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The Arrival
Every year, 100 teenagers are dropped off at the start of a road. The contestants meet at the starting line to begin their journey on the road which will end 99 of their lifes. The ultimate winner receives a cash prize and anything else that they want. Parents whine in despair at the departures of their children and the kids put on their game faces. -
The Gathering
The general welcomes all the Walkers and explains that the Walk will begin after roll call. Contestants are all given a number by the general and everyone is accounted for. Thr general has a reputation of being " the rarest and most dangerous monster any nation can produce, a society-supported sociopath" (17). All Walkers then reported to the starting post. -
Record Broken
The whole group of 100 Walkers have never made it to 8 miles before and this group was threataning to break that record. Unfortunately, a charlie became the worst nightmare of one walker, Curley. Less than a mile from the record, Curley was on his 3rd warning and struggling to keep going. At this point, Curley was done for and soon after there were only 99 Walkers left. Good news? They broke the record. -
The Walk Begins
At precisely 9:00 A.M. the Walkers left the starting post and there was no turning back. Strategies were seen and groups were created. One Walker, Barkovitch, decided to take 3 warnings early in the walk just to get one and a half minutes of rest. Other Walkers tried things to get warnings and get an idea of how much leeway they had. Some Walkers took it slow and steady at the back of the pack and others decided to take lead. It was only a matter of time know until the road chose its winner. -
Period: to
The Long Walk
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Sleep Walking
As night rolls in the Walkers eyes become weary and they start to become tired. Seeing as you cannot stop to take a break they must resort to an action known as "sleep walking". This is literally the only way to get rest on the Long Walk and many walkers end up sleep walking. This shows the mental and physical toll the Walk takes on its participants. -
Garraty Second Guesses Himself
At this point, Garraty second guesses himself on whether he should have made friends of the Walk. Obviously if he didn't he could preserve energy by not talking and wasting his breath. But if he didn't make friends it would almost be like he is doing the Walk by himself. This wouldn't even make it a competition. Also, if he didn't make friends, it would be that much easier to watch the Walkers die. -
Olson's Death
Olson's death was very important to the Walkers becase it showed them that just because you are mentally drained doesn't mean you are already dead. Olson was not dead until he was shot even though he looked like his mind took him over. After Olson got shot, he "...got to his feet. He stood astride the white line" (247). This also gives the reader and Walkers an idea of how sick the soldiers are for letting him suffer before dying. -
Scramm's Death
When Scramm dies the rest of the Walkers agree that the winner will help give money to the families of dead Walkers. This is brought up when Scramm dies because he has a wife and is married. The kids also end of deciding they will not save anyone of they need it which ends up not staying true. -
Stebbins Secret
Stebbins eventually admits to Garraty why he has joined the Walk. He tells him that he is the bastard son of the Major and joins the Walk so he can be noticed by the Major. This information tells Garraty all the things he ever wondered when thinking about how Stebbins knew so much about the Walk and was so prepared. This also explains why Stebbins shows so much respect to the Major. -
Barkovitch Goes Crazy
When Barkovitch died, it is an unusual death. Instead of taking his ticket and being shot, he leaves by attempting to kill himself. Barkovitch attemptrs to tear out his throat, and succeeds. Even if this did not kill him, the soldiers proceeded to shoot Barkovitch after falling to the ground. -
McVries Saves the Day
While walking through Garraty's home town he expects to see his girl, Jan, and his mother. What he didn't expect to happen was almost buy his ticket just by seeing them. WHen he saw them he ran to them holding their hands and surprisingly, McVries pulled him away and kept him from killing himself even after Garraty said "Let me go!" and "Let me go goddammit!" (330). But McVries just would not let Garraty killed himself while in Jan's arms and ultimately gave him new life. -
Parker follows Olson's Lead
When it is time for Collie Parker to die, he copies Olson. By this, I mean he runs off of the road towards the half-track. He attempts to do the same thing Olson did by trying to kill the soldiers. He doesn't make it nearly as far as Olson did and he is soon one of the final Walkers to die. -
Stebbins Drops out
With only 2 people to go, the battle seems to be in the favor of Stebbins. Barely fatigued the whole Walk and still walking strong, the winner is unclear at this point. Just after McVries sits down on the road, Stebbins then drops dead. As he is falling he claws at Garraty helplessly but there really is nothing that Garraty can do. The winner has already been named. Ray Garraty! -
Final 3
McVries, Stebbins and Garraty remain in the race. The heavy favorite remains Stebbins and McVries is most likely the next to fail. Unfortunately for him, this is exactly what happens. As he said earlier in the book, when it is his time to die, he is going to sit down on the road and receive his ticket. This is exactly what he does but not before Garraty tried to save him seeing as McVries saved his life before. The attempt fails, and McVrie is executed. -
The Winner
Garraty ends up winning the Walk and nothing is as it seems. The ending is still unclear to me on what happens and as I interpret it, Garraty goes insane. After seeing 99 people die on the same road he walked on it makes me wonder how sane someone really can be. Also the rumor of the winner being brought behind a barn and killed also makes me think twice on what happened to him.
