A full list of Stephen King works is located at the bottom of the blog.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Gunslinger--Week Four and Final Discussion


Late again with this.  I'm hoping that everyone else (or, at least, some) are as behind as me! As I mentioned, this book was a re-read for me and I have to say, I liked it better the second time around.  I think my mind is more ready for it than it was before.

Here are some final questions for thought.  You can answer them or describe your thoughts in your own way.
  1. Why does the man in black refer to Jake as the gunslinger's "Isaac"? What is he referencing here, and what are the implications of his insinuation? 
  2. How can we make the argument that Jake comes to represent to Roland a kind of symbolic son? Reread the passage following Roland's sacrifice of Jake. How does the episode affect the gunslinger?
  3. Unpack the loaded final section of The Gunslinger, where King performs a head-spinning metaphysical riff on the cosmos and the notion of "Size," and then reveals a range of vital information about the Beast guarding the Tower, the Ageless Stranger (Maerlyn), and other elements of the adventure that awaits the gunslinger. 
  4. Based on the words of the man in black, what do you expect from the The Drawing of the Three?
1.  The man in black is referencing the biblical story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac at God's order.  However, Abraham did not go through with it because an angel of God stopped him.  I'm not sure what the implications of his insinuation are because Roland does sacrifice Jake.  I guess the fact that he was willing to do it is significant.
2.  At the very end of the book, Roland says, "I loved you, Jake."  That, in itself, shows us how he felt about the boy.  I think it will affect him for the rest of his life.  He will never be able to forget what he did, or the boy's face.  He says he will become the boy.  I'm not sure what that means, but perhaps it will be revealed.
3.  I'm actually not sure what this is asking, but I thought the entire metaphysical section was spectacular.  It reminds us that we are all just a smaller part of something much bigger.  The foreshadowing of things to come with the Beast (ooooh) and Maerlyn (strangely similar to Merlin--am I sensing a Arthurian slant here?) have me really excited to move on with the series!
4.  Well, it seems pretty obvious that Roland will go to sea and he will have the power of the drawing, but the power is already in him.  The man in black confuses the hell out of me sometimes!

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The reading schedule for The Drawing of the Three will also be posted.  I'm going to make this first week's reading section shorter because of my late start.

3 comments:

  1. Have you thought about the implications of Isaac being a son, though? Is the man in black hinting at something besides the sacrifice? Hmmm...

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    1. Enlighten me, Heather, because it's going completely over my head. I was looking at some of the questions for Drawing of the Three and I'm scratching my head. Maybe I just have too much going on right now to comprehend fully!

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  2. I fell behind on my discussion questions, but I may come back with my thoughts.

    I wasn't sure where we should post our reviews, so I'll just put the link below:

    http://darlenesbooknook.blogspot.ca/2012/10/audiobook-review-gunslinger-by-stephen.html

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