Stephen King’s The Long Walk (originally released under King’s pseudonym, Richard Bachman) was first published by Signet Books in 1979. It was King’s sixth published novel (and “Bachman’s” second). By this point in his career, King was already established as a prolific storyteller and master of horror given the critical and commercial success of titles like Carrie, ’Salem’s Lot, The Shining, and The Stand.

Like King’s previous works, The Long Walk is a horror novel, and like The Stand, it focuses on a post-apocalyptic dystopia. The text depicts a national competition with 100 competitors, all of whom are teenaged boys competing for “the Prize” (an undefined sum of money). As a coming-of-age tale, the novel follows the boys’ growth as they encounter new challenges, friendships, and fears. The American Library Association nominated The Long Walk as one of the 100 best books for teen readers. At its publication point in King’s oeuvre, The Long Walk was his novel that most engaged with current events, as the boys’ sense of hopelessness as they march toward inevitable death clearly paralleled the then ongoing military conscription of young American soldiers associated with the Vietnam War.

King engages with themes commonly explored in coming-of-age tales, including the role of friendship, the discovery of sexuality, and the questioning of authority. Because the Walk is open only to boys, King also examines male friendship. These common tropes are elevated within the dystopian setting, allowing the protagonists to rethink challenges as they resist a militaristic, totalitarian regime and confront their own mortality.

Content Warning: This novel depicts graphic violence frequently and occasionally describes anti-gay bias and internalized conflict concerning sexual orientation and misogyny.

This study guide references the 2018 Gallery Books edition.

Plot Summary

Raymond “Ray” Garraty’s mother drops him off at the entrance to the Walk; though she begs him not to go, he’s determined to compete. Like him, the 99 other competitors, boys from all around the country, are in awe of the Major, the dictator in charge of the Walk. Garraty befriends McVries and Baker, and he worries about Barkovitch and Stebbins as potential enemies. As the boys walk through Maine, Garraty—the only competitor from that state—receives many cheers, which incites the envy of several competitors.

The boys receive a warning if they proceed at less than four miles per hour; any boy who receives a fourth warning will be shot. Soldiers riding alongside them track their speeds and locations. Most of the boys are shocked by the violence they witness, and this encourages both alliances and rivalries. They crave female company and miss their mothers and girlfriends. Tensions between the boys mount as they vie for the attention of female spectators and try to sabotage each other. Tubbins is shot after running off the road to kiss a female spectator.

Garraty and McVries become friends and save each other’s lives multiple times, incurring the wrath of competitors who think that any kind of alliance puts the others at a disadvantage. McVries tells Garraty about his ex-girlfriend, Priscilla; they moved to New Jersey to work in a factory together, but McVries grew resentful and violent toward her because she made more money than he did.

Garraty is excited to reach Freeport, where he’ll see his mother and girlfriend. He’s fascinated by Scramm, a boy from Arizona who’s already married with a kid on the way. As the boys trade stories about their lives and their motivations for the Walk, it becomes clear that most are primarily motivated by money and the promise of financial stability. Garraty reveals that his father was sent to the Squads because of his political dissidence; he didn’t believe in the Walk.

More of Garraty’s friends die in front of him, and he struggles to maintain focus. All the remaining boys are delirious with hunger and exhaustion, and tensions mount as their numbers dwindle. McVries tells Garraty that he has a crush on him, which makes him uncomfortable. Garraty is reenergized by seeing his mother and girlfriend. The boys gradually lose faith in the Walk, questioning why they were so determined to join it. Two boys have attempted to rebel by stealing guns, and the last round of survivors tries to stage a show of resistance by blowing raspberries at the soldiers.

Only seven boys remain as they enter Massachusetts. Stebbins reveals that the Major is his father; he hopes that winning the Walk will earn him entry into the Major’s home as a legitimate rather than illegitimate son. McVries, Stebbins, and Garraty are the final three competitors, and both McVries and Stebbins fall just before the finish line. The Major arrives to congratulate the winner. Garraty has won but is so delirious that he believes he must keep going.