I finally finished the Dark Tower series and some musings about the ending (spoilers)

[AndyDufresne]

So, I finally finished the DT series (as you can all tell by the title of the thread) and it's been an absolutely great ride.

It took me a while to get to start the Dark Tower series, as a matter of fact, I never even heard of it until I read a copy of The Green Mile where King mentioned that a lot of constant readers were asking about the next Dark Tower book. I didn't even understand what it was, so I read over it and started The Green Mile.

When a Dutch company decided to release the Dark Tower books (and the comics, and even a few connected King books like 'Salem's Lot and Insomnia) in the same style for a relatively low price, I decided to go for it. Since the tale of the Sisters of Eluria was in the front of the first book, I read that first. While I didn't really understand what the heck all that was about, I decided to continue. The Gunslinger made even less sense to me (and the connection with the short story, apart from the same main character, eluded me even more) but I continued reading. Then the second book, which was still the introduction to the saga, and then the third, which I liked very much. It was exciting, with a great cliffhanger. I then read Wizards and Glass, and that was even better. When I finished that and started reading Wolves of the Calla, I decided to switch to the original English versions, and sell the Dutch ones and ask the English versions for my birthday.

Something odd happened. Since I had just finished the first four novels, I frankly didn't really want to read those again in such a short time span, and immediately moving on to Wolves of the Calla for whatever reason seemed like cheating to me.

So I waited, and watched a lot of movies, television series, and read some other books (many of which were written by Sai King). Until the spring of this year, when the time felt right for whatever reason. I went through the first four books in only a couple of weeks (and I generally don't read that much in such a short time), but when I hit DT 5, I stopped again. I more or less had enough of reading for a while, so I decided to wait a while. Maybe the truth was that I didn't want Roland and his ka-tet coming to an end, I realize now.

Then, a few weeks ago, I again felt the time was right to continue on reading, and I moved through the last three books without much resistance.

So, for me, the tale is at an end for me as well.

And now on to the actual ending, since the introduction was already quite a lot longer than I anticipated.

It's tragic, yes. I cried when Eddie died, when Jake died, when Oy died, and I usually don't cry that often while reading books. But it was also necessary, or appropriate. Roland started his quest alone, and of course needed to go into the tower by himself. What he found was, I thought, incredibly appropriate. Like an addict, he is constantly obsessed about only one thing, and basically nothing standing in his way can stop him. So, since he lives for the tower, being forced to continually make the journey to the tower seems right, in a really disturbing way.

One note about the end, though. Since Roland now has the horn, was it possible that the previous journey was already different from the ones before? Was there a journey where Roland did everything by himself? Where he didn't show compassion to anyone else? Can we say that the doors, and the people Roland needs to draw out of them, were originally meant to be obstacles? That Roland willfully offers them whenever he has the chance, without becoming attached to them? And that becoming attached to them in the journey we get to read was already a big step for Roland, and a change for the better? More or less like Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray's character changes day by day, even if it only is a little, to the point where he helps the people in the town with whatever accidents happen, and learns to love Andie McDowell's character, and she in return loves him.

I don't know if I'm even right about these. It's fun to think these things over, don't you think?

[GNTLGNT]

It IS a festival for the mind...

[CaptainClaudius]

I think that Roland has been to the tower a number of times previously and each time he gets there he encounters and works his way through a series of different environments and obstacles, so the journey previous to the one which we have in book form may have been a solo run completely different from all the others.

Each journey, however, is like gaining a puzzle piece towards completion and now that he's beginning the journey again with the horn of eld, this may be the last time that Roland has to make this journey.

Each journey is somehow orchestrated or arranged by the Man in Black who, perhaps in another journey, did not go out like a sucker.

[Aericanwizard]

I was going to start a new thread, but this one seems like as good of a place as any to describe my recent thoughts regarding the journey.

I think that maybe this was Roland's 19th time through the events, for obvious reasons. I think that on the next go through, he will find that everything is "going 20" (it wouldn't be difficult for the tower to change Pere Callahan's middle name, for example); or maybe not. This theory starts to fall apart when we consider the number of letters in names adding up to 19 (seriously, who has a name that adds up to 1, or 4?). However, not all the names added up to 19, and it is possible that Roland did do his early journeys alone, with no one "going 1" or "going 4", although events could point to those numbers.

I am of the opinion that every journey has been different, to a point. I think certain events re-occur, which help when Roland seems to have "almost psychic reaction". His subconscious memory is guiding his gun, so to speak. That said, his decisions change each time, reflecting his agonizingly slow redemption.

