Talk:The Long Walk (novel)

Subjective statements

There were a lot of purely subjective statements here now that I've visited the page again. Statements that certain interpretations are "more likely" or "obvious" than other interpretations are too subjective for an encyclopedic entry unless sources are cited. I would not dispute the inclusion of interpretation if sources are cited and/or if opinions aren't presented as implied fact, as they were here before I removed said content. Minaker 02:33, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

I visited this page a while ago, and it had a lot more information then, including the common interpretation that the dark figure at the end is Randall Flagg. Why was all of that removed? Just because you don't agree with the Flagg interpretation doesn't mean it's not relevant; please don't remove information without explanation. -- Minaker

Is the dark figure at the end also the Dark Man? Personally, I don't think so, but I think it's an interesting interpretation, and more importantly, it's a theory that is so widely speculated among Stephen King fans that it has found its way into publication by respected authors within the genre (I cited the authors within the body of the article). The interpretation should therefore not be dismissed outright within the article; to do so would be unencyclopedic unless you have the citation needed to back it up; otherwise, all you're doing is editorializing and stating a personal opinion, which has no place in an encyclopedic entry, although you're free to do that here in the discussion page. Again, a conclusion that a certain interpretation is unlikely is too subjective for inclusion on an encyclopedia page. -- Minaker

Some way needs to be found to integrate into the synopsis the fact that the story takes place in some kind of parallel universe that is very similar to but not identical to our own, an idea that King explored much more extensively in later works. The primary evidence of this is that one of the characters in the story refers to Hank Aaron hitting seven hundred and thirty nine home runs.

Done. I changed 'near future' to 'alternate history' with a link to alternative history (fiction) - from what I recall, there's also a reference to fighting Nazis in Central America in the book as well. NickBarlow 22:38, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I don't recall anything that implies The Long Walk was set in a world where the Nazis won WW2. It doesn't really go into very much detail on the world outside the Long Walk, as I recall. And I believe they never actually say precisely what the Prize is, though I could be wrong. Tuf-Kat 06:13, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

You're exactly half right. I just finished re-reading the book, and I agree that it doesn't imply anything about WW2; this is purely reader speculation. However, the prize is discussed quite explicitly and frequently in the novel.

No it doesn't, there is a part where Garraty sees a sunset or something and he says it reminds him of when the Germans bombed the East coast at the end of WW2, clearly implying the US lost.

I don't recall that, but the Germans could have bombed the East Coast without winning the war. Tuf-Kat 09:47, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

It does indeed state that the East Coast was bombed by German bombers, and there are a few other references although I can't remember those. Other indications of parallel universe is a reference to a historical event (The Change or something, don't remember the name) where the USA as in our timeperiod was overthrown by the Military Industrial complex, resulting in The Major as a sort of dictator. As for the prize, I do believe it is stated that it is essentially everything you wish for for the rest of your life, although some illusions are made to the finity of this prize (using 'some' of the prize when it should be an infinite resource)

As for the shaded figure at the end of the book, I wonder why it isn't noted that it could just be Jan or his mother, Garraty's vision being distorted by famine. Vadigor 10:04, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

I just read the article and it's a fairly comprehensive article about the book. The only comments I have to add are these:

1) I think it's fairly clear that the book is set in an alternative United States rather different from our own. As the article suggests, this version of the United States is a totalitarian country. In my reading of the novel, I thought the Major was the dictator who ran this version of the United States. According to the book's page on Stephen King's site (linked to from the article), he's just the guy who organizes and runs the Walk every year. Perhaps it could also be mentioned that this version of the United States diverged from our own sometime around World War II. See below. There are also references to "fifty-one" United States and in this universe, April has 31 days.

2) King never shows us much of the world the novel is set in. Stebbins is the character who mentions the "Change" during a discussion of how to help Scramm's widow when it becomes clear that Scramm isn't going to win the Long Walk. He says something to the effect of "Back in the old days before the Change and the Federal Squads" and mentions that there were millionaires back then who would create foundations to keep their legacies alive long after they're dead. Garraty also has the thought about the lights of Augusta or one of the other large cities reminding him of the "German air blitz" of the East Coast in the "final days" of WWII. This is followed a while later of him making the internal observation about the "Provisional Governor" (or perhaps it's the "Regional Governor") of New Hampshire being a war hero of some sort who had lost a leg to radiation poisoning when he stormed the German reactor in Santiago in 1953. I think we can reasonably conclude that this version of the United States diverged from our own sometime in the 1940s and became a military dictatorship somehow. This is probably what Stebbins refers to when he mentions the "old days" and the "Change" and this suggests to me that the United States did defeat the Germans but became a somewhat totalitarian (and probably Fascist) state in the process.

