THE DRAWING OF THE THREE
Dreams have always been a conversation piece around my family. Not that we put stock in them like mystics or most primitive cultures. But, alas, we talk about them. The what happened. The who was there. The where. ...
That's tricky isn't it.
The where. My grandmother talks about being lost in all her dreams. That she's always searching and searching, but can't find her way.
The where. We always provide the setting when we talk about dreams, but we're lying more times than not. Because while we sense, for instance, that we were reading a book on the sofa in our living during the dream we had two nights ago or naked in front of a classroom of peers. That particular part, where we are at, isn't that fixed. Dreams' setting are ever-evolving. Morphing sometimes subtly, sometimes drastically and never finding a constant homeostasis.
So what am I rambling about?
The hardest, maybe most distracting part, of the Dark Tower series is trying to understand the setting or the world, in this instance, of the Gunslinger. We're told nothing concrete with the most common answer being that he lives in "A world that has moved on." What does that mean? A lot of things, that I don't have the time to fully explain.
What you really have here is almost a dreamscape. People like to say Stephen King likes to bring nightmares to life. I think the best way to describe Roland and his world is a dream, with nightmares lingering.
Yet, there is the physical, societal and cultural landmarks to deal with. Early in the first book, the Gunslinger (Roland), walks into an old town (sort of a common western movie kind of place), but from a saloon he hears them singing. The song - "Hey Jude."
The confusing litany of images and references continues. From Roland's knowledge of the bible to the fact that he carries guns (a modern invention) and that he refers to the line of Arthur Eld (or King Arthur). It is an ever changing, sometimes subtle, sometimes drastic, perception of this world.
In the second book, we get references to the "great old ones" and their dependence on machines.
We also get the major plot line, where he walks upon a beach and confronts three doors. The first he jumps to 1980s New York and brings back Eddie Dean, a heroin addict, the second he brings back Odetta Holmes, a black civil rights activist from the 1960s who's lost both her legs just above the knees and also happens to be a schizophrenic who's alter ego Detta Walker is a real (insert expletive). The third door is Jack Mort, who doesn't get brought into the world of the Gunslinger. If you want to know more about Mort, read the book.
Oh, the Gunslinger also losses his first two fingers on his right hand and a big toe to some sort of mutated lobster in the first couple pages of the book. It's a plot device, but the important thing to remember about King, he loves putting people into situations and seeing how they get out.
Anyways, it's hard not to think about Roland's world. Obviously, the Dark Tower is there also. But if you do read it, don't let it distract you too much. Take it for what's it worth and listen closely to what the characters are saying. There is something abstract about this whole series and it has to do with the world all characters (even you and I believe) live.
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6 comments:
Maybe someday (someday!) I'll set out to read this book. you make it sound interesting, but I believe that is because I have you to filter it and help me through the concepts a little bit. Still I like what you are doing and I figure as long as you enjoy it you will keep doing it and I can get like a Cliffs Notes lecture on the series
I am itching to write about the third book "The Waste Lands." The title's a reference to one of two poems that influence the entire series. Something, I am beginning to realize is that these first three books are easily the 3 best of the series and yet each different in style, characterization and pacing.
Don't be afraid of the concepts when deciding if you want to read this. The surface level story is enough to keep a reader interested. That's pretty much what I paid attention to the first time through.
But come to the Tower on you own time and terms. I am not pushing.
So I just finished this book tonight. Dusting off the 500+ pages in 5 days which included 13 hr work days and early bed times. I'm proud of myself in just that fact. I loved the story of the prisoner. Got lost a little at times in the setup of Odetta but got the jist. Morts story seemed rushed. I still made to go back an reread the last section bc it all seemed to happen in a flash especially with it having touched on Jake but leaving that hanging. Perhaps on purpose to hit back at it later when I have to believe the man in black surfaces again.
I am glad you are reading these, and that your are reading these for your own reasons. I remember on my second reading thinking that the first three books of this series were truly something special. I am far enough removed from these that I have to think about the plot points and characters you bring up. The prisoner is Eddie, right? I may be misremembering, but I was thinking that the insinuation was that Mort was the man in black, again. I might have that wrong. The idea to keep in mind about the Man in Black is that he is the archetype of evil and his goal is to destroy the Dark Tower. He shows up on many "levels" of the tower as characters, most notably as Randall Flagg (or other characters with the initials RF, in future Dark Tower books, and also the Stand, and The Eyes of the Dragon)and as Walter O'Dim.
Yes Eddie is the prisoner. I feel I've become very attached to him. Hes become sort of the Sam to Roland's Frodo, he as I make that comparison intentionally. I need to reread the Mort section as the Pusher. I got out of it Roland thought maybe he was the man in black but then was first looking for the man in black instead while they followed Jake. And he wonders about the paradox of stopping him from pushing Jake but then it never happens and Mort is supposedly dead at the end. The only thing that could be fuzzy to allow that is the idea that Roland passes out while inside Mort. Obviously the first couple sequences inside the pusher may be more important to the future story than the ending. I'm also confused because I swore Walter in the golgotha at the end of the gunslinger told Roland he was Marten in his youth. But in this book he refers to Marten as an accomplice of the man in black. I supposed part of this could memory issues of Roland which are a bit prevalent through the story or planting the idea that the man in black isnt just one man, but more a spirit of idea.
Also I need to go back and check but I swear through the journey on the beach they are always trekking North, and then refer to looking to their right out to the western sea. Well looking North, East is to the right and west would be left. Then I read what you wrote here about the dreamscape of it all and being not exactly our world. Maybe that's the hint, that its a shadow of our world, a reflection. Thus like looking in a mirror, the direction would be reversed.
Jake's death/non-death paradox is one of the driving forces of the third book I believe. Marten, from Roland's youth, is the man in black. I don't remember the context of him being called an accomplice. It might have been confusion on Roland's part, or misdirection by King. The east/west thing is interesting, too. I'd have to study the context to see if it seems purposeful or perhaps Mr. King got turned around when he was writing. My guess is there's a reason for it. The setting is often tough to capture, especially in Mid-World. It might have to do with whatever path of the beam they are on. Of course, I don't think they've introduced the beams yet. That concept was one I struggled with.
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