The Long Walk

The title of Part 3, “The Rabbit,” refers to Stebbins’s early invocation of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Stebbins, adamant that he’s not the Cheshire cat, is more comfortable as the White Rabbit. Symbolically, the White Rabbit leads others down the rabbit hole, acting as both an accomplice and instigator who’s not as innocent as he initially seems. Stebbins’s confession that the Major is his father can be interpreted in multiple ways. If he’s telling the truth, the Major looks even more monstrous: The Major knew of Stebbins’s existence enough to get him front-row seats to a previous Walk but couldn’t acknowledge his existence enough to invite him to live in his home or treat him like a “legitimate” child.

Eroding the theme of Male Friendship and Masculinity, trust in male bonding withers as the boys’ numbers dwindle, and it becomes apparent that isolation is the only way the Walk can end; joint winners aren’t possible, and the last winner must watch his remaining peers die. Such a brutal fate is inevitable, and as Baker dies, the three musketeers are disbanded forever.

A total loss of innocence solidifies the final stage of this coming-of-age tale, highlighting the theme of Coming of Age in a Dystopian World. McVries’s death signals a death of sorts for Garraty, who was invited to explore new philosophical and sexual dimensions with a friend who changed his life in just a few days. McVries’s sexual ambiguity and the sexual tension between him and Garraty is important: While much of Stephen King’s text is clearly dated and reflects the prevalent cultural attitudes of the 1960s (for instance, some Walkers’ racist treatment of anyone who isn’t white and Baker’s casual confession about his KKK affiliations), the novel’s acknowledgment of sexuality and gender as a spectrum is surprisingly modern. Although individuals’ sexual orientations don’t demand categorization, McVries might categorize himself as having a bisexual orientation; he speaks of an occasionally happy past relationship with Priscilla but also openly flirts with and makes passes at Garraty. McVries’s death indicates the death of Garraty’s potential to explore new types of sexuality—to consider himself anything but heterosexual—just as his mother effectively ended his experimentation with a childhood friend. In addition, McVries’s death connects to the theme of Resisting Oppression. Garraty learned to respect McVries (and thus to have more respect for his father) for his increasingly vocal opposition to oppression, so his death bitterly signifies the futility of resistance.

The ambiguous ending shows that Garraty technically “wins” the Walk and claims the Prize—but he now fully realizes that, as McVries pointed out, no one can truly win. Because Garraty is so delirious that he can’t differentiate between the end of the Walk and the need to continue, he possibly mistakes the Major for the figure of death. One interpretation of the ending suggests that Garraty walks past the Major because he has severe post-traumatic stress disorder and can’t believe that the Walk has ended; another interpretation suggests that Garraty has actually died and is walking toward the figure of death, beginning a new journey of a Walk. Either way, King masterfully portrays the effects of severe trauma and makes a final judgment on Garraty’s unreliable narration.