Roland Deschain

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Roland Deschain as depicted on the cover of The Dark Tower VII. Art by Michael Whelan .

Roland Deschain is a fictional character, the protagonist and anti-hero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain (pronounced dess shane) and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society. His image and personality are largely inspired by the "Man with No Name" from several of Sergio Leone's westerns, though his quest and many of his personal, internal conflicts are drawn from Robert Browning's poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Background
2 Quest for the Dark Tower
3 Relations with other characters
4 Characteristics
5 References

[edit] Background

Roland becomes a gunslinger at the unheard-of age of 14 after being manipulated into taking the "trial of manhood" by Marten Broadcloak, his father's adviser and incarnation of Randall Flagg. Marten has an affair with Roland's mother and makes sure Roland finds out about it, prompting Roland to request his trial in order to gain his guns and exact revenge on Marten. In the trial, Roland must defeat his teacher, Cort, using a weapon of his choosing. He chooses a hawk named David and defeats Cort. Despite Roland's victory, Cort and Roland's father convince Roland to bide his time before seeking retribution.

Not long after, Roland's father sends him on a mission to the town of Hambry in the Outer Barony of Mejis with two members of his first ka-tet, Alain Johns and Cuthbert Allgood. While there, he comes into the possession of a pink crystal ball, one of 13 magical artifacts referred to as "Maerlyn's Rainbow." It was while looking into this artifact that Roland first discovered his quest for the Dark Tower.

Roland is a 30th-generation descendant of his world's version of King Arthur, referred to in the series as Arthur Eld. In Wizard and Glass, during a flashback to Roland's time in the Barony of Mejis, a letter from his father identifies Steven Deschain as a 29th-generation descendant of Arthur Eld from a side lineage (that is to say, from one of Arthur's many "gillies," or concubines). Even his guns were originally made of the melted-down metal from the legendary Excalibur sword. It is hinted that one must possess this sword, or another sign of the Eld (the line of Arthur Eld) in order to open the door at the foot of the Tower. According to a supplemental prose story by Robin Furth included in the Gunslinger Born issue #2, Roland's ancestry traces back to Arthur's seneschal, Kay Deschain, while the Crimson King's ancestry traces back to an affair between Arthur and the Crimson Queen.

[edit] Quest for the Dark Tower

Roland is alone at the beginning of the series, following the way of ka, a variant of destiny that is similar in concept to other karmic ideologies. The term ka-tet is used for a group of people who are deeply bonded to each other through ka. The seven-book series is about Roland's acquisition of a new ka-tet and the completion of his quest. Roland is the last surviving gunslinger and is possessed (or, as he describes it himself, "addicted" -- Eddie Dean, an ex-heroin addict and member of Roland's ka-tet, calls Roland a "Tower junkie") by a quest to reach The Dark Tower, the axis upon which infinite numbers of parallel worlds rotate. The Dark Tower is under assault by the Crimson King, Lord of Discordia, a Satan-like figure bent on destroying the Dark Tower by undermining the "Beams" that support it.

When we first meet him in "The Gunslinger", Roland's original desire was simply to climb to the Dark Tower's top to question whatever god may dwell there, but ka had greater plans for him. The ka-tet he acquires during the series bears many resemblances to his childhood ka-tet, who were all killed trying to help Roland on his quest. How he treats his new ka-tet when faced with decisions between their lives and his quest is a key component of the novels. Ultimately, his ka-tet represent a chance for redemption and a means by which he can ultimately change his ka in itself.

[edit] Relations with other characters

Roland's oldest enemy is Randall Flagg, a villain who appears in many of King's works. Flagg's character appears in many different incarnations throughout the series. He is a minion of the Crimson King himself, though he is ultimately hoping to overthrow him. He is often at the heart of most conflicts with Roland throughout the Gunslinger's lifetime.

[edit] Characteristics

Roland's revolvers are described as long and heavy, with blued steel (originally from his world's Excalibur) and sandalwood grips. During the search for some more ammunition in New York City in The Drawing of the Three, the guns are revealed to be chambered for .45 Long Colt ammunition. An experienced gunslinger, Roland rarely misses when he fires his guns.

King physically compares Roland to a pair of living people: Clint Eastwood in the Sergio Leone movies and, to a greater extent, Stephen King himself. There is a moment in the earlier books where Roland's apprentice, Jake, sees Clint Eastwood on a movie poster and remarks how similar his eyes are to the gunslinger's. Roland himself sees Stephen King as a young man and recognizes that they share many of the same physical features. Physical appearance aside, King has often remarked that Roland is one of the few characters with whom he could never really identify. By King's own words, Roland "scared" him.