Roland - General discussion

[Letti]

I agree every step we make brings us closer to adulthood but I think we all have a moment in life when we feel we must say goodbye to our childhood forever. For my part I had. It doesn't mean I became an adult at that very moment and I was just a kid some seconds before... I mean the goodbye.

[The Lady of Shadows]

not for me. there was a defining moment. i was child one minute and i was not the next. boom and that was it. i was no longer a child. sometimes, it happens that quickly and there's nothing you can do to stop it. you don't even see it coming.

i really think even with all he went through before hand, roland's defining moment was killing his mother. i think up until that time he really was still a child. the way he handled things in meijis proved that. the way he went to her rooms proved that. and then her death. and he was no longer the child he had been mere seconds before.

but that's just me.

[Letti]

I feel the same way but I picked another event. So it's not just you.

[Sam]

When did Roland lose his childhood? That question is much the same as when did we lose our childhood. I once told someone my childhood died a little at a time over the course of a year, but I was wrong. It did die far too early, but it took longer than that year. I see that now.

To those who say that Roland became an adult when he killed the Big Coffin hunters, I say that deciding to kill a man is not necessarily an adult decision. Children have done this too. Roland's participation did not make him a man. Alain was more of a man that Roland. I agree that it was not until his last ka-tet was formed that Roland began to be a man. Before, he always acted on his own selfish desires with no care toward anyone else. He may have made adult decisions and carried out adult deeds, but his motivations were based in the self-centeredness of a child. He let Jake die for his precious tower, would an adult have done such a thing?
It took me a very long time to realise that hate, anger, and ceaseless determination don't make you an adult. Love, compassion, and selflessness will get you there so much quicker.

[Letti]

He let Jake die for his precious tower, would an adult have done such a thing?

The way I think about adults yes, they would.
I feel adults can be selfish and self-centered, too. I absolutely agree that it's very childish when you don't care about anything but yourself but in this case 90% of the people are children over the age of 30.

[Jean]

I would differ between a child and a teenager. A child would let anybody die because he doesn't know what death is, and isn't really sure anyone but himself is alive. A teenager would let anybody die for an idea, an ideal, a principle, or something equally idiotic. Roland, while a child no more, is very teenagerly to me, - like most everyone who can really do something for his beliefs instead of just speculating on them, he never grew up past his teens (that's why I didn't vote).

[Letti]

What do you mean by a child, Jean?
I heard about a child around the age of 6 who stood in front of their moms when someone tried to shoot her. It wasn't a long time ago.
So I don't think a child just because he is a child would let anybody die. Or do I misunderstand something?

[Jean]

I mean those children and teenager who would let others die to begin with - not all children/teenagers. My main point was that their grounds for that would be different.

[Letti]

Okay, I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Jean]

[HorseDrover'sDaughter]

I was thinking about this this morning (thinking about Roland sure beats thinking about work!), and something occurred to me. I think that if we're still carrying around our childhood, and letting it make decisions for us in our adult life, we can't really call ourselves adults. Like Roland not wanting to form an emotional connection with others, because of how that turned out in his youth. Or me still expecting to be spoiled rotten because I was an only child (which I have mostly outgrown, for the record). It's when we put that stuff down and let ourselves move on that we really grow up.

I totally agree that the decision to kill someone is not necessarily an adult decision. As sad as it is, plenty of children here in the states make that decision - not because they are grown up but because they are afraid and don't have the maturity level to realize they have options.

But meh, that's just my two cents.

[Gasher80]

i think we have to differentiate between being a man and a good man ( being a man wouldn't need any hint of altruism).

also, i think you can lump child and teenagerly into category "not man yet" (and i agree with him being teenagerly in his selfishness and inability to see the big picture).

[LadyHitchhiker]

So when I first found out his name (because he was the gunslinger for so long before they revealed his name), I was a little disappointed (since then it's grown on me) at first. I was thinking "Roland? That's it? This mysterious man's name is Roland?" Now I can't think of anything but that, that is a great name, but I was wondering what everyone else's first impression was.

[LadyHitchhiker]

I always thought the way dear Sai King wrote it was that we were supposed to believe he was an adult when he took the prostitute to bed after he got his gunna... But that's only physically. I think by learning of love, that truly brought him into real mental adulthood.

[ladykatherine]

Yeah, I was thinkin' that too ladyh.
I couldn't stop thinking of a portly, hairy, english king. I know, weird.
Maybe that picture happened because it sounds like a rich, sophisticated person's name...?
I was a little upset at first, but after thinking about it, I really liked that it was different.
I don't know how that changed exactly, but yeah, first impression wasnt too happy.
But I love it now! And I think that's what matters.

Katie

[LadyHitchhiker]

I mean thank Gan it wasn't something sublimely normal and average like Jon, Matt, (no offense guys) or something that has been overdone as a hero such as Lancelot, Luke Skywalker, etc.,. But I was just expecting something a little bit more mysterious... He could've stayed the unnamed for me But I still love him and his name has grown into such a mystical name now for me.

[JQ The Gunslinger]

I actually had a picture of my friend in my mind cause one of my friends's name is Rolando so pretty close. But i like Rolands name. A very differnt name.

[alinda]

I feel a merge coming on as there are now two threads about this on the boards.

[idk, my bff jill?]

I actually had a picture of my friend in my mind cause one of my friends's name is Rolando so pretty close. But i like Rolands name. A very differnt name.

I was going to say something very similar, only the Rolando I know is a douchebag, so I initially disliked the gunslinger's name.

I love it now, though. 8)

[Daghain]

I wasn't surprised, because of the poem the series is based on. Plus, Roland is a good, noble name.

[sarah]

at first I was unimpressed, but it grew on me and by the end of The Drawing of the Three I was hooked. You rarely hear the name Roland irl. I feel like it is a strong noble name and I just can't picture him as anyone else.

[MrQuint]

It reminded me of some really annoying dude I knew from school at the time (obviously named Roland). But I'm over that now and I like it. I think it's fitting.

[Jean]

Childe Roland was obvious right away, as well as La Chanson de Roland, Charlemagne and his knights and all that; there was no surprise here.

[Letti]

Good thread.
I loved it from the very first moment.

[MonteGss]

I agree with Daggers and Jean.
No surprise at all and his name is awesome.