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View Full Version : The Gunslinger: Chapter 2, The Way Station



sarajean
06-17-2007, 02:04 PM
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o199/sarajeanm/dt1chapter2.jpg

dehydration can cause hallucinations, boys and girls. at the start of this chapter, our hero is thinking back on his mommy singing him to sleep at nap-time. he's having a hard time remembering things that just happened to him, but the past is close. he thinks about cort again. whoever he is, he sounds like kind of a bastard.

two buildings in the semi-distance. the man in black? :o wait...he's smaller...no, that can't be him. oh. it's not. it's a boy. time for a bit of a faint, methinks.

when he comes to, the boy is taking care of him the best that he can...there's water and some hay under his head. we learn the boy's name is john/jake chambers, aka 'bama. remember that, it might be important later on. maybe it won't, though.

turns out the boy saw the man in black that roland is after, but he was scared (and rightly so), so he hid. how long ago was he there? three poops. :lol: awesome. where did this boy come from? well, he can't remember. hmph. kind of convenient. all he can remember is some stuff that seems so fantastic, he must be telling tales. wait, what's a beam?

roland hypnotizes the kid, who remembers his slutty mom and his coke-head dad. and some other stuff about a city that doesn't match up to anything that roland is familiar with. huh. oh yeah, the kid got run over by a car, he died and woke up here. seems that it was the man in black who pushed him in front of said car. (or was it? dun dun duuuuunnnnn!) roland tells the kid it's okay to forget and lets him go to sleep. while the boy is sleeping, he thinks some more about cort and various people he's killed. what a nice guy. seems like he may realize already what's in store for jake. he takes a little nap, and when he wakes up, the boy's outside.

we need to talk.

the kid agrees to come with him, and they make plans to go down into the spooky cellar in the morning for supplies.

it stinks. there are some spiders that my oldest son would go apeshit over....oh, and some cans. food.

what the hell is going on? oh, don't worry about that, it's just a demon in the wall. "Go slow past the Drawers, gunslinger. Watch for the taheen. While you travel with the boy, the man in black travels with your soul in his pocket." uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. that's it. then he reaches into the wall and takes out a jawbone. gross. you'd do well to remember that, boys and girls. i have a feeling it's not just filler.

they set off. (jake waving good-bye to the way station reminds me of the first time we took drake to disneyland when he was three, and he waved good bye then. here, it kind of breaks my heart a little.) jake feels like they're being watched.

3 days later, and they're seeing trees in the distance. (shit! i just spilled my water! give me a minute.) jake's pushing himself, and he's not really slowing roland down too much. it seems they're starting to catch up to the guy they're following. "'ware the man that fakes a limp."

cos of something jake says, roland starts to think about gilead and other things. he puts the kid to sleep and then....mmmm. he rolls a cigarette.

*flashback*

roland and his buddies, the g.i.t. are learning to use a hawk as a weapon. cos cuthbert sucks, he's punished with no supper. see, i told you this cort seemed like a bastard. whatev. they'll just have the friendly cook sneak them some. while they're hiding, eating their dessert, though, they learn that hax (the cook) is a traitor...he's working for the good man (farson, aka marten, aka walter aka the man in black), who it doesn't seem is actually so good. there's going to be some poisoned food delivered to taunton. (correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't it originally the farson road?) cos of roland's training, and duty, he goes to report it to his da, no matter that it means the cook will hang. he gets permission to go watch the cook get his "neck popped." cort (that bastard) gives ro and cuthbert a loaf of old bread...for the birds.

they get there early, and decide to check out the gallows. roland takes a splinter of wood so that he can have it always. i wonder whatever happened to it? that's two things i'm wondering about now...the compass and the splinter. people start showing up for the hanging, and it's like a picnic with entertainment. that disturbed me a little. more disturbing, though, was that hax went to his death with his final words left unspoken. i wonder what he was about to say? "I never..." i never what? i never put the milk back in the cold box? i never told anyone i like little boys? what? (sorry, that's inappropriate. deal.) they break the bread up for the birds. is this so that they'll leave the body alone for awhile? i guess i never really got that bit.

anyway, roland comes back from his reverie and jake is pointing...they can kind of see the man in black hopping around up in the mountains. roland's right hip is hurting. remember this. you may be tested on the material. they stop, and jake falls asleep while eating. roland is already thinking of him as a sacrifice as he tucks him in. what a sweetie.

