McVries' Death in Chapter 18

McVries had said from early on in the book that eventually he would just sit down when he was too tired. I didn't think he would actually do this, especially when there was only three people left in the walk. Some of the other guys went on until they were crawling on the ground and they just couldn't move anymore, which is what I thought McVries would have done. Instead, he just said, "No, Ray, its time to sit down," and then he did (367). 

When he did sit down, and after the soldiers were ready to shoot him, Garraty said "No! Me! Me! Shoot Me!" (367). This surprised me because McVries is somebody that he's only known for five days. Garraty had walked very far (they were approaching Boston at this time) and he wanted to win really badly, so it shows how much he liked McVries that he was willing to give his life for him. I know McVries had saved Garraty's life twice already, and Garraty was probably trying to return the favor, but it still was a really big act on Garraty's part.

Here's a drawing somebody made of the scene:

Chapter 17: Stebbins the Rabbit

I was really surprised by Stebbins' confession that he's the son of the major. I had a feeling he had some of secret to hide, since no one expected him to make it very far, but I never would have guessed that. He claimed that he thought the major didn't know who he was because he has tons of children with different women. He later says that the major actually did know who he was all along. He somehow knew that Stebbins would last a very long time in the walk and that he would motivate all the other walkers to walk longer. Stebbins then makes an analogy and compares himself to a rabbit, which I thought was interesting. He says that in the old days, mechanical rabbits were used in dog races to motivate the dogs to run faster. He says "no matter how fast the dogs run, they can never quite catch the rabbit" (356). Because of this, the major made Stebbins into the Long Walk's version of the rabbit in order to make the walk last as long as possible. Stebbins says "He made me into his rabbit. A little gray rabbit to make the rest of the dogs run faster . . . and further. And I guess it worked. We're going to make it into Massachusetts." A Long Walk had not made it into Massachusetts for 17 years.
I was not only surprised by this, but also a little confused. I don't understand how the major could have known that Stebbins would last so long. Also, I was confused as to how Stebbins felt about being the rabbit. He said that if he wins, for his prize he was going to ask to be "taken into {his} father's house" (357). I don't know exactly what he plans to do when he would go into his father's house and I can't tell if he's mad at the major or not. 
By the end of chapter 17, only three walkers are still going; Garraty, McVries and Stebbins. I'm interested to see how much longer Stebbins can keep walking. 

McVries Character Analysis

As the book progresses, McVries develops into a more significant character. He is very blunt and always picking a fight, making him a character rather difficult to like. However, he has become close friends with Ray Garraty throughout the course of the walk and a different side of him has been revealed. Ray starts laughing hysterically when the walkers pass by a large group of civilians who are watching and cheering. He goes a bit insane and laughs so hard he can't walk. He practically collapses to the ground. He earns all three of his warnings and is about to be killed when McVries comes to his rescue. McVries was yelling at him to get up and then "he got an arm around Garraty's back and hooked a hand into his armpit. Somehow he yanked him to his feet and Garraty stumbled on" (225). The other boys screamed at McVries saying that he will go to hell for this. McVries is competing against Ray yet he went out of his way to save him. When Ray tries to confront him about it and thank him, McVries snaps and tells him to never mention it again. It seems like he tries to convey a cold and careless exterior but he genuinely cares for Ray and was willing to help him. Although I don't like McVries, his actions show that he is a somewhat respectable character.

Chapter 14-15: Stebbins & Barkovitch

Stebbins:

I think that Stebbins was completely underestimated. In the beggining of the walk, Garraty was talking about how he didn't think Stebbins would last long before he had even talked to him. He even thought that Stebbins would be the first one eliminated. In chapter 15, with less than a quarter of the original walkers still alive, Stebbins is still going, and he said that he felt he could "walk all the way to Flordia" (322). He also seems to be the most determined to win out of all the walkers. While others, like McVries, are helping out their friends (he saved Garraty's life twice), Stebbins is only looking out for himself. He stays in the back and dosen't waste any energy. Also, he knows how to get in the other walkers heads and drive them crazy, which he uses to his advantage. For example, he knew that the chance of seeing Jan in Freeport was the only thing keeping Garraty going, so he told him that he wouldn't be able to see Jan in the crowd because "the cops'll be too busy holding everybody back to get her through to the front" (321). This kills Garraty's motivation and causes him to lose focus. I think because Stebbins is determined, and he has a strategy to win, he's going to go really far and probably win if Garraty dosen't.

