Genres of Fiction and Theory of Possible Worlds in Stephen King's The Dark Tower - RASTISLAV DOMČEK
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FACULTY OF ARTS
Genres of Fiction and
Theory of Possible Worlds
in Stephen King’s The
Dark Tower
Literary analysis
RASTISLAV DOMČEK
Supervisor: Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D.
Department of English and American studies
Field English Language and Literature
Brno 2021GENRES OF FICTION AND THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS IN STEPHEN KING’S THE DARK
TOWER
Bibliographic record
Author: Rastislav Domček
Faculty of Arts
Masaryk University
Department of English and American studies
Title of Thesis: Genres of Fiction and Theory of Possible Worlds in Stephen
King’s The Dark Tower
Degree Programme: Department of English and American studies
Field of Study: English Language and Literature
Supervisor: Mgr. Tomáš Kačer, Ph.D.
Year: 2021
Number of Pages: 65
Keywords: The Dark Tower, fantasy, genre, genres of fiction, horror, Lubomír
Doležel, science fiction, Stephen King, Theory of Possible Worlds,
western
2GENRES OF FICTION AND THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS IN STEPHEN KING’S THE DARK
TOWER
Abstract
The goal of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between various genres of fiction present
in Stephen King’s the Dark Tower book series and Lubomír Doležel’s Theory of Possible
Worlds. The thesis is divided into two theoretical, and two analytical chapters. The theoret-
ical chapters are concerned with defining various genres of fiction and their main elements,
and with outlining Doležel’s theory. The latter two chapters analyse the individual instal-
ments in the series and aim to identify the different genres of fiction appearing in them,
along with evidence of Doležel’s theory in practice.
3GENRES OF FICTION AND THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS IN STEPHEN KING’S THE DARK
TOWER
Declaration
I hereby declare that this thesis with title Genres of Fiction and Theory of Possible Worlds
in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower I submit for assessment is entirely my own work and
has not been taken from the work of others save to the extent that such work has been cited
and acknowledged within the text of my thesis.
Brno March 13, 2019 .......................................
Rastislav Domček
5GENRES OF FICTION AND THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS IN STEPHEN KING’S THE DARK
TOWER
Acknowledgements
I express my thanks to my supervisor for guiding this thesis until the very end. The deepest
gratitude belongs to Stephen King, whose works inspired many.
Šablona DP 3.1.1-ARTS-dipl-obor-english (2021-01-08) © 2014, 2016, 2018–2020 Masarykova univerzita 7TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
List of Figures 11
List of Tables 12
Glossary 13
1 Introduction 15
2 Theory of fictional genres 17
2.1 Genre and Genre Fiction ...................................................................................17
2.2 Western ..............................................................................................................17
2.3 Fantasy...............................................................................................................19
2.4 Science Fiction ..................................................................................................20
2.5 Horror ................................................................................................................21
3 The theory of possible worlds 22
3.1 Possible worlds of fiction ..................................................................................22
3.2 Doležel’s Theory of Possible Worlds ................................................................24
4 The Dark Tower and Genres of Fiction 27
4.1 The world is introduced – The Gunslinger ........................................................27
4.2 Genre Shift – The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands .......................32
4.3 The world is expanded – Wizard and Glass ......................................................41
5 Fictional worlds of Stephen King 46
5.1 Wolves of Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower ...............................46
6 Conclusion 56
Bibliography 57
Appendix A The Dark Tower books in order as released 59
Name Index 60
7 Resumé 61
8 Souhrn 63
9TABLE OF CONTENTS 10
LIST OF FIGURES
List of Figures
Nenalezena položka seznamu obrázků.
11LIST OF TABLES List of Tables Nenalezena položka seznamu obrázků. 12
GLOSSARY
Glossary
[Heslo] – [Definice]
13INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction
In the last 5 decades, Stephen King has been a part of contemporary literary canon. His works
span more than 70 novels and a number of short story collections. Out of his many works, one stands
out – saga of the Dark Tower. The saga is unlike anything King has ever written. It spans eight novels
written through a period of 30 years from 1982 to 2012. Although the saga’s scope is unique among
King’s bibliography, it is not its volume that makes it stand out among his works. The saga is known
as his magnum opus among Stephen King’s constant readers. In it, King successfully ties together
his past and future works and anchors them in one universe, with the Dark Tower in its core.
