The Gunslinger
Encyclopedia
The Gunslinger is a novel by American author Stephen King
, and is the first volume in the Dark Tower
series, which King considers to be his magnum opus
. It was first published in 1982
. The story centers upon Roland Deschain
, the last gunslinger who has been chasing after his adversary, "the man in black
", for many years. The novel follows Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake Chambers
who travels with him part of the way.
" by Robert Browning
, which King read as a sophomore at the University of Maine
. King explains that he "played with the idea of trying a long romantic novel embodying the feel, if not the exact sense, of the Browning poem." King started writing this novel on a ream of bright green paper that he found at the library.
The five parts that constitute the novel were originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:
It took King twelve and a half years to finish the novel. The finished product was first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as a limited edition in 1982. In 1988, Plume released it in trade paperback form. Since then, the book has been re-issued in various formats and included in boxed sets with other volumes of the series.
In 2003 the novel was reissued in a revised and expanded version with modified language and added and changed scenes intended to resolve inconsistencies with the later books in the series.
It is dedicated to Ed Ferman, long-time editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
, and his quest to catch the man in black
, the first of many steps towards his ultimate destination - the Dark Tower.
The main story takes place in a world that is somewhat similar to the Old West but exists in an alternate time frame or parallel universe
to ours. Roland exists in a place where "the world has moved on." This world has a few things in common with our own, however, including memories of the song "Hey Jude
" and the child's rhyme that begins "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
". Vestiges of forgotten or skewed versions of real-world technology also appear, such as a reference to a gas pump that is worshipped as a god named "Amoco
", and an abandoned way station with a water pump which is powered by an "atomic slug".
As Roland travels across the desert with his mule
in search of the man in black, he encounters Brown, a farmer, and Zoltan, his crow, who graciously offers to put him up for the night. While he is there, we learn of his time spent in Tull through a flashback
. Tull was a small town which Roland came to not too long before the start of the novel. The man in black had passed through the town previously; he brought a dead man back to life, and left a trap for Roland: the town itself. After Roland spends some time there, the leader of the local church
reveals to him that the man in black has impregnated her, and has turned her against Roland. She turns the entire town on Roland; men, women, and children. In order to escape with his life, Roland is forced to kill every resident of the town, including his lover, Allie. Telling this story seems cathartic
for Roland. When he awakes the next day, his mule is dead, forcing him to proceed on foot. Before Roland leaves, Brown asks his permission to eat the mule.
At the way station Roland first encounters Jake Chambers
, who died in his own universe when he was pushed in front of a car while walking to school. Roland is nearly dead when he makes it to the way station, and Jake brings him water and jerky while he is recovering. Jake does not know how long he has been at the way station, nor does he know exactly how he got there. He hid when the man in black passed by the way station. Roland hypnotizes
him to determine the details of his death, but makes him forget before he awakes (since Jake's death was extremely violent and painful). Before they leave the way station they encounter a demon
in the cellar while looking for food. After their palaver, Roland snatches the jawbone from the skeleton in the hole, from which the demon speaks.
After leaving the way station, Jake and Roland eventually make their way out of the desert into more welcoming lands. Roland rescues Jake from an encounter with an oracle
, and then couples with the oracle himself in order to learn more about his fate and path to the Dark Tower. Roland gives Jake the jawbone from the way station to focus on while he is gone. After Roland returns, Jake discards the jawbone. As Jake and Roland make their way closer to the mountain, Jake begins to fear what will become of him.
In a flashback, we learn about Roland's chance encounter in a kitchen which leads to the hanging of Hax, the cook. The apprentice gunslingers are allowed to witness the hanging with their fathers' permission. Roland reveals how he was tricked into calling out his teacher Cort early, through the treachery of Marten
. He succeeded in defeating Cort in battle through his ingenious weapon selection - his hawk, David.
Jake and Roland make their way into the twisting tunnels below the mountain, propelled along by an ancient mine cart. During the journey, they are attacked by the "Slow Mutants", monstrous subterranean creatures. Roland fights the Slow Mutants off and they proceed. Eventually they find the Man in Black, and as Jake dangles precariously from the tracks, Roland comes to a pivotal choice; save Jake or pursue the Man in Black. Roland chooses to follow the Man in Black and Jake falls to his death. Just before he falls, Jake tells Roland: "Go then, there are other worlds than these."