Matt
06-19-2007, 06:36 AM
This is great SJ, I can't wait to sit down and spell out my impressions.

I wanted to let you know that I plan on adding a "community" type page that will feature this plus a whole bunch of other "forum" things we are doing.

:couple:

sarajean
06-19-2007, 10:00 AM
i've only been waiting for two days for someone to reply! :P

yeah, i'm hoping to get the discussion rolling on this chapter, cos i think there's a lot of important stuff here that we could go on about.

Matt
06-19-2007, 04:15 PM
I was actually really moved by the Hax scene in this part. I hadn't really paid attention to it in the past because it was kind of a..."oh, they hang the cook" thing.

This time it was so wild to me because there was such a strong feeling toward loyalty to the Way of Eld. Even when Steve asks his teenage son how he felt about it, Roland tells him he was basically indifferent.

After much prodding...why? Because Hax was a fucking traitor, that's why. In Rolands young world, preserving the "white" was the most important thing and I think a lot of his drive across the books comes from that idea.

pol
06-19-2007, 07:23 PM
I really like this chapter in book one as it signifiies the first step, a very crucial one, in the development of Roland's character.

But first I wanted to say a bit about the changes in the revised version which are interesting compared to the original.

The first is the mention of North Central Positronics...I think in the original storyline (excluding the revised) NCP is first mentioned on the corpse of Shardik, the bear guardian. In the revised they are mentioned in this chapter as the makers of the water pump in the way station. I am not so sure that this is real critical, I just liked how they were mentioned here, early on.

The second is when Roland and Jake leave the way station. In the original they just leave....in the revised, as they leave Jake suggests that they are being watched...and that maybe someone had been with them there all the time. This of course foreshadows WOTC as we now find out that Walter was indeed there, and he was watching them as they left...I believe this is just before Callahan's arrival..which of course opens up other implications about just what the way station represents. Jake dies in "our" world and ends up at the way station, so does Callahan. Also both are there for only a short period of time prior to "moving on" to their next business....Callahan's in the Calla and Jake as Roland's sacrifice. It really makes you see the way station for what it is...a short stopping point, or rest point, between worlds.

Finally, as I think it has been alluded to in another post, is the replacement of Farson Road by the Taunton Road in the revised version....to me it seems like it implies that Farson is not in charge yet (he doesn't have a road named after him) and that he is still only a revolutionary whose time of "greatness" has yet to come.

Now onto something a bit more interesting...towards the end of the chapter Roland gets the sense that the man in black is begining to slow down. This to me has always meant a great deal. Roland has been casting after the man in black for years, and now, all of a sudden, he seems closer than ever before. Obviously the man in black wants to be caught and he wants to use Jake as a way to either call off Roland from the tower (however perhaps with the knowledge of Book VII we know this not to be quite true) or to further damn Roland's soul with the price of the boy's blood.

Quite a bit of speculation here but it seems to me that Roland needed to destroy Jake...which we will hopefully talk about a little more in Chapter IV...but this is where it all starts so it deserves a mention. I think it is needed for more than just the obvious of needing to catch Walter, which results in their long palaver, which results in the drawings on the beach and the rest of the story. Jake needs to be killed so Roland can progress. Without his death, Roland learns nothing. And we know that during the portion of the dark tower story we are able to read (the cycle that our book's I-VII represent) he does progress...and even to the point where we see the begining of the next cycle altered just a bit...Roland does after all now have the horn. The desert and the way station represent the begining of change for Roland and thats why I think it is here that the loop occurs, just before finding Jake...and why this chapter is so critical to Roland.

