Editing The Long Walk (novel) (section)

== Analysis ==
Heidi Strengell describes the book as a [[Naturalism (literature)|naturalistic novel]], noting King's representation of human nature through the characters. She called it one of King's "most pessimistic novels".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Strengell |first=Heidi |title=Dissecting Stephen King: From the Gothic to Literary |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780299209742 |pages=199}}</ref> Critic [[Douglas E. Winter|Douglas Winter]] similarly viewed the novel as King's most despairing work, calling it a "bleak science-fictional mirror of contemporary America".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winter |first=Douglas |title=Stephen King, the art of darkness |publisher=New American Library |year=1986 |isbn=9780451167743 |pages=200}}</ref> Reviewers have also categorized the novel as a metaphor for the [[Vietnam War]]. James Smythe of ''[[The Guardian]]'' connects several elements of the novel to the conflict: "the televised draft, the horror of seeing new friends die, the seeming lack of reason for it occurring in the first place".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Smythe |first=James |date=2012-08-30 |title=Rereading Stephen King: week seven – The Long Walk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/30/rereading-stephen-king-the-long-walk |access-date=2024-12-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>