This post contains reflections on the plot and ending of The Long Walk by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman), as well as thoughts on the movie adaptation. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, you may want to return later.
In July of this year, I read The Long Walk by Stephen King, technically, it is by his alter ego Richard Bachman, and it left me haunted.
I had seen that a movie adaptation was going to be released, and I wanted to
read the book first. This was my first time reading anything under King’s
Bachman persona, and I am glad I did.
The book is a relentless journey into the heart of dystopia,
where psychological tension builds with every step. The story slowly unravels
its characters, especially Ray Garraty. The emotional weight of the walk, the
shifting dynamics between the characters, and the creeping dread of the
inevitable end for most of them made it impossible to put down.
The ending of the book left a deep impression on me. I had
to ponder it for a while, but I finally realized that I interpreted the
final figure that Garraty sees as death itself. This reinforced to me that no
one makes it out of the Long Walk alive. Even the so-called winner is just the
last one to die. That bleak inevitability gave the story a chilling resonance
that stuck with me even after it ended.
I saw the movie adaptation with my daughter, who had not
read the book, and I loved most of it. I was okay with the smaller changes the
movie incorporated as they made sense for the medium and pacing, but the ending
left me feeling jaded.
In the movie, Garraty’s motives for the walk change from
curiosity and a desire for wealth to revenge on the Major, whom he blames for
his father’s death. Garraty’s girlfriend from the book is completely left out,
and his mother becomes his emotional anchor instead. Scramm, a character who
develops pneumonia and has a pregnant wife, is completely cut from the movie,
and his traits are instead split between Olsen and Stebbins, two other
participants. The number of walkers in the book, 100, is cut to 50 in the
movie. This makes a lot of sense for production reasons.
Peter McVries also has a different backstory, which changes
his entire narrative. In the book, he is sarcastic, philosophical, and
emotionally raw. He serves as a moral compass for Garraty while he contemplates
death and knows the futility of the walk. He is not trying to win the race but
openly questions it. Eventually, he decides to sit down, as a symbolic act of
defiance, which leads to his death. In the movie, McVries is more emotionally
stable and supportive. The bond Garraty and he develop is central to the movie’s
emotional arc. McVries becomes a co-lead in the movie and ends up winning the
walk after Garraty sacrifices himself. McVries becomes the heart of the story,
and his survival is framed as a victory not just over the walk but over the
system itself.
The completely different ending of the movie is what left me baffled, as that was the most
powerful part in the book for me. In the book, Garraty wins the walk, but he is mentally
broken. He sees a dark figure and continues to walk even after his win. King
leaves you to interpret the ending yourself, as you can draw many different conclusions
from its meaning. As I mentioned earlier, the ending of the book left a deep
impression on me as I interpreted the figure Garraty sees as death itself. The inevitability
of no one surviving the walk gives off dystopian vibes, as the walk is just
there to keep people in line and away from revolting against the suppressive
regime they live in. Spectators of the walk are forced to watch and cheer.
Knowing that they also cannot escape death, but instead need to remain obedient.
There is a line in the movie from Garraty that stands out in this instance:
“The only guarantee you have as a human being is that you are going to die. And, if you're lucky, you get to choose how you spend those last moments.”
It is a poignant quote that captures the existential weight
of the story as told in the book and the movie.
I listened to the audiobook of The Long Walk, narrated by Kirby Heyborn. His performance brought the characters to life in a
way that made the emotional intensity more intense. His voice carried the
exhaustion, fear, and fleeting hope that the walkers exhibited, leaving me
contemplating King’s meaning of the story for a long time afterwards.
The Long Walk is more than a dystopian thriller; it’s a
meditation on morality, obedience, and the cost of survival. Whether through
the slow unraveling of Garraty’s psyche in the book or the emotional arc of
McVries in the film, the story leaves a lasting impression. While I preferred
the book’s haunting ambiguity, I appreciated the film’s emotional clarity. Both
versions offer something powerful, and together they deepen the impact of King’s
chilling vision.
Book Published: July 1979
Read: July 30, 2025
Movie Premiere: September 12, 2025
Seen: September 16, 2025
aB . All Rights Reserved . 2025
