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punchie asked this question about The Long Walk:
who was the dark figure at the end of the book!?!?!?!?!? =[]= was it suppose to be some kind of symbolic? like death?! or was it Jane!?!? like whaaaaat?!?!
Clab The usual Ray walking towards death and/or going mad ideas do all fit nicely, but I always thought it was also a little reference to Randall Flagg. He…moreThe usual Ray walking towards death and/or going mad ideas do all fit nicely, but I always thought it was also a little reference to Randall Flagg. He pops up in a bunch of King's works and is often referred to as "The man in black" or "The dark man". Remember, he was writing as Richard Bachman at the time so he wouldn't have wanted to go in to any more detail, and it still lets the reader interpret it as they wish. I'd consider it as more of an easter egg rather than it really being Flagg standing there in front of Ray. The kind of thing you notice years later and think, oh yeah, that's cool.

I read this book after we all knew it was written by King, and after reading most of the others he appears in (he has a big part in the Dark Tower series) so the average reader that just picks it up probably won't even know who he is. He reminds me of Hoid from Brandon Sanderson's books, he also appears with small roles in different books.

tl;dr
Whoever you want it to be, but imo a small nod to Randall Flagg.(less)
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The Long Walk
by Richard Bachman
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