After sacrificing Jake in the mountain, Roland makes his way down to speak to the man in black. The man in black reads Roland's fate from a pack of cards, including "the sailor" (Jake), "the prisoner" (Eddie Dean) "the lady of shadows" (Odetta Holmes), "death" (but not for Roland), and the Tower itself, as the center of everything. The man in black states that he is merely a pawn of Roland's true enemy, the one who now controls the Dark Tower itself.
The man in black creates a representation of the universe, attempting to frighten Roland by showing him how truly insignificant he is in the grand scheme of things, and asks him to give up his quest. Roland refuses, and is made to fall asleep by the man in black. When he wakes up, ten years have passed and there is a skeleton next to him — what he assumes to be the man in black. Roland then sits on the edge of the Western Sea, contemplating the three people he now is charged with bringing into All-World - the Prisoner, the Lady of Shadows, and the Pusher.
Some changes include:
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, and is the first volume in the Dark Tower
The Dark Tower (series)
The Dark Tower is a series of books written by American author Stephen King, which incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy, science fantasy, horror and western. It describes a "Gunslinger" and his quest toward a tower, the nature of which is both physical and metaphorical. King...
series, which King considers to be his magnum opus
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
. It was first published in 1982
1982 in literature
The year 1982 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*La Bicyclette Bleue by Régine Deforges becomes France's best selling novel ever.-New books:...
. The story centers upon Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
, the last gunslinger who has been chasing after his adversary, "the man in black
Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
", for many years. The novel follows Roland's trek through a vast desert and beyond in search of the man in black. Roland meets several people along his journey, including a boy named Jake Chambers
Jake Chambers
John "Jake" Chambers is a fictional character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. He first appeared in the short story "The Way Station" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980, which was later compiled as one of the chapters of the first Dark Tower book, The...
who travels with him part of the way.
Background and publication
The novel was inspired by the poem "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower CameChilde Roland to the Dark Tower Came
"Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" is a poem by English author Robert Browning, written in 1855 and first published that same year in the collection entitled Men and Women. The title, which forms the last words of the poem, is a line from William Shakespeare's play King Lear...
" by Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
, which King read as a sophomore at the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
. King explains that he "played with the idea of trying a long romantic novel embodying the feel, if not the exact sense, of the Browning poem." King started writing this novel on a ream of bright green paper that he found at the library.
The five parts that constitute the novel were originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction:
- "The GunslingerThe Gunslinger (novella)"The Gunslinger" is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in October 1978. In 1982, "The Gunslinger" was collected with four other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger...
" (October 1978) - "The Way StationThe Way Station"The Way Station" is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980. In 1982, "The Way Station" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger...
" (April 1980) - "The Oracle and the MountainsThe Oracle and the Mountains"The Oracle and the Mountains" is a short story by Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February 1981. In 1982, "The Oracle and the Mountains" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as...
" (February 1981) - "The Slow MutantsThe Slow Mutants"The Slow Mutants" is a novella by Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in July 1981. In 1982, "The Slow Mutants" was collected with four other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction as The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger...
" (July 1981) - "The Gunslinger and the Dark ManThe Gunslinger and the Dark Man"The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" is a short story by Stephen King, originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in November 1981. In 1982, "The Gunslinger and the Dark Man" was collected with several other stories King published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction...
" (November 1981)
It took King twelve and a half years to finish the novel. The finished product was first published by Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc. as a limited edition in 1982. In 1988, Plume released it in trade paperback form. Since then, the book has been re-issued in various formats and included in boxed sets with other volumes of the series.
In 2003 the novel was reissued in a revised and expanded version with modified language and added and changed scenes intended to resolve inconsistencies with the later books in the series.
It is dedicated to Ed Ferman, long-time editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Synopsis
It tells the story of the gunslinger, Roland of GileadRoland Deschain
Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and antihero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society...
, and his quest to catch the man in black
Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
, the first of many steps towards his ultimate destination - the Dark Tower.
The main story takes place in a world that is somewhat similar to the Old West but exists in an alternate time frame or parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
to ours. Roland exists in a place where "the world has moved on." This world has a few things in common with our own, however, including memories of the song "Hey Jude
Hey Jude
"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song widely accepted as being written to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, during his parents' divorce—although this explanation is not...
" and the child's rhyme that begins "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit
"Beans, Beans, The Musical Fruit" is a schoolyard saying and children's song about the capacity for beans to contribute to flatulence. The song is also variously known as "Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit", "Beans, Beans, the Miracle Fruit", and "Beans, Beans, the Wonderful Fruit"...
