throughout the novel, riding a "dun-colored jeep" and speaking seldomly through a battery-powered loudhailer. He is an authoritative, almost mythical figure who awes and haunts the boys in turn throughout the Walk; he is compared to both God and Mammon.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The deaths of different walkers are reported at the same time in the book, which does not allow the reader to know the exact order of their deaths.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The death of the walker is not explicitly mentioned in the book and the author only refers to it indirectly.
Analysis
Heidi Strengell describes the book as a naturalistic novel, noting King's representation of human nature through the characters. She called it one of King's "most pessimistic novels".[5] Critic Douglas Winter similarly viewed the novel as King's most despairing work, calling it a "bleak science-fictional mirror of contemporary America".[6] Reviewers have also categorized the novel as a metaphor for the Vietnam War. James Smythe of The Guardian connects several elements of the novel to the conflict: "the televised draft, the horror of seeing new friends die, the seeming lack of reason for it occurring in the first place".[7]
In 1988, George A. Romero was approached to direct the film adaptation, but it never happened.[8] By 2007, Frank Darabont had secured the rights to the film adaptation of the novel.[9] Darabont said that he would "get to it one day" and planned to make it low-budget, "weird, existential, and very contained".[10] In April 2018, it was announced that New Line Cinema would develop a film adaptation of the novel. Darabont's rights to the film had lapsed, and filmmaker James Vanderbilt stepped in to write and produce the film with Bradley Fischer and William Sherak of the Mythology Entertainment production company.[11] On May 21, 2019, New Line announced that André Øvredal would direct the adaptation,[12] and on November 28, 2023, Øvredal was no longer attached to direct and Francis Lawrence was announced to direct the adaptation and the rights were moved to Lionsgate after it lapsed from New Line.[13][14] On June 10, 2024, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson were announced to be in talks to star.[15] In July, Hoffman and Jonsson were confirmed to star, along with Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Charlie Plummer, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, Joshua Odjick, and Roman Griffin Davis.[16]
In the film, the number of initial walkers is reduced to 50 with one contestant from every state, Scramm is not present, Stebbins dies third-to-last instead of being the runner-up, and Garraty sacrifices himself for McVries. McVries then uses his wish to ask for a carbine and kill the Major.[17]
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