Originally Posted by
Letti
For my part I don't think Roland makes loops... but spirals. It's not my idea but I am absolutely convinced. And if we are talking about a spiral there is no time travelling.
Here is a picture I made it's damn clumsy but that's how I see Roland's journey right now.
"D" means desert.
So all his journeys seem very very similar (their beginnings and ends are specially) but all of them are different and new.
I agree with this thought, that Roland's
loop is actually more of a spiral than a loop. In fact, it's all summed with the poignant number
19. Take a look at that number. If you look hard, you could argue that it's shaped like a man (the 1), getting sucked into a constant spiral (the 9).
Unfortunately, Roland (and none of the rest of his ka-tet) had ever considered the option of Roland being in a loop. If they had considered this, and focused on 19 the right way, they might have seen this in the number itself. What's strange is that in some ways, everyone
does subconsiously know that Roland is looping/spiraling. Jake, Eddie, and Suze all know that the Tower is his one and only obsession, and he's cursed for it.
So, this is all about Roland. But why? That's the mega question.
Maybe it's because Roland doesn't actually believe in Gan (God), or he certainly doesn't prioritize him. Roland worships the icon (the Tower) more than the actual force behind the icon (Gan/Ka/God). I'm not 100% sure (only read through the series once), but don't the other ka-tet members believe in Gan/God... I know for sure that Susannah does. They are likely granted a form of serenity in the end because of their unselfishness, and faith in Gan. I think that Roland will loop through this cyclical curse for as long as his motives are selfish, instead of solely for serving Gan.
Pride comes before the fall. In Roland's case, Pride comes before the loop.