3) I think there should be an entry for Art Baker under the "Notable Deaths" section because although we don't see him actually die, Ray Garraty (and the reader) clearly feels an emotional impact because Ray and we have grown to know Art Baker as a character. Art Baker's death occurs almost at the very end of the novel. He's the last of the Musketeers (aside from Garraty and McVries, of course) and his death means that it's just down to McVries, Garraty, and Stebbins.

4) I have always interpreted the end of the novel as Ray Garraty on the verge of mental breakdown and simply seeing something that isn't really there. He's hallucinating, in other words and his hallucination is simply that he's still got one other boy to walk down in order to win the race.

--LetterMan 02:50, 13 February 2007 (UTC)

New Link

There was a new link added today (June 20, 2007). When I tried to access it at work, it was blocked due to "sex". Can someone without a blocker on access this site and see if it has anything to do with the actual book? Thanks in advance. -Paulbkirk 18:13, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Long Walk disambiguation

Could some disambiguation be added for The Long Walk in Windsor Great Park? There's alreay a lot of disambiguation at the top of this page; does this merit a disambiguation page of its own? Hertzsprung 21:08, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

Dark Figure

I always thought the dark figure was his father, anyone else think this is a possibility, I mean he got "squadded" and was basically never heard from again. He was in the jeep with the major and I just figured it was his father Robert Beck 17:53, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

The first time I read the book, I thought the figure was the Major, but after a subsequent read I'm thinking that it's just his mind playing a trick on him. He's been walking so long and he's so mentally unstable that he can't comprehend being able to stop, so his mind creates a reason to keep walking. I'm not saying you're wrong, I just don't think there's enough evidence to put it in the article one way or another. Paulbkirk 18:48, 18 July 2007 (UTC)

My interpretation has always been that Garraty dies shortly after winning the Walk, and that the dark figure is death. Think about it - wouldn't it be physically impossible for him to literally run by the end of the race? 70.239.36.224 05:06, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

To add some more credence to the previous post, a few of the inner circle that Garraty has become closest with talk about "seeing him on the other side," right before they die. Or also allude to the possibility that the other walkers could still be walking along with them, even though they are dead. That forever more, they whole existence will be this walk. Also, if you go back and read the last few pages, Garraty talks about seeing, "someone he knew, knew as well as himself, weeping and beckoning in the dark ahead". He says this even before he sees the Major, as he talks soon after about seeing the Major's Jeep coming at him on the road, and it being a capital offense, and that there should be no other vehicles on the road before he actually knows that it is the Major. The Major then gets off the Jeep and begins walking towards Garraty to award him his first wish, and then the dark figure is said to be next to Garraty, and the figure puts his hand on Garraty's shoulder. At least with this information, it could not be the Major, as well as anyone else that Garraty knew, since they would not have been allowed on the road with him, or else they would have been shot (since he saw the figure before the Long Walk was officially over). Also, this figure is said to know him as well as he knew himself. This explanation, as well as the fact that the figure touched him on the shoulder (in most stories, Death takes its victims through physical contact) leads me to believe that it could only be Death. As to why this makes the most sense, in my opinion, it further points out that even though Garraty bested all of the competition, and was the clear winner with any wish he could fathom, in the end, he ended up in the same place. I believe it was meant as more of a lesson to readers that in the end, everyone dies, and even if you have everything (as the prize of the competition is), you can't take any of it with you. Literally, he achieved everything, yet has nothing. Garraty finding the strength to run, is just him passing over to the other side.(142.11.114.6 (talk) 05:07, 3 July 2012 (UTC))

The Mind can keep the body going even when the body is destroyed that was what happened to Olson Garraty's fractured mind forcing his body to run isn't that hard to believe 96.255.166.145 (talk) 23:46, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

percy

He appears in the list two times. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.68.83.238 (talk) 11:39, 12 December 2007 (UTC)

I went back and reread the section of the book where Percy had been listed in the death list the first time. The first listing of his death is incorrect. The boy who is killed at that point in the story is another "Unknown Boy" who dies in a similar fashion to the way Percy dies (i.e., he tries to make a break for the woods), the only real difference is that this Unknown Boy just starts running for it whereas Percy had tried to slowly walk toward the shoulder of the road and then tried to make a break for the woods. Percy is then killed by one of the soldiers on the halftrack following him while the Unknown Boy is gunned down by more than one soldier. The second listing of Percy in the death list is the correct listing. I also removed the sentence at the end of the Plot Summary mentioning that there might be another Walker that Garraty didn't know about because that sentence is confusing. That sentence also mentions the two listings for Percy in the death list and speculates that there might have been another Walker that Garraty was unaware of. Since that speculation is based on incorrect data (i.e. Percy should have only been listed once in the death list) it is unnecessary and possibly confusing to readers of the main article.