A good chapter...and hopefully one to generate a bit of discussion.

in order to see just what kind of being the Tower was turning him into...this is a small step but I think it is critical. One way to think about it is

Brice
06-20-2007, 05:35 AM
I'm a little behind in my rereading. I am a couple sections into this chapter now. I did however notice one little tie between the Dark Tower and Blaze though. Blaze's real name is Clayton Blaisdell Jr. In Jake's flashback to New York it mentions he reads westerns by a writer named Clay Blaisdell (at least in the revised it does).

Darkthoughts
06-20-2007, 08:09 AM
In the original it just mentions him reading bodice ripper novels - looking for the "hot parts" :D

I also noticed this line in Jake's flashback: He is too young to have learned to hate himself yet, but that seed is already there; it has been planted in the bitter cleft of his heart.
It hadn't really struck me as having any import before, but it interested me this time round - like, even though things don't work out so peachy for our ka-tet at times, it seems their lives were vastly improved in terms of worth and self esteem by being bought into Roland's world. The passage about Jake implies he might well of become an emotionless, professional automaton like his Dad had he remained in our world.

sarah
06-20-2007, 09:03 AM
i never put the milk back in the cold box?


:rofl:


ok thank you sj for your write up and thanks everyone for your posts. Give me a minute to finish the very last part of this chapter and I'll post my thoughts.

sarah
06-24-2007, 05:13 PM
I think that Roland is feeling that he could possibly love jake at this point but he could never let himself because he knows he will let him die at some point. It is sad to me that his soul is so hardened. We see his hard self this early on and near the beginning of The Wastelands we see that he is softening and letting himself love again. I think he closed up after Susan and the years hardened him to the point that he would sacrafice a child that loves him. Yes, I think Jake loves him at this point in our story.


(pol)


Now onto something a bit more interesting...towards the end of the chapter Roland gets the sense that the man in black is begining to slow down. This to me has always meant a great deal. Roland has been casting after the man in black for years, and now, all of a sudden, he seems closer than ever before. Obviously the man in black wants to be caught and he wants to use Jake as a way to either call off Roland from the tower (however perhaps with the knowledge of Book VII we know this not to be quite true) or to further damn Roland's soul with the price of the boy's blood.


How else to damn ones soul evenmore that to have him choose between killing a boy that he knows he loves and the man in black. What a horrible point in the series. Which makes me love The Wastelands even more. We start to see Roland and his redemption.

She-Oy
06-25-2007, 06:23 AM
I always wondered if the man in black KNEW Jake would reappear in Roland's life after the drop. Obviously Roland didn't know it at the time, but I wonder if someone else did (besides King, obviously)

sarah
06-27-2007, 07:14 PM
I'm listening to chapter three at the moment and I'm really excited to explore the need/value of jake and what happens to Roland at this point.

Matt
06-28-2007, 07:20 AM
I am very interested for the discussion on this chapter, it seemed like a turning point for Roland

sarajean
06-28-2007, 08:51 AM
i'll see what i can do about getting it up this sunday. :D

She-Oy
06-28-2007, 09:02 AM
LOL...Yeah, I think that was a hint SJ! (j/k)

sarajean
06-28-2007, 09:38 AM
i've been waiting for people to discuss chapter two!

i've decided that's just not going to happen, so i'll do three on sunday when i have time to write the synopsis.

Erin
07-02-2007, 10:43 AM
Damn Wal-Mart for taking up my time.

I'll be posting in here later this afternoon. I'm almost done with Chapter two.

sarajean
07-02-2007, 11:06 AM
i'm actually not ready to post chapter 3, so if someone else would like to have a go at it, they can, and then i'll put up my synopsis once i have time.

