SOURCE: "The Rebel Purged: The Long March," in William Styron, Twayne Publishers, 1972, pp. 57-69.

Below, Ratner provides an overview of the techniques and symbolism that Styron uses in The Long March "enlarging the narrative into his general theme of rebellion."

Styron's novella, . . . has been singularly neglected by most critics in its significance to Styron's development and in its thematic parallels to his other works. Generally regarded as a competent literary exercise, it has been damned with the faint praise to which Styron has been occasionally subjected; but, most often, it has been treated as a single piece.

The novella concerns a thirty-six-mile march ordered by Colonel Templeton to toughen his regiment of marine reservists called up during the Korean War. Lieutenant Culver and Captain Mannix both resent the march; but, while Culver chooses to follow orders, Mannix shows his resentment by driving his men and by cursing Colonel...