LetterMan (talk) 00:53, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Notes Deleted

I've deleted the Notes section; it consisted of purely in-world details trivial to the narrative. Dozenthey (talk) 01:10, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

Hint 8

In the book, there is no hint 8. There's a rule 8, and it's never called a hint, and it mandates exactly what this article says hint 8 says. I'm going to change it, if you think I'm wrong, change it back and tell me why.

Mykal (talk) 02:00, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

The Route

The section on the route had an erronous note about Jefferson, Maine being the "Century Club" town. That's incorrect. The Century Club town is actually called Jefferson Plantation which appears to be a fictitious name. I also corrected the comment about Freeport being the hometown of the main character, Ray Garraty. It is noted right in the beginning of the book that Garraty's hometown is Pownal, Maine which Garranty later says is about 7 miles to one side of Freeport.

Phoenixkun (talk) 14:39, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Death list

Changed the reason for Joe's death to "?". Joe did not stay behind with his brother. He was walking fine when Garraty and McVries passed him to take the lead and walk off Garraty's three warnings. Later they both heard gun shots behind them and McVries observed that it was Joe.

Phoenixkun (talk) 22:16, 28 September 2009 (UTC)

Title confusion

A first person account by Sławomir Rawicz, probably somewhat fictionalized or dramatized for effect, of an escape from a Russian gulag has been long published under many variations of the name "The Long Walk," i.e. "The long walk: A gamble for life" (1955 edition). As this work predated King's effort, perhaps this article could be renamed The Long Walk (fiction)? 71.219.133.1 (talk) 01:18, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

Section for the Garraty Character

There is currently no character description for Garraty himself. Obviously, as the protagonist, this should be present. Perhaps when I have more time, I'll add it. Temple (talk) 10:54, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

April 31st?

I've just read this again, and I can't actually find any mention of the April 31st date - whereabouts is it? FWIW the version I read is the omnibus edition that still included Rage. a_man_alone (talk) 19:49, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

I have the same edition you have, I think. It's the one with Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, and Running Man. There are several mentions of the April 31st date in the book and the first one I can find is on p. 375, when Garraty and McVries are at the head of the pack, Garrity trying to walk off his three warnings, and McVries asks him if "no one tried to talk you into using the April 31st backout?"

I believe there are references to April 31st, but I don't remember where. I think there might be a reference before the one I found on p. 375. I'm not sure.--LetterMan (talk) 06:57, 24 January 2012 (UTC)

Search Google Books: The Long Walk for the April 31st. Patcoston (talk) 21:39, 30 October 2018 (UTC)

The Long March

Is it worth someone mentioning the similarities in plot and title to William Styron's The Long March? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.31.32.30 (talk) 15:37, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

Germany the winner of WW2

Delete this post if it doesn't belong here, but can someone please tell me where in the book is hinted that Germany won WW2? I read that it's very blink-and-miss-it reference. Thank you. 62.240.166.130 (talk) 09:07, 30 October 2015 (UTC)

There are two references that I picked up - one is a mention of air raids over the US east coast in WW2, the other is that the Germans had a nuclear base in Santiago. I think it's overstating things to say that it's hinted that Germany won the war (it's mentioned that a senior government figure lost a leg leading a raid on the German base, so it seems like the US won), but the war certainly went worse for the US in the book than real life, possibly resulting in a military dictatorship. 192.91.191.162 (talk) 11:57, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

As above - there's isn't any mention of the outcome. Given the lack of Germanic influence in the story it can be assumed that Germany didn't conquer the world outright even if they did seem to fare better than in our reality. There are just discrepancies mentioned to show that the world The Long Walk takes place in isn't our world. There's also the 31st April, but that apparently isn't in all impressions of the book. Chaheel Riens (talk) 13:21, 14 March 2018 (UTC)

Application, Lottery, Prime, Backup, Back-out, Warnings, Ticket

Detailed description of how The Long Walk works

Most descriptions will be warning-based but in reality, it's timer-based

• Most males in the country from age thirteen to eighteen, apply for The Long Walk.
• One in fifty pass the physical and mental test, and are entered into the national lottery.
• Two hundred are chosen on a televised lottery.
• One-hundred Prime-Walkers and one-hundred Backups
• They are not told which they are until the last back-out date of May 31.
• They can call an 800 number to back-out on April 15 and April 31.
• The next day, on May 1, all Prime-Walkers and Backups that have not backed out, show up to the start.
• The Prime-Walkers are assigned numbers from 1 to 100 alphabetically by surname.
• If any Prime-Walkers that have not backed-out, do not show up, then the next Backup in the queue takes their place.
• The walk begins at 9:00 AM.
• One or more halftracks with soldiers, rides along with the boys, measuring their speed with radar-dishes and sonar-devices.
• Each boy has a timer that is maintained by a computer-console in the halftracks.
• The timer is initialized to two minutes, and counts down when the walker's speed drops below four miles per hour.
• The loudhailer on the halftrack announces a warning which includes the walkers number, if a walker's timer reaches one of three thresholds.
  