Even though Stephen King is most famous as The King of Horror, he does not hesitate to step
outside of the common genre boundaries. His ability to write in different genres of fiction is exercised
throughout the Dark Tower saga to a great effect. King not only manages to masterfully link several
genres of fiction, spanning from western through science fiction to fantasy into one saga, but also
reinvents said genres and intertwines them to create a piece of work that is strictly his. His ability to
shift between different genres not only between the individual books but also within them creates a
world that is unique and engaging.
The thesis consists of two theoretical, and two analytical chapters. The first theoretical chapter,
named “Theory of Fictional Genres”, takes a close look at different genres of fiction employed in the
saga. It outlines basic characteristics of various genres, and their respective genre elements. The sec-
ond chapter, titled “Theory of Possible Worlds”, defines fiction and introduces one of the core parts
of this thesis – Doležel’s Theory of Possible Worlds.
The first analytical chapter of the thesis is titled “The Dark Tower and Genres of Fiction”. It
considers the first four books in the series, as they focus on exploring different genres. The Gunslinger
15INTRODUCTION
introduces a vast, mythical world of the saga, and a three-dimensional title character – Roland Des-
chain. The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands introduce King’s ability to shift between
genres in a seamless fashion by switching among different characters’ points of view and introducing
various genre elements typical for the respective genres. Wizard and Glass further expands on the
already existing world by providing backstory on both the world and the main character introduced
in the first book. By incorporating world building fantasy genre elements, it reveals novel geographic
locations and a dynamic political intrigue.
The latter three books, written by Stephen King in a comparatively short span of only few years,
capitalize on the various genres of fiction and genre shift technique. The second analytical chapter of
this thesis, titled “Possible Worlds of Stephen King”, takes in consideration Doležel’s Theory of Pos-
sible Worlds in context of the books. The main aim of the chapter is to examine how Stephen King
uses in practice what Lubomír Doležel theorises in his Theory of Possible Worlds, and to look at the
relationship between different genres of fiction and Doležel’s theory.
This thesis argues that the combination of genres that King employs in the saga enhances the
fictional world of the Dark Tower by providing foundation for Doležel’s Theory of Possible Worlds.
16THEORY OF FICTIONAL GENRES
2 Theory of fictional genres
2.1 Genre and Genre Fiction
According to M.H. Abrams’ A Glossary of Literary Terms, genre is “a term, that denotes a
recurring type of literature, or as we now often call it, a ‘literary term’” (75). He also writes that,
according to some critics, genre is a group of certain conventions and codes that are shared within a
genre – and these conventions then serve as kind of expectations for the reader (75). In his book Key
Concepts in Language and Linguistics, R. L. Trask writes that genre is “a historically stable variety
of text with conspicuous distinguishing features” (104). Those features are to remain stable during
larger periods of time and the genre itself occupies a place in culture.
While these conventions and codes make the distinction between literary genres such as prose
and poetry rather clear, they are less obvious within genre fiction, as most of it already fits under one
of the literary genres – most commonly prose. For the purposes of differentiating between various
genres of fiction, these codes are to be genre elements specific to individual fictional genres, as iden-
tified by Joyce G. Saricks in his book Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction.
The Dark Tower saga takes liberty with the specification of individual genres. In the saga, Ste-
phen King combines multiple genres of fiction not only between the instalments, but also within
them. The most prevalent genres in the Dark Tower saga are western, science fiction, fantasy, and
horror. Significant part of this thesis is concerned by identifying the respective genres of the Dark
Tower books.
2.2 Western
Western as a genre of fiction is in the core of the Dark Tower series. Its genre elements are
apparent throughout the whole series. They are most prominent in The Gunslinger and Wolves of
17THEORY OF FICTIONAL GENRES
Calla – the first and the fifth books of the series. While the frequency of western genre elements in
these books makes it easy to categorize them as westerns, the elements continue to re-appear, as many
of them are embedded in important characters and locations.
