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Thread: Was the tower ever under threat ? :spoilers:

  1. #1
    Traveler Colton Grech Micallef is on a distinguished road

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    Default Was the tower ever under threat ? :spoilers:

    Hi everybody I'm new here so I may be a little inexperienced. I have had this question since I read the books,

    ?


    I hope this is understandable and please bear with me as this is my first attempt and english is not my first language

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    shrewd and knavish sprite flaggwalkstheline will become famous soon enough flaggwalkstheline's Avatar

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    it's my understanding that yes the tower was under threat from the CK and his breakers

    as far as the
    Spoiler:
    loop
    goes, there are quite a few ideas about it, i think that roland's quests are as much about saving himself as they are about the tower, even if he doesn't know it
    if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do

  3. #3
    Traveler Colton Grech Micallef is on a distinguished road

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    That is also my understanding
    .

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    For me - and this is a purely personal interpretation

    Spoiler:
    The Tower and Roland are linked and until Roland can redeem himself the Tower will always be in danger, therefore it has to take a gamble to send him back each time to save them both


    As i said its a purely personal thought, however it also helps with the ending of the book in regards to the Crimson King
    Spoiler:
    who would also appear to be linked, if you think of how the crimson king was so strong at the start of the series and also in other books, therfore as the tower and roland himself disintergrated spiritually so did the crimson king. My reasoning for this is probabley something my mind has made up because it was so unhappy with the soft insane crimson king that roland eventually met

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    Well, I'll tell you what: this website gets a lot of different questions from newbies and all kinds of theories about the ending, but this one really seems to cut straight to the heart of some of the most perplexing issues left from many of the deeper discussions which I've been involved in over the years here.

    Is Roland's personal growth really so important? If so, why? Is there not any better way for him to learn how to be a better person?

    When you think about it, though, King's version of this rather clichéd plot twist serves, probably just by luck, as a pretty powerful metaphor for some awfully perplexing questions about God and real people. Is it truly good that we should have free will such that we can kill ourselves? And are we really so free that it's genuinely possible for us to collectively destroy this whole world?

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    Fundraiser Emeritus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958's Avatar

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    To me, No not really. It was a threat created to motivate Roland and the Ka-Tet. When push came to shove if Roland didn't answer the bell something would've intervened. I think that is supported by the "Loop" to a degree.
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    My understanding is that it is always in danger.

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    Fundraiser Emeritus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
    My understanding is that it is always in danger.
    Well, yeah sort of "In Danger always, but then again not" If you know what I mean. Sounds nuts I know, but if you think about it maybe not so much so.


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    Quote Originally Posted by Merlin1958 View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
    My understanding is that it is always in danger.
    Well, yeah sort of "In Danger always, but then again not" If you know what I mean. Sounds nuts I know, but if you think about it maybe not so much so.


    I am totally sure that this is exactly what happens. The tower is always in danger, in need of saving, and being saved.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jean View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Merlin1958 View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
    My understanding is that it is always in danger.
    Well, yeah sort of "In Danger always, but then again not" If you know what I mean. Sounds nuts I know, but if you think about it maybe not so much so.


    I am totally sure that this is exactly what happens. The tower is always in danger, in need of saving, and being saved.
    I am with Bears here. Also who's to say that Roland is the only one saving it? I think there are others on their own quests............there are other worlds than these.

    "Head Clear. Mouth shut. See Much. Say little." Roland Deschain


    "Go your way, I'll take the long way 'round. Ill find my own way down, as I should." Ben Howard

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    Fundraiser Emeritus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958 is loved more than Jesus Merlin1958's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by blavigne View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Jean View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Merlin1958 View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
    My understanding is that it is always in danger.
    Well, yeah sort of "In Danger always, but then again not" If you know what I mean. Sounds nuts I know, but if you think about it maybe not so much so.


    I am totally sure that this is exactly what happens. The tower is always in danger, in need of saving, and being saved.
    I am with Bears here. Also who's to say that Roland is the only one saving it? I think there are others on their own quests............there are other worlds than these.
    Good Point!!!!
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    So is the tower conscious? Is the tower an extension of Gan? Does the tower really have any effect on what happens? What truly made Roland loop back? Was it Gan, the tower, ka?

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    If it weren't in danger, then why would he keep getting sent back? and is it possible that, just maybe, he himself is a threat, erby explaining why the Tower denies him true entry?

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    Ooooooooooh now THAT is a nice discussion question...

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    hey it's a question that begs to be asked. after all, roland himself informs the reader numerous times that the Tower has many magical forms of self-preservation, the rose being among them. perhaps it was using subterfuge against him to prevent from being breached? perhaps the line of eld was not meant to cross that barrier, perhaps being why the crimson king was imprisoned on the balcony, for maybe the Tower knew that his auspices would see through it's obfuscations if he managed to win access?

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    Or maybe the Tower just didn't actually want Roland's final ascent to be published for everyone on Keystone Earth.

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    Life is beautiful LadyHitchhiker has a spectacular aura about LadyHitchhiker has a spectacular aura about LadyHitchhiker's Avatar

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    Where does the tower get consciousness from? Mechanical? God? Has this been discussed?

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    Yeah, it's a good topic, (try the Gan=God? thread) but I think it's a useful metaphor to talk about the intentions of the Tower even if it may not actually have literal intentions and/or their source is unclear.

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    Traveler johnny39 is on a distinguished road

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    I think the only way you can say it is truly "in danger" is if there really is a "final journey" in which the horn of eld, or some other thing is there so it is "done right".

    Or perhaps the tower simply represents Roland's release from the cycle and isn't really what all the worlds spin on.

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    The tower is ALWAYS in "danger" The tower will always need Roland to protect it. Because Ka is a wheel and it never stops turning! The tower is the "wheel" that spins our world and all of the worlds. There is no "final journey" The cycle wail keep happening and Roland will never be released. Sad as it may sound for Roland the tower is his! Forever and Ever. What happens in Roland's quest for the tower might be different each time, but Roland will always have to protect the tower.

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    I think that maybe when Roland "does it right", his personal journey will end and he will be able to hand off the job to another from the line of Eld. Maybe when he reaches the tower with his horn. I believe that there is a clearing for Roland and that he will find it. However the tower will always need protecting and someone will always be doing it.

    "Head Clear. Mouth shut. See Much. Say little." Roland Deschain


    "Go your way, I'll take the long way 'round. Ill find my own way down, as I should." Ben Howard

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Adumbros View Post
    If it weren't in danger, then why would he keep getting sent back? and is it possible that, just maybe, he himself is a threat, erby explaining why the Tower denies him true entry?
    A good question. Why would God let someone suffer if he didn't deserve it? Even if such a thing might really happen, it wouldn't happen in fiction. Except maybe horror fiction.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pathoftheturtle View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Adumbros View Post
    If it weren't in danger, then why would he keep getting sent back? and is it possible that, just maybe, he himself is a threat, erby explaining why the Tower denies him true entry?
    A good question. Why would God let someone suffer if he didn't deserve it? Even if such a thing might really happen, it wouldn't happen in fiction. Except maybe horror fiction.
    Is that supposed to be sarcasm?

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    Me? I don't think so. I mean, it is a complex subject, but I was honestly trying to further contribute. A lot of folken seem to nearly overlook the moral order angle. The last post from blavigne seems like a nice compromise, if it's true that the Tower is ALWAYS endangered for some reason; there's the idea that Gan would find a way to let Roland, at least, finally rest.

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