The Long Walk/Geralds Game - HELP!

[cherokee mama]

I just finished Gerald's Game and before that I finished The Long Walk and I am so confused by the endings!!!

The Long Walk - I mean the whole thing with Gerraty (sp?) winning but then getting chased by the "dark man"? What's up with that?

Gerald's Game - And the entire ending that Jessie was writing about, involving that Raymond Andrew freak. It's so confusing.

Please, if anyone has read one/both of them and can understand the ending, please explain it to me!

Also, I'm staring to read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, if there is anything really confusing it that, just give me a heads up.

Thanks.

[Matticus]

I think the end of The Long Walk was intended to show that no one can ever really win a contest like that. Sometimes the winner is the biggest loser (even if he is still alive)

As far as Geralds Game. I loved the ending.

For a large part of the last half of the book you have no idea if the person standing in the corner is real or just a part of her imagination. Turns out he was real and I consider his character one of the scariest King has written because it was so easy to believe he wasn't. Finding out he was real helped her realize the ordeal had not driven her mad.

[tillyn]

I agreed with Matticus on some other thread here, as for G.G. i have to reread as it's been a long time, but i'll be back to comment.

[terribilini]

i also agree with matticus on both counts, especially the stuff about geralds game. that dude was scary enough when i just thought he was imaginary but to find out he was real! and he was in her car!!! aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! that scared the shazzelbazz out of me. after reading "it" i thought that pennywise ( in all his forms ) was the scariest sk character but i was definitely mistaken. i'm actually gettin freaked out just thinking about it so if you'll excuse me i'm going to go jump right out of my skin.

[IUSMPhD]

I think Garraty died at the end of the Long Walk. He was chasing death. Hopefully he shouted out a couple prize requests before he got there!

[blunthead]

I just finished Gerald's Game and before that I finished The Long Walk and I am so confused by the endings!!!...Also, I'm starting to read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon...Thanks.

I believe that sK means for the ending to The Long Walk to be interpreted depending on the individual reader; that is, the ending is subjective--subject to the reader. At the end of the walk, I see the protagonist's behavior appropriate for someone who chooses to rebel against a "Big Brother" kind of oppressor.

I agree with previous posters that the villain in Gerald's Game is one of the scariest of sK's creations, and that the reality of him is a revelation of the protagonist's sanity--to her as well as to us.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon seems to be one of the least popular of sK's novels for members at this site, according to posts I've read. I really liked it, though. In my opinion, there's no confusion such as what you've described having via Walk and Gerald.