The Horn of Eld

[MyJadedEpiphany]

I was just curious to get everyone's opinion concerning the significance of Roland having the Horn of Eld when he begins his journey again? Is it possible that SK may consider adding more to Roland's tale in the years to come? I loved the ending of the series and was left feeling hungry to know more about the characters I felt so connected to.

[michal]

For me it meant that while Ka is a wheel, it is not a perfect wheel and humans can change their destiny.

In so, the ending was hopeful to me. Same journey, but not exactly the same, and Roland isn't the same so maybe this time it will be a better.

But hey -that's just me .

[MyJadedEpiphany]

That was the feeling I got as well. Of course you can't help but wonder what it was that changed and how his journey will be different this time around.

[daysend88]

I felt like this also. I read "The Song of Roland" Which is the French epic and the character in this poem is roland and he ends up killing himself with his horn. this gives me mixed feelings about the end now and am not sure if Stephen King meant to make that specific connection or not. what do you think?

[Evan of New York]

Howdy, I'm a brand new member and since I've been reading these posts, I've found it adds such a fascinating depth to the tale.
I just finished the last Dark Tower, and I've read all of the posts up to this point. If I may add my two cents, I think that everybody's right in a way. The possession of the Horn of Eld at the end symbolizes another lesson that Roland has learned on the level of his soul - this one being the value of love and true friendship, since he honored Cuthbert's last wishes- maybe finally allowing him entrance into the top of the Dark Tower. There were definite allusions (or foreshadowings, or pre-foreshadowings, if it does ya) to Roland repeating his quest, the folk from River Crossing saying they saw a gunslinger 100 years ago, Walter telling Roland that he just doesn't get it, I'm sure there are more references throughout. Whoever said that the character's scary sense of intuition was a clue that they'd been through the journey on some level was brilliant, it's almost as if they'd been there before and remembered the things they needed to save them. I think that on this next journey, with Roland's new found knowledge of the importance of friendship and love, he might enter the tower with the complete ka-tet. If you really think about it, none of the main tet needed to die: Eddie's death could've been saved if somebody had seen Prentiss's weapon sooner, Jake could've been saved if they had been a few seconds earlier in arriving at King's location on the road, and Oy could've lived if there was another person to keep watch (Eddie, Jake, Suzie) for Mordred. Even so, I think that each time Roland repeats his journey, he gains another key to the Dark Tower, and he gains more wisdom, so that's why the ending takes place in the last few pages: it isn't important. As Sai King said, "Endings are heartless" the heart, the importance is in the journey. Though I think that this time, Roland will conquer the Dark Tower when he blows the the Horn of Eld, as was writ in the last line of Browning's poem.
I hope that this wasn't too much of a ramble!
-Long days, and pleasant nights.

[soxfan]

The horn symbolizes his final journey in the loop. The final Stanza of "Childe Rolande to the Dark Tower Came" has the protaganist blowing a horn upon hearing the voices from his past.

[Doc Wilson]

The horn symbolizes his final journey in the loop. The final Stanza of "Childe Rolande to the Dark Tower Came" has the protaganist blowing a horn upon hearing the voices from his past.

Now this is interesting...

[randallFlaggfan1]

The horn symbolizes his final journey in the loop. The final Stanza of "Childe Rolande to the Dark Tower Came" has the protaganist blowing a horn upon hearing the voices from his past.

Soxfan - I appreciate your input. It's certainly awesome (not to mention interesting) to know that Sai King incorporated parts of the epic poem into his series!

[wally wonder]

i dunno, but if he's going to play in texas, he better have a fiddle in the band.

[tammydee5]

I feel the significance is huge. Three is a very significant number throughout the series. I feel he needs all three pieces to the puzzle to successfully ascend the tower and defeat the Crimson King. He needs the horn of Eld and both sandalwood guns of the Eld line. I'm assuming, by the ending of the final book, that if SK were to write a continuance on the ending part of the journey, it would involve Jake, Eddie, and Susannah finding the gun that Susannah threw away upon entering that new when. I feel as if each time Roland has ascended the tower he has missed a step along the way, for instance in this version of ascension he only ascended the tower with one gun and no horn; thus, causing the ka wheel to keep on turning and he must keep on journeying until he has acquired all the pieces. I am also assuming this based on the emphasis on the horn being dropped in the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, as well as the repetition by the Crimson King talking about the infamous sandalwood grips of the gunslinger . Based on this I am assuming the last time he ascended, when Cuthbert and Alain were in his ka-tet, he had both guns but was short the horn because it was dropped on the plains of the Meji's and that is why he had to continue is pursuit of the Dark Man across the desert once more with the ka-Tet of Suze, Jake, and Eddie. And as a side note: I feel the reason Suze, Jake and Eddie managed to refind each other during a different when was because Roland found the appropriate ka-tet finally but was just short the pieces of Eld. In my heart as a C.R. I imagine that Roland will redraw those three and they will journey with him once again but this time successfully.