". Vestiges of forgotten or skewed versions of real-world technology also appear, such as a reference to a gas pump that is worshipped as a god named "Amoco
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
", and an abandoned way station with a water pump which is powered by an "atomic slug".
As Roland travels across the desert with his mule
Mule
A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Horses and donkeys are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes. Of the two F1 hybrids between these two species, a mule is easier to obtain than a hinny...
in search of the man in black, he encounters Brown, a farmer, and Zoltan, his crow, who graciously offers to put him up for the night. While he is there, we learn of his time spent in Tull through a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
. Tull was a small town which Roland came to not too long before the start of the novel. The man in black had passed through the town previously; he brought a dead man back to life, and left a trap for Roland: the town itself. After Roland spends some time there, the leader of the local church
Local church
A local church is a Christian congregation of members and clergy.Local church may also refer to:* Local churches , a Christian group based on the teachings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, and associated with the Living Stream Ministry publishing house.* Parish church, a local church united with...
reveals to him that the man in black has impregnated her, and has turned her against Roland. She turns the entire town on Roland; men, women, and children. In order to escape with his life, Roland is forced to kill every resident of the town, including his lover, Allie. Telling this story seems cathartic
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
for Roland. When he awakes the next day, his mule is dead, forcing him to proceed on foot. Before Roland leaves, Brown asks his permission to eat the mule.
At the way station Roland first encounters Jake Chambers
Jake Chambers
John "Jake" Chambers is a fictional character in Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels. He first appeared in the short story "The Way Station" in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in April 1980, which was later compiled as one of the chapters of the first Dark Tower book, The...
, who died in his own universe when he was pushed in front of a car while walking to school. Roland is nearly dead when he makes it to the way station, and Jake brings him water and jerky while he is recovering. Jake does not know how long he has been at the way station, nor does he know exactly how he got there. He hid when the man in black passed by the way station. Roland hypnotizes
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
him to determine the details of his death, but makes him forget before he awakes (since Jake's death was extremely violent and painful). Before they leave the way station they encounter a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
in the cellar while looking for food. After their palaver, Roland snatches the jawbone from the skeleton in the hole, from which the demon speaks.
After leaving the way station, Jake and Roland eventually make their way out of the desert into more welcoming lands. Roland rescues Jake from an encounter with an oracle
Succubus
In folklore traced back to medieval legend, a succubus is a female demon appearing in dreams who takes the form of a human woman in order to seduce men, usually through sexual intercourse. The male counterpart is the incubus...
, and then couples with the oracle himself in order to learn more about his fate and path to the Dark Tower. Roland gives Jake the jawbone from the way station to focus on while he is gone. After Roland returns, Jake discards the jawbone. As Jake and Roland make their way closer to the mountain, Jake begins to fear what will become of him.
In a flashback, we learn about Roland's chance encounter in a kitchen which leads to the hanging of Hax, the cook. The apprentice gunslingers are allowed to witness the hanging with their fathers' permission. Roland reveals how he was tricked into calling out his teacher Cort early, through the treachery of Marten
Randall Flagg
Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. Flagg has appeared in seven novels by King, sometimes as the main antagonist and others in a brief cameo. He often appears under different names; most are abbreviated by the initials R.F. There are exceptions to this rule; in The Dark...
. He succeeded in defeating Cort in battle through his ingenious weapon selection - his hawk, David.
Jake and Roland make their way into the twisting tunnels below the mountain, propelled along by an ancient mine cart. During the journey, they are attacked by the "Slow Mutants", monstrous subterranean creatures. Roland fights the Slow Mutants off and they proceed. Eventually they find the Man in Black, and as Jake dangles precariously from the tracks, Roland comes to a pivotal choice; save Jake or pursue the Man in Black. Roland chooses to follow the Man in Black and Jake falls to his death. Just before he falls, Jake tells Roland: "Go then, there are other worlds than these."
After sacrificing Jake in the mountain, Roland makes his way down to speak to the man in black. The man in black reads Roland's fate from a pack of cards, including "the sailor" (Jake), "the prisoner" (Eddie Dean) "the lady of shadows" (Odetta Holmes), "death" (but not for Roland), and the Tower itself, as the center of everything. The man in black states that he is merely a pawn of Roland's true enemy, the one who now controls the Dark Tower itself.
The man in black creates a representation of the universe, attempting to frighten Roland by showing him how truly insignificant he is in the grand scheme of things, and asks him to give up his quest. Roland refuses, and is made to fall asleep by the man in black. When he wakes up, ten years have passed and there is a skeleton next to him — what he assumes to be the man in black. Roland then sits on the edge of the Western Sea, contemplating the three people he now is charged with bringing into All-World - the Prisoner, the Lady of Shadows, and the Pusher.