Before characterizing western as a genre, it is necessary to distinguish between historical novel
about the western expansion and western. Saricks notes that while the difference between the two
used to be simply in the size of the novel, “the former accurately depicts the Western Expansion”
(350). True westerns, on the other hand, depict times of the West in a much more mythical way. They
depict a contrast between a civilized East and wild, untamed West, with central characters bringing
order to the new territories – themes that are prominent in both the storylines and the mythology of
the Dark Tower.
According to Saricks, large part of the focus of western genre is the hero – “a lone man riding
into a community and then leaving once his job is done” (350). He also notes that the stereotypical
western hero is akin to a medieval knight, a young knight in training, or a ‘good-guy-gone-wrong’
seeking redemption (Saricks 350). These character stereotypes are apparent in Roland Deschain, Jake
Chambers and Eddie Dean respectively. The western hero is often a loner with a strong moral code.
This is yet another theme strongly represented in the saga’s Arthurian mythology, with main charac-
ters easily fitting well within these stereotypes.
Saricks names several key themes in a western storyline. These are the classical good versus
evil arc, a story of an internal struggle, or a survival story with as western is often strongly linked to
its environment. Death is always present in these stories, as is a strong “sense of longing for times
past and a knowledge that these days will not come again” (320). The longing for times past is a
theme introduced in The Gunslinger, and heavily featured in the whole saga – yet another hint towards
the importance of western as a genre within the Dark Tower.
18THEORY OF FICTIONAL GENRES
2.3 Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction with the longest tradition – as Saricks notes, it is a genre of ancient
myths and legends (265). It is understandable that such long tradition creates a rather broad spectrum
of genre elements, as most of the fiction contains at least some elements of fantasy. The Dark Tower
is no different. Fantasy genre elements are apparent throughout the whole series allowing the more
traditional genres, such as western or horror, to push their boundaries. On the account of fantasy,
Saricks writes that “these are world-building books, and it is important that readers be able to see,
hear, and feel the worlds in which the authors place them” (265). Notion of the fantastical world is
also important to Richard Mathews, the author if Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination. He writes
that fantasy “depicts adventures in a coherent and real fantasy world” (21). He also notes that “fantasy
has a compelling and even dangerous reality” (21). In other words, while the fantasy world is fic-
tional, it has to feel real. The reality and existence of these possible world of fiction is discussed in
further chapters of this thesis.
As was mentioned before, fantasy is a genre with a very broad spectrum. Saricks, however,
offers a solution: “The key to fantasy is the presence of magic. If there is no magic, the story might
fit in the horror, science fiction, romance, historical fiction, or adventure genres. When magic is in-
tegral to the story, it must be fantasy” (266). Mathews has a similar opinion, although expressed
differently: “Fantasy is closely allied to other variations of the realistic novel. Significantly, each of
these kindred genres more directly depends on and utilizes the conventions and contexts of realism,
whereas fantasy consistently incorporates a radical departure from the real” (4). Walking the line
between this radical departure from real whilst maintaining a believable reality of the world is in the
core of the attraction and complexity of fantasy.
19THEORY OF FICTIONAL GENRES
2.4 Science Fiction
Science fiction (or sci-fi, as it is popularly abbreviated) is a comparatively young genre, with
its roots in 19th century. Ever since its first representations (notably by writers like Edgar Allan Poe
or H. G. Wells) its goal has been to push the boundaries of what is possible. It is its very lack of
boundaries that is both the biggest strength and the biggest weakness of science fiction. While many
genres of fiction tend to overlap with others, this problem is so apparent with science fiction that the
genre itself lacks a proper definition.
Saricks observes that many of the authors most famous for writing science fiction novels often
write large amount of fantasy novels (244). This is a reason why fantasy is a genre with which science
fiction overlaps the most. This overlap, however, is the core of a technique employed by Stephen
King across the whole saga – the genre shift. King executes switching between multiple genres mas-
terfully, and it is an integral part of the literary analysis of the Dark Tower in further chapters. When
trying to categorize science fiction, Saricks settles with a definition at last: “Science fiction posits
worlds and technologies with could exists. Science, rather than magic, drives this tales” (245).
