The Dystopian Vision of the American Society as Reflected in Stephen King's The Long Walk (1979)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the definition of dystopia, its development, and its function as a literary kind of writing. It shows how what seems to be utopian, on the surface, is in reality dystopian. Generally, in man's attempt to achieve a perfect society, dystopia appears in the abuse of power, manipulation, exploitation, and injustice. That is to say, this paper deals with how dystopian literature depicts the flaws of those seemingly utopian societies with reference to Stephen King's The Long Walk. It shows how young people fall victims to a game like the long walk which exposes their life to danger and even death to gain living for their lovely ones. In brief, it shows the slow decay of life and self.