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emmalovesmycology 's review for:
The Long Walk
by Stephen King
I just finished rereading The Long Walk and I’m emotionally devastated. I was trying to decipher the meaning of the ending, when, based on the text, he wins the walk as the last person standing, but I also thought there was more to it. I thought he died, and the dark figure at the end was death calling him to “play the game” of dying, based on this quote: “The dark figure beckoned, beckoned in the rain, beckoned for him to come and walk, to come and play the game. And it was time to get started. There was still so far to walk.” I read this as he’s dying and the walk he’s going on now is the walk to death, as referenced earlier in the book, and in other books by king. Earlier they discussed the possibility of the walk being infinite, and that they were already gone and this was what came after, just more walking, based on the way they described many of the boys as “dead” and feelings of not knowing if they had died. Also in The Green Mile, in the ending sentences as Paul, most likely, dies, he mentions the road being so long, and there being so much more to walk, suggesting the idea of death being a journey rather than a destination. I went online to see what other people had to say and this is my favorite theory:
“The dark figure was McVries. When Garraty was telling the story about Gwen the famous Lady-Fair, a wave of dizziness overcame him. I think Garraty dreamed or hallucinated McVries' death. When Garraty snapped out of his trance, he was still walking with Stebbins. If Garraty had stopped for a minute to save McVries, then Stebbins would have been about 700 feet down the road,
but they were still side-by-side. When it said that Garraty stared blankly at Stebbins, I think that's when Garraty was returning to reality, as Stebbins stared back at him curiously. McVries must have walked ahead when Garraty "dozed". McVries was beckoning him to catch up but all Garraty could see was a dark figure. Garraty was hallucinating the Major and his Jeep and the hand on his shoulder. When Garraty found the strength to run, I think he died.” I like this theory because it shows for one, as explored before, that Garraty is a guy of average intelligence and build, and isn’t anything special, and therefore probably wouldn’t be the one to win. However, because he’s the protagonist, we expect him to win, and the conclusion leads us to believe he does. But this theory shows that he could have died with Stebbins and McVries still standing, confirming the notion that he wasn’t destined to win anyways. In addition, McVries’s death felt... weird. Like he closed his eyes and went to die as Garraty was turned the other way, telling them a story. It seems more likely that Garraty succumbed to the forces pulling him into insanity, and blacked out or hallucinated McVries’s death. Stebbin’s death was also sudden, and doesn’t feel in line with his previous actions leading up to this moment, clutching Garraty’s shirt in horror as he fell to the ground and died. It also makes sense that he would hallucinate the major and the jeep in the road and the hand on his shoulder, wanting the walk to be over, and running to greet the figure that was death to escape the horrors of what he’d been through, despite the potential rewards of the Prize. They no longer mattered in comparison to the peace death would bring him. And because he hallucinates the death of McVries, he runs toward his figure upon realizing he’s won the walk, perhaps to join him and the others who died. I think it maybe represents how even the one who wins doesn’t really win, because the prize is meaningless in the grand scheme of the horrors they experienced. Of course, it’s very plausible that he won and went insane as he couldn’t imagine actually winning, that the figure he sees that he still needs to beat is simply the collective ghosts of all the boys who died taunting him, and shows how even if he won, the walk is never really over.
“He knew that figure. If he could get a little closer he could make out the features. Which one hadn’t he walked down? Was it Barkovitch? Collie Parker? Percy What’shisname? Who was it?”
The ghosts will still be beckoning him to keep walking, just a few more steps. Suffice to say I cried... a lot. One of my favorite books by this author.
“The dark figure was McVries. When Garraty was telling the story about Gwen the famous Lady-Fair, a wave of dizziness overcame him. I think Garraty dreamed or hallucinated McVries' death. When Garraty snapped out of his trance, he was still walking with Stebbins. If Garraty had stopped for a minute to save McVries, then Stebbins would have been about 700 feet down the road,
but they were still side-by-side. When it said that Garraty stared blankly at Stebbins, I think that's when Garraty was returning to reality, as Stebbins stared back at him curiously. McVries must have walked ahead when Garraty "dozed". McVries was beckoning him to catch up but all Garraty could see was a dark figure. Garraty was hallucinating the Major and his Jeep and the hand on his shoulder. When Garraty found the strength to run, I think he died.” I like this theory because it shows for one, as explored before, that Garraty is a guy of average intelligence and build, and isn’t anything special, and therefore probably wouldn’t be the one to win. However, because he’s the protagonist, we expect him to win, and the conclusion leads us to believe he does. But this theory shows that he could have died with Stebbins and McVries still standing, confirming the notion that he wasn’t destined to win anyways. In addition, McVries’s death felt... weird. Like he closed his eyes and went to die as Garraty was turned the other way, telling them a story. It seems more likely that Garraty succumbed to the forces pulling him into insanity, and blacked out or hallucinated McVries’s death. Stebbin’s death was also sudden, and doesn’t feel in line with his previous actions leading up to this moment, clutching Garraty’s shirt in horror as he fell to the ground and died. It also makes sense that he would hallucinate the major and the jeep in the road and the hand on his shoulder, wanting the walk to be over, and running to greet the figure that was death to escape the horrors of what he’d been through, despite the potential rewards of the Prize. They no longer mattered in comparison to the peace death would bring him. And because he hallucinates the death of McVries, he runs toward his figure upon realizing he’s won the walk, perhaps to join him and the others who died. I think it maybe represents how even the one who wins doesn’t really win, because the prize is meaningless in the grand scheme of the horrors they experienced. Of course, it’s very plausible that he won and went insane as he couldn’t imagine actually winning, that the figure he sees that he still needs to beat is simply the collective ghosts of all the boys who died taunting him, and shows how even if he won, the walk is never really over.
“He knew that figure. If he could get a little closer he could make out the features. Which one hadn’t he walked down? Was it Barkovitch? Collie Parker? Percy What’shisname? Who was it?”
The ghosts will still be beckoning him to keep walking, just a few more steps. Suffice to say I cried... a lot. One of my favorite books by this author.