She-Oy
07-02-2007, 11:35 AM
Oh no you don't. This is like when EW's regular TV Watch columnists go on vacation and someone else has to pick up the show for a week or two...then all the constant readers start bitching and complaining about new writer's style...
I think it should be safe to say we can wait on you. LOL. Or at least I can wait on you.

sarajean
07-02-2007, 11:38 AM
awww. :blush:

thanks, heather. that kinda made my day. :D

sarah
07-28-2007, 01:51 PM
hey sarajean, how's the post for chapter three coming along?

**nudge**

Fishonabike
09-04-2007, 06:20 AM
*bump*

Darkthoughts
09-04-2007, 06:23 AM
Good bump Fish...SJ, is this still on? Your synopsis's (?) rock...I was really enjoying it :)

Matt
09-04-2007, 06:42 AM
I believe that Erin is in talks with her team to re work this a bit. Its an amazing idea, we just have to find a way to execute it effectively. :grouphug:

Darkthoughts
09-04-2007, 10:43 AM
Cool!!

She-Oy
10-14-2007, 09:29 AM
I reread this chapter last night, not sure why. I just picked up the book and starting reading it again.

Something struck me really odd this time, especially the Hax part. Hax seemed good for the most part, he fed kids even when he wasn't supposed to. Bad people don't usually do that. But as we soon find out he is some akin to terrorist cronie for Farson. His time is up, he's been called to duty to do some poisoning, and Roland and bert just happened in on the conversation.

What bothered me is that Ro and Bert didn't even really discuss it. They just looked at each other and immediately thought "Shithead!"...even though they had known Hax for a long time and he was good to them.

Ok, I can understand the need to want to run go tell Daddy. But they knew this would mean instant death for the cook. Why didn't they think to ask the cook about it first? They obviously didn't fear him, so maybe a nice long sit down with some homemade pie and good ol' conversation is due before jumping the gun. What if Hax wasn't going to go through with the plan. What if he just said that to make the messenger leave. He obviously didn't want to when he asked if the kids' tummies would hurt...that showed doubt right there.

So jump to the conversation between Ro and daddy, Steve. When dad asked his son "so why'd you tell?" and Roland's first answer was "because he was a traitor", Steve didn't sound too thrilled. He said that was a technicality and shouldn't be a reason. So Roland changed it to "Well he just pissed me off"....ahh, much better answer!! Sadly enough, it was the right one for his father.

One more thing, when Roland asked his dad if they would try to take down Farson, Steven said "nah".

This whole part kinda reminds me of our current war on terror. We are going for the cronies, the pawns, but letting the major players walk away. Why.

Why didn't the gunslingers of old want to immediately take on Farson? Why wait?

It doesn't make sense.

MonteGss
10-16-2007, 09:51 AM
Ok, I can understand the need to want to run go tell Daddy. But they knew this would mean instant death for the cook. Why didn't they think to ask the cook about it first? They obviously didn't fear him, so maybe a nice long sit down with some homemade pie and good ol' conversation is due before jumping the gun.

You don't believe that Hax would have attempted to kill Bert and Roland to quiet them? To make sure he wasn't found out? In a gunslinger's mind, I imagine, a traitor didn't deserve a chance to say his side of the story.


One more thing, when Roland asked his dad if they would try to take down Farson, Steven said "nah".

This whole part kinda reminds me of our current war on terror. We are going for the cronies, the pawns, but letting the major players walk away. Why.

Why didn't the gunslingers of old want to immediately take on Farson? Why wait?

It doesn't make sense.

I guess I didn't see it this way. I don't believe Steven was being up front with Roland. He isn't a gunslinger so I don't think Steven would let him in on their plans.

Jean
10-17-2007, 12:25 AM
thank you sarajean for going on with that, I've been looking forward to your compendium!

as to Hax problem, I'm afraid I can't say anything again, not having read the Revised... in the Original it seemed quite clear to me, though; the kids were brought up in the frontier / besieged fortress spirit. They would have reported their own mothers (something very close to that is about to happen, too) for the sake of the White.

