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"I feel like I could walk all the way to Florida, Garraty "
―Stebbins

Appearance[]

StebbinsDying

Stebbins, as seen on the first edition cover of The Long Walk

[4] Stebbins is described to be a tall, thin boy with long blonde hair. He is said to wear a chambray work shirt, a green sweater, a pair of purple pants, and moccasins/tennis shoes. Through out the book, it seems that is appearance is consistent, as he tires a lot less than the other walkers; the only real change is sweat stains on parts of his clothes.

Plot[]

Early on in the book, Stebbins establishes himself as loner from the rest of the group. Before the walk begins, Garraty takes notice of Stebbins eating jelly sandwich in a tree, and quickly decides that he'll likely be first to buy his ticket. As the walk begins, Stebbins drops back from the rest of the walkers, and thus is the first to be warned. Garraty believes that he was right about Stebbins being first to be shot, until Curley, #7, receives his ticket. Garraty then is disappointed, as Stebbins was "supposed to be first". For a while, Stebbins doesn't really contribute to the plot aside from being mentioned here and there, until he begins conversing with Garraty and McVries. He tells them that when he was 13, he saw the end of the long walk. He described two boys; a big blonde with his shirt open, and another with his shoes missing. They appeared to look completely exhausted, and didn't even seem to notice the crowd. The blonde ended up being shot, and the other boy then broke down and attempted to talk with the dead kid. Stebbins is again ignored for a while, until Garraty drops back to converse with him, this time about Hank Olson. Stebbins says that Olson has "secrets" about survival. This causes Garraty to attempt to talk to Olson, which indirectly kills him. Apart from Garraty talking to him occasionally, not much happens with Stebbins until Scramm's death; after that, he became Vegas' favorite, 9-1. Stebbins continues to walk still with no sign of fatigue; until Garraty asks him why he's walking. Stebbins throws up the food he was eating, and finally breaks down into admitting that he's the bastard son of the Major. He continues to walk with Garraty, McVries and Baker, until both McVries and Baker are killed. He and Garraty are left as the only two for an extremely long time, until Garraty gives up and accepts his defeat. He goes to tell Stebbins this, but isn't able to. Stebbins claws at Garraty's shirt, pleading for help; he then screams "Oh Garraty!", before collapsing dead. His body is shot moments later, naming Garraty as a winner of the long walk.

Trivia[]

  • Other than McVries, Baker, and Garraty, Stebbins is the only character with named family. Coincidentally, these are the top 4 walkers
  • Stebbins often laughs at the deaths of other walkers

Quotes[]

"I'm not the caterpillar, anyway. I'm more the white rabbit type, don't you think? Except I left my gold watch at home and no one has invited me to tea. At least, to the best of my knowledge, no one has. Maybe that's what I'll ask for when I win. When they ask me what I want for my Prize, I'll say, 'Why, I want to be invited home for tea.'"
—Stebbins[5][source]

"You're already at second base, Mcvries. Wanna try for third? "
—Stebbins

References[]

  1. 94
  2. 375
  3. N/A
  4. 19
  5. Chapter 8
v - e - dThe Long Walk
Runners
James Baker | Collie Parker | George Fielder | Bill Hough | Rattigan | Scramm | Pearson | Travin | Fenter | Toland | Aaronson
Abraham | Arthur Baker | Gary Barkovitch | Curley | Davidson | Ewing | Fenter | Roger Fenum | Percy | Raymond Garraty | Gribble
Harkness | Klingerman | Larson | Peter McVries | Hank Olson | Stebbins | Tressler | Wayne | Marty Wyman | Yannick | Zuck
Others
The Major | Mrs. Garraty | Janice |Cathy Scramm | Priscilla | Jimmy Owens
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