DOMI

I think what's even more poignant than the fact that all of these boys enter the Long Walk with this thought that they will be the ones to win, is the fact that they enter not fully conceptualizing that everyone else will die either. Pete tells Ray that even though it was crazy, he felt like when they went to shoot the contestants, that the guns would be revealed to be fake, that they'd shoot streamers like at the circus, he acknowledges that this made no sense but he still believed it. Art Baker states quite beautifully that he entered the walk because he wanted to make friends, he just genuinely thought this would be a bonding experience with the other boys. He's right, he will make friends! And he'll go on to hold his friend in his arms as his friend dies slowly. So many of boys try to keep Curly moving and encourage him, even though his death was an inevitability of the walk. They went to that walk not fully realizing or accepting that anyone was going to die, it's not just youthful narcissism for a lot of them, there is an inherent empathy to their naivety and it's something that the walk attempts to alternately exploit (this one's for curly) and crush (you men have giant stones to get this far, not like everyone else who died).

THIS!!! They don't want the others to lose, they want to win. It's different. Now, seeing the movie not only from a war metaphor angle... We always see that "humans are naturally selfish" bullshit, but the fact is that most people (lower classes) do NOT want to step on each other. We just want to have a decent, comfortable life next to our loved ones, but we are convinced that for one to have success, another one needs to suffer.

the tarot card lady told me to kill myself