After reading Long Walk to Forever, one may be quick to decide that the title does not represent the story well since it is a fairly short walk the characters embark on when they decide to be together. Upon further investigation, the title begins to seem more effective, because when
...one considers how long these characters have known each other, it becomes more apparent that the “walk” represents their walk as friends, the short “walk” when they decide to be together and the “walk” they embark on afterwards as a couple.
Growing as next door neighbors and best friends, Newt and Catharine’s “walk” started at a very young age. After being friends for so long their friendship grew and nourished an also growing love for one another that couldn’t be replaced. This process of building a friendship, even without the aspect of romantic love is a hard and sometimes grueling task. One has to put a lot of effort into making such a relationship work. Here the use of the word “long” in the title directly applies to the idea that things seem longer when they requir
more work and effort.
Most people will agree, however, that the concept of forever, whether it is friends forever or a couple forever is worth the effort. Another interpretation of the title Long Walk to Forever is the relatively short walk when the couple embarks on when deciding whether or not to be together. Although relative to the other walks that the couple has, this walk in particular seems short. However, if one puts themselves in either one of these characters’ shoes, it is easy to imagine how hard the emotions that they are experiencing are.
Catharine, at the beginning of their talk, was trying to do the right thing and stay with the man she is going to vow to be with. The reader can easily tell however that inside she wants to be with Newt. The struggle and the emotions inside of her were no doubt hard to deal with. When under such a situations, every second feels so much longer. Likewise, Newt was also struggling as he waited eagerly after every word to see Catharine’s reaction hoping that she would change her mind.
Anticipating someone’s response in such a situation is also very hard and each minute of silence, seems to last forever. In this sense, the “walk” although in real time is short, to them it probably felt like an eternity. As it is known the good times always seem to go by faster than the bad. Therefore in these characters opinions this walk seemed much longer than that of their friendship. Thankfully, by the end of their conversation, they had both decided to progress in their lives as a couple.
So far, the title
has metaphorically and literally been applied in two contexts to the story, already making it an effective one, there is one more period in these characters lives that parallels so well with the title. The power of this title extends even further than the short story itself. The story ends with the idea that the couple has decided to reunite. It can be argued that the next phase in their life, the one that has been left for the reader to imagine, will be the longest and hardest yet; forever doesn’t come easy.
These characters are going to have to deal with what was supposed to be Catharine’s new husband and the fact that Newt abandoned the army, which is known to strictly enforce its rules and regulations. They may have to face rejection from each other’s family members, afterwards they may deal with the struggles of starting a family, raising their children and finding good jobs. The rest of the hardships of life will soon follow. This may not seem like a happy future, however, among all this they will be together and they will have the opportunity to enjoy all the good things in life as well in each other’s company.
This walk for them will be long and will hopefully last forever, the third chapter in their long walk to forever. Kurt Vonnegut has written a very poetic and enjoyable short story. The skill of his writing can be evaluated almost only on his title and still assert his talent. The title’s power is in the fact that it can be applied to the text in multiple ways, almost giving the story another layer.
If writing a story, a novel or an essay one should try to follow the guidelines demonstrated by Mr. Vonnegut in selecting an effective title.
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