Roland Deschain

Roland Deschain

Roland Deschain of Gilead is the son of Steven and Gabrielle Deschain and is descended from a long line of "gunslingers", peacekeepers and diplomats of Roland's society. 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.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, it is also suggested that this eternal repetition is not quite eternal; after his rebirth at the end of the novel, it is revealed that in this particular reiteration of his journey, he possesses the Horn of Eld which in his previous pilgrimages he had lost in the final stand at Jericho Hill, the one major element which was discrepant from his approach to the tower and Childe Roland's approach in Robert Browning's Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came.