In my opinion, it takes him longer to reach the Tower each time he goes through the loop. Let me explain. Although it is his ultimate goal to reach the Tower, he seems to stop for "side-quests" along the way, that while important to preserve the Tower, end up taking him longer than he might like (i.e. saving Sai King, protecting Sai Tower, fighting the Wolves, etc). It is possible that the first few times, he just "powered his way through" to the tower, forcing Calvin to give him the lot (if he knew about it), not getting caught in Lud, simply abandoning Eddie, Jake, Odetta/Detta, etc.

I think that ultimately, Roland's redemption will come when he finally abandons the quest altogether. Recall that the Tower is saved before he reaches it; he no longer has any need to go to the Tower, other than his obsession. This makes the ending all that more heart-wrenching for me; he was so close: he could have gone with Susannah, and abandoned the Tower, yet wasn't quite strong enough.

I've been pondering the ending since the moment I put it down, and am looking forward to a re-read, although I'm letting the cycle rest for a while, to gain some perspective. I think Roland is close to redemption, but until he is willing to give up the Tower, he will continue gaining it.


Long days and pleasant nights.

[jellydonut25]

^^I've always kinda liked the "19th Journey" Theory. It does KINDA fall apart on the names thing but there are so many other ways you could have the numbers 1, 2, or 3 pop up and then once you get to the number 4 you could start in with the four-letter first and/or last names...Roland could meet people named Dave, Fred, Amie, etc, etc...even for the ones, and twos and threes (and fours) you can have stuff add up to 10, 20 or 30...which then added once more would be 1, 2 or 3...plus this stuff is all just a SYMPTOM of the coincidences and the breakdown of the Tower, it's not the actual "disease" if you will....ALSO, as you mentioned, his first few times through, he could be basically a loner and not notice many of these types of things (Roland has no imagination, as we all know) and it's not until he slowly begins to change and become more open and human and full of heart that someone like Eddie notices them...

[morley]

I was afraid to reach the end the DT saga. I hate to see the end of the things I love and I knew I would have cried all of my tears. So it's been, Thankee sai King.
When I started DT7 I've said to myself: I love OY first. Then I care for Jake. Then Suze and Eddie. So I've thought: at least one of the Ka-tet has to die, but if he will be Eddie, it will be the lesser of the evils.
I was wrong. I've arrived to Eddie's death totally unprepared, with great astonishment and deep deep sorrow. I've cried for a long time, then closed the book, and cried again when I re-start reading.
Then... it's been Jake's time... just after a couple of pages!!! I couldn't believe to my eyes. Did he let Jake die again??? AGAIN???????
And at last... Oy. By this time I was prepared but it's been horrible anyway. (In my mind Oy is a kind of Mid-World twin of my she-cat Indy... imagine the rest by yourselves)
So, in the end I say: was it all necessary?
Why? He loves to make us cry? I can't understand. There was no need to kill them.
I know what you're thinking: "Roland had to reach the Tower alone because alone he started" and "You're too sentimental / you don't understand that Ka is a wheel" and also "You don't understand a thing about the DT saga"
Ok maybe... but let me tell you one last thing. Roland is selfish and crazy.
I hate him.

[Ferpa]

"Ka is a wheel"... never thought, until the very end, that this sentence would show itself in such a cruel way like it did.
But just as sai King says that he wrote Roland's story as it came to him, the ending also allows me to continue the story as I see it, and to me that is what makes it unique in an unusual way...

[91rewoT]

...So, in the end I say: was it all necessary?
Why? He loves to make us cry? I can't understand. There was no need to kill them.
I know what you're thinking: "Roland had to reach the Tower alone because alone he started" and "You're too sentimental / you don't understand that Ka is a wheel" and also "You don't understand a thing about the DT saga"
Ok maybe... but let me tell you one last thing. Roland is selfish and crazy.
I hate him.

morley -
I bawled like a baby when Eddie died. And when Jake died. And when Oy sat at Jake's grave. And when Oy said bye to Jake ( "I ache" in Oyspeak). And when Oy died. But I never hated Roland. Roland, and his quest, gave something important to each of his Ka-tet. Eddie died a respected gunslinger, surrounded by friends who loved him. Jake found his true "father", and died selflessly, saving more than even he could know. Oy was an accepted and loved member of the Ka-tet, who died saving his Ka-mate. Every life owes a death. The fact that I can sit here talking about these people as though they are real (But they are, aren't they?) proves what a master storyteller Sai King is. He doesn't "love to make us cry" and he didn't "let" anyone die ...he just told the story. And oh what a story it is! When you get over your anger, and you will, and you get past the grief, and you will, you may have a change of heart...

[J.T. Adams]

Please don't say you hate Roland, those people that died taught him to love, and in these stories Roland was more important than any of them in terms of the what all of existence was depending on. Roland was King in many ways, and the friends Roland loved were much like the tales King had written in that they were his greatest teachers.

[JohnDalglish]

Hi,

Roland just is.

Long days and pleasant nights