Revised and Expanded edition
King revised The Gunslinger in 2003. In his introduction to the new edition, King stated that he felt that the original version was 'dry' and difficult for new readers to access. He also made the storytelling more linear as well as making the plot of the book more consistent with the series' ending. Other changes were made in order to resolve continuity errors introduced by later volumes. The added material was over 9000 words (35 pages) in length.Some changes include:
- Removal of a reference to Roland reading a magazine in Tull. Later information presented in The Drawing of the Three suggested that paper is a scarcity in Roland's world.
- Reference to twelve years having passed since the fall of Gilead, which happened when Roland was a teenager, is changed to "untold years." Otherwise it would be deduced that Roland is in his 30s, when later books imply that Roland is ancient.
- Likewise The Man in Black originally says he is "nearly immortal," where in the revision he says this of both himself and Roland.
- "[Roland] didn't know where Cort was" is changed to "Cort was dead", as the Fall of Gilead was not completely fleshed out until later books.
- Roland's cold-hearted killing of Allie is changed to make him appear more humane. Originally, when the town of Tull turn on Roland, Allie is seized by a townsperson and used as a human shield. She begs Roland not to fire before he ruthlessly guns down both her and her captor. In the revised version, she has been driven mad by Walter by the time she is seized, and begs Roland to put her out of her misery.
- The town of Farson is changed to Taunton, as John FarsonJohn FarsonJohn Farson is a fictional character from Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of novels and comic books. Known as "The Good Man", Farson is the leader of a revolution in In-World who appeals to the common people, wanting to end the training of Gunslingers and re-distribute power. His stated...
was a character in the later books in the series. - References to the Beast were changed to refer to the Crimson KingCrimson KingThe Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
, who otherwise is not mentioned in the series until Wizard and Glass. - "Blue Heaven" and "Algul Siento", terms that are revealed in the final books, are mentioned.
- A single TaheenTaheenThe Taheen are fictional creatures humanlike in proportion, but with animal characteristics. They are mostly mammals and birdlike creatures, and most are under control of the Crimson King. They are mentioned in Stephen King's Dark Tower series; most specifically, they are first hinted at in the...
appears early in the revised version. The Taheen are a race of creatures which wouldn't originally appear until the final three books. - A major textual change is the fate and identity of the Man in Black. In the original text, Walter's death at the end of the story is of no uncertainty to Roland. In the revised edition, Roland speculates if his discovery of Walter's bones is some trick or if he has truly died. The original text also kept Walter and Marten Broadcloak completely disambiguated. Even after the death of Walter, Broadclock was still to be found and killed. Later in Wizard and Glass they, along with Flagg, are all revealed to be one-in-the-same person. Though no reference of the name "Flagg" is made in the revised edition of The Gunslinger, all references to Walter and Marten are altered so that it is plausible they are the same man.
- Jake, originally nine years old, was made 10–11 years old in the revised edition.
- In general, the world the gunslinger walked through in the original text was literally a run-down version of our own - the text mentions England, the star Polaris, Mars, Jesus and other biblical figures, Easter, All-Saint's Eve (Halloween), and GreekGreek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
and EgyptianAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
Gods. In the revision, these references were removed to make Roland's world only vaguely like our own. - In the early edition Roland's father is Roland the Elder, but is changed to Steven.
- In the expanded edition of the novel, on the last page before the text the single word RESUMPTION appears; in the "Argument" foreword of Wolves of the Calla, King explains that it is the subtitle of the novel.
Editions
- ISBN 0-8488-0780-4 (hardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
, 1986) - ISBN 0-606-04112-5 (preboundPreboundA prebound book is a book that was previously bound and has been rebound with a library quality hardcover binding. In almost all commercial cases, the book in question began as a paperback version.An alternate term is "Library Hardcover Paperback"....
, 1988) - ISBN 0-452-26134-1 (paperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
Plume, reprint edition, September 28, 1988) - ISBN 0-451-16052-5 (paperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
reissue edition, 1989) - ISBN 0-14-086716-3 (audio cassette with paperback, 1998, abridged)
- ISBN 0-670-03254-9 (hardcover, 2003)
- ISBN 0-452-28469-4 (paperback, 2003)
- ISBN 0-451-21084-0 (mass market paperback, 2003)
- ISBN 0-7865-3721-3 (e-bookE-bookAn electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
, 2003)