Oy (Dark Tower)

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Oy of Mid-World is a primary character in Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower. He was introduced in the third book, The Waste Lands, and became a member of the ka-tet for the rest of the series.

Oy is a "billy-bumbler", a strange creature found only in Roland Deschain's world. The creature is a cross between a racoon and a dog. Some billy-bumblers are very smart and can even have the capacities of humans. Oy has the ability to communicate by repeating what everyone says in a manner similar to that of a parrot. In several crucial moments, Oy assists the human characers in getting out of danger.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 In Mid-World
2 In Lud
3 Mordred
4 Susannah in New York

[edit] In Mid-World

In The Waste Lands, Roland and his ka-tet stumble upon Oy alone in the woods suffering slight bites and cuts from what appears to have been a fight with another billy-bumbler. When Jake Chambers inquires as to what it is, Roland tells them about billy-bumblers in his home city of Gilead. Oy seems very shy at first, but when Jake feeds it, it immediately falls in love with the young boy and begins to follow him around. Roland lets Jake keep Oy as a pet as having a bumbler brings good luck to the party.

[edit] In Lud

As the ka-tet approaches the city of Lud, an evil gangster named Gasher captures Jake. Roland and Oy go off to find him, and with Oy's help at trailing Jake's scent, he manages to protect Roland's life from various hazards in rescuing his owner. Oy becomes an official member of the ka-tet and pet of Jake for the rest of the series.

[edit] Mordred

As Mordred Deschain sneaks toward Roland and Patrick Danville in their sleep at the end of The Dark Tower, Oy manages to wake up and attack Mordred. Mordred kills Oy by snapping his spine and then impaling him on a tree limb, but this allows Roland to wake up and defeat Mordred. When Roland visits the dying Oy, the bumbler whispers his version of Roland's name, "Olan", and licks his hand once before dying.

[edit] Susannah in New York

In the closing afterword of The Dark Tower, King implies that along with Eddie and Jake, Oy (or a parallel version of him) reappears, in the form of a dog.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

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The Gunslinger · The Drawing of the Three · The Waste Lands · Wizard and Glass · Wolves of the Calla · Song of Susannah · The Dark Tower