Throughout the book, I've been confused as to why the kids in the Long Walk chose to sign up. They'd all seen the walk before on TV, so they know how grueling it is and how likely they are to be killed. When the kids talk about why they signed up to be in the walk, many of them say that they don't know why they're doing it and they can't think of a reason. Even Garraty claimed that he "sure didn't know what he was doing" being in the walk, he simply told Jan that he "had to" (211).
In chapter 9, the prize is revealed to be that the winner gets anything his heart desires, so I'm sure some of the kids entered themselves in the walk in hopes of winning that. But with such poor odds of winning, it still seems strange to me that so many kids actually want to participate in the walk.
McVries claims that they all secretly want to die and that's the real reason that the kids sign up for the walk. He states, "We're all crazy or we wouldn't be here. I thought we'd thrashed that out a long time ago. We want to die, Ray, haven't you got that through your sick, thick head yet? Look at Olson. A skull on top of a stick. Tell me he dosen't want to die. You can't. Second place? Its bad enough that even one of us has got to get gypped out of what he really wants" (214). I'm not sure if he meant this literally or not, and while there's a possibility that he's right, I don't think I agree with him. I think there are definitely some contestants, like Scramm and Garraty, who do not want to die. Besides, if these kids truly wanted to die, why would they walk more than 100 miles before getting their ticket and getting shot? What did you make of McVries comment?
Very insightful, Dylan. I think McVries was speaking more for himself than the rest of the guys. Ray's life didn't exactly seem amazing before the walk, but he had a family and girlfriend who loved him. Additionally, his family wasn't poor or struggling. Maybe he is hoping to use his wish to make the government release his father. As for McVries, his life sounds pretty miserable. He was in constant competition with his girlfriend, who was more successful than him. He was intimidated by her success and he ruined their relationship, resulting in her attack on him and his scar. His family doesn't seem to care for him since they didn't take action when he ran off. I think McVries doesn't care if he dies, he has nothing to live for. I don't think guys like Ray and Scramm want to die though, they have family and love to live for (corny I know.)
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