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 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. The differences between this United States and our own are vague, but seem to imply that the United States was defeated during World War Two.

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. After receiving three such warnings within a three-hour period, a walker who again falls below the required speed is eliminated from the contest by being mercilessly gunned down by the armed guards overseeing 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 may (or may not) be a high ranking official in the United States.

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, who earns the ultimate grand prize: anything he wants for the rest of his life. It is interesting to note that every winner of the Long Walk has never lived very long after the race - not because of any foul play, but because of the mental and biological 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.

Each year's contest results in one winner and ninety-nine dead losers. The Walk begins every year at the Maine-Canada border and continues down the east coast of the US until the winner is found. The story mentions that it's a rare event for the Walk to finish outside Maine.

The victor of this season's Long Walk is main character Ray Garraty, a 16 year old boy. Having made many friends during the Walk (and watching them all, in turn, die), Ray experiences a nervous breakdown when Stebbins (the illegitimate son of The Major) dies. Ray believes he sees a "dark figure" beckoning to him in the distance. 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 next time Ray feels The Major's hand on his shoulder, the novel's final line informs us that Ray found the energy to run towards the dark figure ahead of him.

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.

Some fans of King's work claim that the dark figure is none other than King villain Randall Flagg. This seems unlikely, as The Long Walk was written long before Randall Flagg became a commonplace enemy. However earlier versions of Randall Flagg notably Walter "the man in black" appears very early in the King canon, as far back as The Gunslinger.

What makes the novel rather gruesome (and gripping storytelling) is King's exploration of the slow-paced race to the death. He relishes 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.

This story was one of the inspirations for the novel Battle Royale, which was adapted into a comic as well as a film.

ISBN numbers

• ISBN 0606169245 (prebound, 1999)
• ISBN 0451196716 (mass market paperback, 1999)de:Todesmarsch (Stephen King)

it:La lunga marcia pl:Wielki marsz