Three Thresholds and Ticket

• Timer counts down to 90 seconds, they will hear “Warning! Warning 47!”
• Timer counts down to 60 seconds, they will hear “Warning! Warning 47! Second warning, 47!”
• Timer counts down to 30 seconds, they will hear “Warning! Warning 47! Third warning, 47!”
• If a walker's timer reaches 0, they are given a ticket.

Type of Warnings

• There are two types of warnings. The first type already mentioned is a courtesy-warning to let the walker know that their timer is counting down.
• The second type of warning, is a penalty-warning for breaking a rule.
• A penalty-warning causes the walker's timer to instantly drop to the next warning-threshold or ticket.

Examples:

• If there timer is at 120 (no warnings), it drops to 90 (first warning)
• If there timer is at 91 (no warnings), it drops to 90 (first warning)
• If there timer is at 90 (have first warning), it drops to 60 (second warning)
• If there timer is at 61 (have first warning), it drops to 60 (second warning)
• If there timer is at 60 (have second warning), it drops to 30 (third warning)
• If there timer is at 31 (have second warning), it drops to 30 (third warning)
• If there timer is at 30 (have third warning), it drops to 0 (ticket)
• If there timer is at 1 (have third warning), it drops to 0 (ticket)

Examples of rules that will cause a penalty-warning:

• interfering with another walker causing their speed to drop below four miles per hour
• walking in the opposite direction as the correct direction
• accepting aid from a spectator including food and drink
• throwing things at soldiers, spectators, or walkers
• continuing to break the rules 10 seconds after the last penalty-warning

Examples of actions that will NOT yield a penalty-warning:

• walking perpendicular to the center-line toward the shoulder
• stopping
• sitting
• verbal insults to soldiers, walkers, or spectators
• obscene gestures to soldiers, walkers, or spectators
• verbally trying to pick a fight with soldiers, walkers, or spectators
• nudity, exposing genitals, exposing anus
• public urination
• public bowl movements
• spitting
• slapping, pushing, shoving, poking a walker in a friendly manner as a way to encourage them to walk, if they are stopped or walking below four miles per hour

A walker gets one warning removed for every hour they walk without a warning.
Examples:

• If they have three-warnings, their timer is reset 60 which is equivalent to second warning.
• If they have two-warnings, their timer is reset to 90 which is equivalent to first warning.
• If they have one-warning, their timer is reset to 120 which is equivalent to no warnings.
• If they have no-warnings, their timer is reset to 120, if their timer was less than 120.

Shouldn't the major be included as a character or no? Someone should get on that.

Stephen King novel given priority over a more important subject

The article title The Long Walk is given to a Stephen King novel -- and not one of his better-known ones. Conversely, the Long Walk of the Navajo is covered by the article titled Long Walk of the Navajo. It seems to me that on the basis of importance, the Navajo walk deserves precedence in article titles. Thus I propose retitling the article about the King novel the The Long Walk (novel) and titling the article about the Navajo Walk as The Long Walk. Comments?

I'll post this same message on both Long Walk articles to solicit comments. Smallchief (talk) 00:35, 1 January 2023 (UTC)

Rules of the long walk.

The previous revision states that a walker will be shot by the soldiers if they get three warnings. This is incorrect, since in the book there are many instances of walkers getting a third warning without being killed. The previous revision also doesn't mention how long a walker must slow down to get a warning. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.220.120.92 (talk) 02:54, 13 April 2023 (UTC)

In the long walk, one hundred teenage boys walk without rest. Each walker must stay above four miles per hour. If a walker drops below this speed for thirty seconds, he gets a warning. A walker can lose a warning if he walks for an hour without getting another warning. If a walker gets four warnings, he is shot dead by soldiers. The last surviving walker earns a large sum of money and a prize of his choice. The following excerpts establish these rules.

"All I see that you got is three warnings. For your lousy minute and a half you got to walk three hours."

"But instead of flying he just fell flat on his face and they gave him his ticket after thirty seconds because he was walking with three warnings."

"You walk an hour without getting a fresh warning, you lose one of the old ones."

104.220.120.92 (talk) 02:16, 13 April 2023 (UTC)