Questions about Needful Things and The Legion (spoilers, obviously)

[Boni]

Hi, I finished Needful Things a couple of days ago (and I'm starting 'Salem's Lot), and I have some questions about the book.

1- How was Alan Pangborn able to throw a real snake in Leland Gaunt and make real magic to defeat him?

2- How did Alan know that those things would work and that those things would appear?

3- Was Leland Gaunt, Lucifer, a minor demon, or a demon from The Legion (because the movie clearly point that Leland is really Lucifer)?

[Tooley]

3. I believe he was a minor demon. I really don't see Satan himself creating mass chaos within small towns, not his style. From what I hear he really wants to have it all or nothing.

[Stillreading]

Hi, I finished Needful Things a couple of days ago (and I'm starting 'Salem's Lot), and I have some questions about the book.

1- How was Alan Pangborn able to throw a real snake in Leland Gaunt and make real magic to defeat him?

2- How did Alan know that those things would work and that those things would appear?

3- Was Leland Gaunt, Lucifer, a minor demon, or a demon from The Legion (because the movie clearly point that Leland is really Lucifer)?

I actually finished this book only a couple of days ago myself. I really was impressed with how SK wove this parable together -- brilliant, in fact. That being said, I too was a little mystified as to how it was that Pangborn managed to conjure up "real magic". Quite honestly, that almost derailed my entire experience with the book. With a real heroic, king-size effort to suspend my disbelief, i was able to get through it, but I was slightly annoyed in the process. I'll follow an author wherever he/she wants to go provided that he/she abides by the same parameters that he/she has asked me as an audience to willingly accept. In this case, I feel as though that dynamic was briefly circumvented. I suspect that the Dark Tower series has something to do with it; but having never read any of them I remain at a loss.

As for Gaunt, what I've gathered from reading other members opinions is that he is not Lucifer, but instead just a minor demon.

[Machine's Way]

#3 I belive that Leland Gaunt is Flagg, The Dark Man ect. He is a timeless evil that is represented in a lot (or maybe all) of SK's work. He is in all levels of reality.

[michal]

The Magic turning into Real is a common theme in Mr King books. It happens in It (the Bird Guide, the Asthma Spray), in Salem's Lot (the glowing cross) and in many others.

Basically the snake turns real, because the sheriff believes it will. Our imagination and faith is a strong conviction - it makes evil things evil and good things strong.

And how did he know? Well, he didn't He BELIEVED it would be so, and so it was.

[Samantha_]

Maybe it's a variation on-don't invoke a negative-shield those thoughts.

Evil exists. The question is-in what form will it try to present itself, next?

Perhaps, once our fear calls it out, evil can grow stronger taking the shape of a belief in nightmares.

Not a new theory but worth mentioning.

[thymeoperator]

it bothered me when i read it too - but i thought afterwards it probably had to do with overcoming his pain over the loss of his family, and finally facing the facts and being able to turn it back into his original love for them, and then throw that love into the face of the demon to drive it away.

[ifsogirl88]

Yes, I also gathered that Leland Gaunt was really just a demon. As for the magic that Alan uses to defeat him, I had a little trouble as well...

The snake I was able to accept because I remembered him saying earlier in the book that it was the kind of trick that kids and 'men' like Mr. Gaunt would appreciate. For me, it could become a real snake in the face of Leland Guant because it was exactly the type of 'magic' he uses...making false things appear real. And scary things like snakes are right up his alley. So, for a split second, Leland Gaunt might assume a snake really had been thrown his face, until he sees the truth of it, where upon it immediately resumes its paper/spring structure.

The FLOWERS however, I had a real hard time grasping. Why would they become brilliant beams of light? I cannot apply the same logic path to the flowers that I can to the snake (how could Mr. Gaunt mistake colored flowers for white light - still not sure), so I was really at a loss and quite disappointed with that part. And I must say, it really did slosh the ending for me.

Still, a VERY good book, despite that last part. I love it's commentary human nature: our neverending tendancy to mistake desire for need, and how we let it blind us to the truth. He points out just how willing we are to forgo rational thought amidst this blindness and take violent action - and how we further justify that to ourselves. Very thought provoking.

[hesterloli]

Hello Boni. To answer your question look at Pangborn and how the VCR it played even though there was no electrticity. Now this was true for many in Castle Rock. The Sandy Koufax card was really just a piece of junk but not for Brian Rusk. The Bazun fishing rod for Deputy Norris Ridgewick was really just a cheap bamboo pole. Likewise the cannister of the spring-loaded paper snake was reallly just that but not to Leland Gaunt. It turned into a real snake to him. And all the magic of Pangborn's was only just an embellishment made extravagant by Lelant Gaunt. Alan knew these things would happen because he knew Gaunt had lost. That's all.
As for whether Gaunt was Satan or a minor imp I believe King gives the impression that Gaunt is "born" or comes into being at some point in the past. So if you believe that Satan has "always been" then I guess that means Gaunt can't be Satan.

[brandon]

#3 I belive that Leland Gaunt is Flagg, The Dark Man ect. He is a timeless evil that is represented in a lot (or maybe all) of SK's work. He is in all levels of reality.

Ditto

[eaglpaul]

Yes, many characters in SKs books are able to do magic, not because they are really magical beings, but because something greater is working through them. Note that when Alan holds out the flowers he thinks "it's the coming of the white" a very strong reference to the DT series right there. This shows us that while he has never had any actual dealings with "The White" he is aware of their presence on some level. The forces of good chose Alan Pangborne to be their instrument in defeating Gaunt, and so he was able to defeat him

As for who Gaunt is, I do not believe that he is Satan, but that he does work for him. He could very well be Flagg, but I don't think so. All previous incarnations of Flagg have the initials of RF, but he could just as easily be a being of the same type, another agent of the Crimson King.

Magic is an essential part of the Stephen King Universe, all we can do as visitors to that universe is accept it, and look for it to show up.

[randallFlaggfan1]

To my understanding, Leland Gaunt represents the Devil..