Being a good man who loves children and being a traitor don't seem mutually exclusive sides of characters to me, either.

Letti
10-17-2007, 12:28 AM
Somehow I feel the whole Hax thing was the first big step for Roland to his manhood.

Jean
10-17-2007, 12:37 AM
Definitely so. That's why it takes such a prominent place in The Gunslinger (at least the Original)

MonteGss
10-17-2007, 07:41 AM
It is the same way in the revised Jean. The feeling of the scene did not change a bit. The only changes to that particular part were small word/name changes and such. :)

She-Oy
11-08-2007, 11:29 AM
Well it kinda pissed me off, but I understand why it was written and done. There is no gray for Roland. It's all just a simple black and white world. Allow yourself to see beyond that mindset and you probably wouldn't make a good gunslinger....I know I would suck at it.

Aesculapius
11-11-2007, 01:06 PM
Well it kinda pissed me off, but I understand why it was written and done. There is no gray for Roland. It's all just a simple black and white world. Allow yourself to see beyond that mindset and you probably wouldn't make a good gunslinger....I know I would suck at it.

Dear friend, all theory is gray,
And green the golden tree of life.
-Mephistopheles


I'm sure it's been covered here, but, I think Roland felt betrayed by Hax, perhaps even felt used (knowing that Roland was Steven's son, Hax may have felt by getting close to Roland he could find out even more information).

Letti
11-12-2007, 01:30 AM
Well it kinda pissed me off, but I understand why it was written and done. There is no gray for Roland. It's all just a simple black and white world. Allow yourself to see beyond that mindset and you probably wouldn't make a good gunslinger....I know I would suck at it.

Dear friend, all theory is gray,
And green the golden tree of life.
-Mephistopheles


I'm sure it's been covered here, but, I think Roland felt betrayed by Hax, perhaps even felt used (knowing that Roland was Steven's son, Hax may have felt by getting close to Roland he could find out even more information).

Wow. Yes. Very good points.
Felt used... I have never thought of that before but it can be so true.
Thank you. :rose:

Randall Flagg
11-19-2007, 08:41 AM
I think the Hax incident is Roland's fist decicion that results in the death of somone close to him. The first of many, but it shows that Roland will do what he thinks he must, even if his decision has grave results.

Aesculapius
11-19-2007, 07:44 PM
I think the Hax incident is Roland's fist decicion that results in the death of somone close to him. The first of many, but it shows that Roland will do what he thinks he must, even if his decision has grave results.

Interesting.
That leads me to think that King was using a bit of foreshadowing with the Hax situation.


Hangman, hangman, hold it a little while,
Think I see my friends coming, riding a many mile.

stevesnow
11-20-2007, 12:21 PM
Reread this yesterday and I'm half way up through the Oracle now.

Just wanted to say that I don't think Hax was friendly with Roland in particular just because of the importance of Rolands father. The brief discription of Hax paints him as a man who just genuinely is friendly to the children (in a non-pervy way) and that infact, he is even a bit wary of the ones like Roland and Cuthbert who are undergoing their training. So from that, I believe that Hax was just caught by chance (well, probably ka) by Roland and Cuthbert.

The hanging of Hax is an important part of Rolands development, make no mistake.

Matt
11-20-2007, 01:32 PM
I totally agree again. I think that King was trying to establish that Roland was the type of boy who would even turn in a friend for betrayal if it was against what he considered "the white"

stevesnow
11-20-2007, 01:46 PM
I totally agree again. I think that King was trying to establish that Roland was the type of boy who would even turn in a friend for betrayal if it was against what he considered "the white"

Thanks. :cowboy:

Any word on the chapter three discussion happening? I know you guys started this reread months ago, but I'm almost done with the Oracle and the Mountains so I'll be looking to get into analysing it when its fresh in my memory. If you're (un)lucky I might post up a comedic synopsis tomorrow night and we can get it underway. :P