Barkovitch:

Barkovitch was made out to be the antagonist of the story from the start. McVries labels him as a killer because his actions led to Rank's death. Barkovitch always said mean things to the other walkers, such as telling them that he's going to dance on their graves after they're killed. I can't tell if Barkovitch is completely a bad person, or if there's some good in him. While he seems completely bad at first glance, every one in a while he seems to open up to Ray and he confesses that he dosen't want to be the way he is. For example, in chapter 14, Barkovitch broke down and started whining to Ray, saying "Don't hate me," and "I'll be sorry" (310). It seemed like for a second he was regretting the things he had said, but moments later he went back to being his usual self. Also, earlier in the story, he tried telling Garraty that he was really a good guy, but he had just gotten off on the wrong foot with the other walkers. He also said, "I never had much of a crowd back home" and "I used to carry a switchblade back at my high school on account of guys wanting to tear my ass," (271). I think because outside of the walk, he has no friends and he's used to people beating him up and picking on him, he trys to act tough and mean during the walk to keep the other walkers from treating him like he gets treated at home. Then again, at the time he was killed in chapter 14, he stilled seemed to be the same way he was at the start. Do you think Barkovitch is truly a bad person, or is there some good in him?

The Long Walk as a Movie

I was reading an article about how The Long Walk would be a great and easy to make movie. It said that the other novels in Stephen King's "Bachman Books" series have already been made into movies, so it would make sense to also also make the Long Walk into a movie. It says that all you would really need is a road, some teenage actors and a half track.
Even though I think a Long Walk film would be really dramatic, I don't think the book should be made into a movie. I think the psychological aspect of the book is what makes it worth reading, and it would be hard to convey that in the movie. Its cool that you're able to get into the guys heads, especially Garraty's, and see what they're thinking while going through the walk. In a movie, which just has dialogue, you wouldn't be able to see this. When the boys are actually talking to each other they're usually fighting and calling each other names, so thats probably all you would see in a movie. 

Here's the link to the article I was reading:
 https://thedissolve.com/features/movie-this-book/49-why-stephen-kings-the-long-walk-is-ripe-for-adapta/

Short Video

If you go to 1:20 this man brings up The Long Walk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkufXjF4zWQ

I think what he says it interesting. It's brief, but he says something that i never really thought about. He says, "It explores the cruilty of adolesence."

I never thought about the book this way. I looked at it like it was merely a creepy distopian novel, but it's more about adolesence and exploring teenagers. I think this is really cool. It goes back to one of my previous posts about looking into the kids' brains and seeing what they're made of. Apparently, that is the basis of this book. Did any of you guys realize this while reading?

Chapter 11

As more and more people are dying during The Long Walk, you start to see the stronger people emerging. Earlier in the book, it was difficult to differentiate the weak from the strong. But now that we're getting deeper into the walk, the stronger are emerging.

I found this graph online and I though it was interesting. It shows the pattern of the fallen people in The Long Walk. It shows how the stronger people are lasting longer. 

For ecample, in Chapter 11, Parker says, "I still want to live. So do you, don't sh*t me, Garraty. you and that guy McVires can walk down the road and bullsh*t the universe and each other, so what, it's all a bunch of phony crap but it passes time. . . The bottome line is that you want to live, so do most others. They'll die slow. they'll die one piece at a time."

At this point the reader, and the boys within the story are starting to see the weak and the strong. It's only a matter of time before the strongest wins the Walk.