Roland Deschain of Gilead is a fictional character, the protagonist and anti-hero of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. He is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society. His image and personality are largely inspired by the "Man with No Name" from several of Sergio Leone's westerns, though his quest and many of his personal, internal conflicts are drawn from Robert Browning's poem Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.

[edit] Background

Roland becomes a gunslinger at the unheard-of age of 14 after being manipulated into taking the "trial of manhood" by Marten Broadcloak, his father's adviser and incarnation of Randall Flagg. Marten has an affair with Roland's mother and makes sure Roland finds out about it, prompting Roland to request his trial in order to gain his guns and exact revenge on Marten. In the trial, Roland must defeat his teacher, Cort, using a weapon of his choosing. He chooses a hawk named David and defeats Cort. Despite Roland's victory, Cort and Roland's father convince Roland to bide his time before seeking retribution.

Not long after, Roland's father sends him on a mission to the town of Hambry in the Outer Barony of Mejis with his friends Alain Johns and Cuthbert Allgood, who will form the basis for his first ka-tet. While there, he comes into the possession of a pink crystal ball, one of 13 magical artifacts referred to as "Maerlyn's Rainbow." It was while looking into this artifact that Roland first discovered his destiny to quest for the Dark Tower.

Roland is a 30th-generation descendant of his world's version of King Arthur, referred to in the series as Arthur Eld. In Wizard and Glass, during a flashback to Roland's time in the Barony of Mejis, a letter from his father identifies Steven Deschain as a 29th-generation descendant of Arthur Eld from a side lineage (that is to say, from one of Arthur's many "gillies," or concubines). Even his guns were originally made of the melted-down metal from the legendary Excalibur sword. It is hinted that one must possess this sword, or another sign of the Eld (the line of Arthur Eld) in order to open the door at the foot of the Tower. According to a supplemental prose story by Robin Furth included in the Gunslinger Born issue #2, Roland's ancestry traces back to Arthur's seneschal, Kay Deschain, while the Crimson King's ancestry traces back to an affair between Arthur and the Crimson Queen.

[edit] Quest for the Dark Tower

Roland on the cover of the comic The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1.

Roland is alone at the beginning of the series, following the way of ka, a variant of destiny that is similar in concept to other karmic ideologies. The term ka-tet is used for a group of people who are deeply bonded to one another through ka. The seven-book series is about Roland's acquisition of a new ka-tet and the completion of his quest. Roland is the last surviving gunslinger and is possessed (or, as he describes it himself, "addicted") by a quest to reach The Dark Tower, the axis upon which infinite numbers of parallel worlds rotate. (Eddie Dean, an ex-heroin addict and member of Roland's ka-tet, calls Roland a "Tower junkie.") The Dark Tower is under assault by the Crimson King, Lord of Discordia, a Satan-like figure bent on destroying the Dark Tower by undermining the "Beams" that support it.

In the first novel, The Gunslinger, Roland's original desire is simply to climb to the Dark Tower's top to question whatever god dwells there, but ka has greater plans for him. The ka-tet he acquires during the series bears many resemblances to his childhood ka-tet, who were all killed trying to help Roland on his quest. How he treats his new ka-tet when faced with decisions between their lives and his quest is a key component of the novels. Ultimately, his ka-tet represents a chance for redemption and a means by which he can ultimately change his own ka.

At the end of the seventh novel, it is revealed that he is trapped in a repetitive reincarnation, his "damnation" for his crimes and killings. However, if not for his actions, the Tower would have crumbled and fallen anyway. But he is only ever conscious of this when he reaches the top level of the Tower, just before he is teleported through the Beam back to the way-station in the Mohaine Desert. When he gets to the way-station in the first novel, he senses that he is very close to the Tower, seemingly semiconscious of this punishment, and it seems that this is some sort of checkpoint to return to after he completes his doomed quest. However, it is hinted through Sheemie's joyous rantings after the sacking of Algul Siento that "everything may yet be well," or that this cycle of reincarnation may eventually cease. Author Stephen King hints as much in the final afterword.

[edit] Relations with other characters

Roland's oldest enemy is Randall Flagg, a villain who appears in many of King's works. Flagg's character appears in many different incarnations throughout the series. He is a minion of the Crimson King himself, though he is ultimately hoping to overthrow him. He is often at the heart of most conflicts with Roland throughout the Gunslinger's lifetime.

[edit] Characteristics

Roland's revolvers (sometimes referred to as "the big guns" by other characters) are described as long and heavy, with blued steel (originally from his world's Excalibur) and sandalwood grips. During the search for more ammunition in New York City in The Drawing of the Three, the guns are revealed to be chambered for "Winchester .45" ammunition. An experienced gunslinger, Roland can reload the revolvers with blinding speed (even with the loss of his right hand's middle and index fingers), and his marksmanship is near-perfect.

King physically compares Roland to a pair of living people: Clint Eastwood in the Sergio Leone movies and, to a greater extent, Stephen King himself. There is a moment in the earlier books where Roland's apprentice, Jake, sees Clint Eastwood on a movie poster and remarks how similar his eyes are to the gunslinger's. Eddie Dean sees Stephen King as a young man and recognizes that he and Roland share many of the same physical features. Physical appearance aside, King has often remarked that Roland is one of the few characters with whom he could never really identify. In King's own words, Roland "scared" him.