Yes, and good call - I'd forgotten about Sheemie's gingerbread house :thumbsup:
Yes, and good call - I'd forgotten about Sheemie's gingerbread house :thumbsup:
That (Roland repeating it over and again) is one thing that always puzzled me. If Keystone was supposed to move forward, with no "do-overs", how is he supposed to have been going on this cycle so many times?
Your answers here make a lot of sense, though. Maybe the deal with Keystone and time only going forward applies to "regular" time-traveling (ie, the doors, todash-induced trips). For the Tower, though, it can go forwards, backwards, and sideways. Makes sense - Roland's watch starts running backwards when he gets close to the Tower, characters mentioning how time is funny or slipping.
A thought just came to me: If Keystone and All-World are twins, then does that mean that time only runs one way in Roland's world as well? It goes back to my whole theory of Roland's quest essentially being about saving the Keystone world from All-World's fate. What doesn't make since in this scenario is death, as in the case of Jake under the mountains, which I'm not sure we've figured out. Come to think of it, Eddie died in Roland's world and he shows up at the end with Jake as well, which makes Jake's death in Keystone kind of irrelevant in terms of significance.
Just thinking out loud.
Letti, as I see it...
Time does not exist:evil:
right this very now is in
fact then , and later, its
all here @ same instance.
Just like you & I are in
fact together with only
minor molecular changes
perceived as separation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Letti
If keystone world has no "do-overs", how is Roland meant to change things? It's just going to happen the same right? Just with the horn this time.
I'm not sure I know how to state this, but I don't think it's an endless loop that Roland is on.
For one, this next "pass" he's got the horn of Eld. So it will (should) be a different journey. I always thought that he was, perhaps, learning something new with each "cycle" through to the Tower.
Perhaps this time through, with the Horn of Eld, he will find the Tower at the end and it will be something completely different and he will find rest and purity and consolation. His perfect end.
I always kind of assumed, Roland "getting" the Horn of Eld was some kind of "payment" for his love of Jake, Suzanna and Eddie. He learned that he needed them, they were not just a tool to be used to find the Tower. They were a part of him and a part of the Tower.
I'm not sure, really, how to state it clearly, sorry.
We can say a lot of things about time. None of them are true. None of them are false. It's above us.Quote:
Originally Posted by alindaLetti, as I see it...
Time does not exist:evil:
right this very now is in
fact then , and later, its
all here @ same instance.
Just like you & I are in
fact together with only
minor molecular changes
perceived as separation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Letti
Thanks for all the theories. I sort of agree with the idea that the Dark Tower has control of all worlds. The axle, if you will. So I think he goes back to the same time frame. Otherwise, even the part about his ancestor somehow leaving a note in the 1800s for that one guy in NY-bookstore to hold onto, that part would not make sense.
Where is Roland in this cycle? Was this the 1st time, the 100th time, the 3rd time, and will it end this time or never? I would like to think if he gets it right at some point it will end. It makes it fun to imagine all the possible new stories out there, but it is also very frustrating. Are we going to end up with dozens of book spin-offs like in Star Wars?
I would like to believe that somehow he gets it right and moves on himself. I picture at somepoint him facing the part of him that was lost when he got inside that sphere at the Baronies while meeting Susan. I think that was his turning point to searching for the Tower but also he changed a bit and everything became 2nd priority including his friends and loved ones. My ending would have him somehow face that part of his mind at the top of the tower and somehow fight himself. The younger, quicker, irrational Roland vs the older, injured, wiser Roland. And somehow in a spectacular gun fight ( like maybe he shoots his own bullets out from the air and.....) Then the world begins to move back together and rebuild itself again with Roland's descendant? another part in the story that needs added taking over. Meanwhile Roland somehow goes to a different world to be with Susan again as a reward from Gan since she sacrificed herself and aided immensely in the Gunslinger's overall quest.
Anyone ever see the movie Solarbabies? I just saw it again for the first time since a kid. Do you think King got the idea of spheres from that movie?
The overall story is almost that of opposite of hero. Roland is the main character/hero with all the qualities of superior gun-fighting skills, courage, wit, strength, endurance, and many hero qualities. Yet, in the end his hero quality of not letting things like friend or loved one get in his way of the ultimate goal in his mind gets the best of him and makes him fail. That is his weakness. I guess that is sort of the overall theme. Although there are a lot of great little themes throughout the process which, I think, are more important.
That's why I think King added the part about not going to the end. The journey is what made it such a good story and is what was important. The end was just a continuation of that and not really even an ending.
I've merged three previous discussions and changed the original title, to create a thread where all aspects of time on different levels of the Tower/other worlds/whens can be discussed :thumbsup: