the long walk stephen king chapter 1 summary
The Long Walk
By the morning of the fifth day , the Walk has progressed into Massachusetts , the first time in 17 years that it has done so . There are only seven Walkers left . Earlier , Stebbins revealed to Garraty and McVries that he is the illegitimate son of the Major . Stebbins states he used to think the Major was unaware of his existence , but it turns out that the Major has numerous illegitimate children nationwide . Four years earlier , the Major took Stebbins to the finish of a Long Walk ; now Stebbins feels that the Major has set him up to be `` the rabbit '' , motivating others to walk farther to prolong the race , just as rabbits are used in dog races . Stebbins ' plan , upon winning the Walk , is to ask to be `` taken into ( his ) father 's house '' as his Prize . Finally , Garraty decides to give up after realizing that Stebbins has shown almost no weaknesses over the duration of the Walk . Garraty catches up with Stebbins to tell him this , but before he can speak , Stebbins collapses and dies ; thus Garraty is declared the winner .
By the morning of the fifth day , the Walk has progressed into Massachusetts , the first time in 17 years that it has done so . There are only seven Walkers left . Earlier , Stebbins revealed to Garraty and McVries that he is the illegitimate son of the Major . Stebbins states he used to think the Major was unaware of his existence , but it turns out that the Major has numerous illegitimate children nationwide . Four years earlier , the Major took Stebbins to the finish of a Long Walk ; now Stebbins feels that the Major has set him up to be `` the rabbit '' , motivating others to walk farther to prolong the race , just as rabbits are used in dog races . Stebbins ' plan , upon winning the Walk , is to ask to be `` taken into ( his ) father 's house '' as his Prize . Finally , Garraty decides to give up after realizing that Stebbins has shown almost no weaknesses over the duration of the Walk . Garraty catches up with Stebbins to tell him this , but before he can speak , Stebbins collapses and dies ; thus Garraty is declared the winner .