Mathews builds on this idea with his own: “science fiction is anchored in the actual”, and quotes
Orson Scott Card: “If the story is set in a universe that follows the same rules as ours, it is science
fiction. If it is set in a universe that doesn’t follow our rules, it’s fantasy” (4). When Stephen King
introduces multiple different universes in his saga, he allows for an effective combination of the two
genres. This notion is encapsulated in Mathews’ idea that “fantasy and science fiction are most ap-
propriately viewed as two ends of a spectrum, with blurred boundaries in the middle” (5).
20THEORY OF FICTIONAL GENRES
2.5 Horror
For the purposes of this essay, horror genre stands aside from the aforementioned genres of
western, fantasy, and science fiction. While some of the Dark Tower books clearly fit into the cate-
gory of one of the genres, or they demonstrate a skilful genre shift between two or more of the genres,
none of the books fit neatly into the category of horror, nor do they feature an obvious genre shift
between horror and other genres. It is the reasons characteristic for the writing of Stephen King for
which horror genre is featured here. With King being famously known as ‘The King of Horror’, it is
not surprising that elements of horror are not only featured heavily across the saga, but also work as
a backbone of the saga.
Unlike some of the genres of fiction, horror is fairly easy to define. The goal of horror, ac-
cording to Saricks, is “to produce fear in readers, sometimes through psychology, sometimes through
gory details, and its appeal occurs on a very deep emotional level” (112). Saricks names features of
monsters, and presence of supernatural as the most typical genre elements of horror fiction, among
others (113). Thanks to its clear but broad definition, horror often blends with other genres. Example
of this is ‘dark fantasy’, mentioned by Mathews, who poses Edgar Allan Poe as an example: “Poe,
who normally anchors his stories in reason, leads the reader to the very brink of fantasy, suggesting
sinister powers beyond rational comprehension” (19). It is this feature of horror that makes it so fitting
for King as he shifts between genres in the saga.
21THE THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS
3 The theory of possible worlds
3.1 Possible worlds of fiction
After successfully identifying the respective genres of fiction in the Dark Tower books, this
thesis examines the relationship between possible worlds of fiction and the genres of fiction employed
in the saga. To be able to define fictional worlds, it is important to first define what fiction is. While
King’s writing contains references to real world, uses comprehensive language, and has relatable and
human characters, the books in the Dark Tower saga are without a doubt works of fiction. Claiming
that they are fiction simply because the events described in them have not happened in reality is not
sufficient enough, as there are views that do not differentiate between fictional and historical writing.
In his book Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds, Lubomír Doležel tries to find a unified look
at the theory of fictional worlds. He proposes two frameworks: “Frame of one world” (18), and
“Frame of possible worlds” (27). The following views of philosophers Bertrand Russel and Gottlob
Frege on fiction show that the framework of ‘one world’ is lacking, as they either deem fictional
writing impossible or lacking value, making it obsolete.
Bertrand Russel claims that fictional worlds do not exist, that fictional expressions lack refer-
ence and therefore are ‘empty’ and ‘untruthful’ (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 18).
Fictional entities are on the same levels as other non-existent entities, such as circular rectangle. Rus-
sel’s main base is that he refuses these ‘empty utterances’ from the view of logical language and
rational discourse (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 18). By denying the existence of
fictional writing as an independent entity, Russel’s argument does not distinguish between fictional
and historical writing – they must be part of the same thing.
22THE THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS
Gottlob Frege distinguishes between two parts of a denotation – reference and meaning. Ref-
erence marks certain entity of the world, meaning is the way of ‘giving’ the reference. Frege refuses
fictional reference – if a name “Odysseus” is fictional, it lacks reference (Heterocosmica: Fiction and
Possible Worlds 19). By accepting Frege’s views, the same would go for the name of King’s protag-
onist – if the name “Deschain” is fictional, it lacks reference as well. However, according to Doležel
this does not mean that utterances without a reference lack meaning – without reference, the utter-
ances lack value of truth, making them neither truthful nor untruthful (Heterocosmica: Fiction and
Possible Worlds 19). While the name Deschain might have a meaning – in the world of The Dark
Tower, it is synonymous with the ancient order of gunslingers – by giving the name also a real refer-
ence, according to Frege this would mean making Roland Deschain real, which he is not.
Doležel recognizes the need for a different framework – frame of possible worlds. He accepts
the possibility of worlds beyond just the real world. He claims that part of this is the change in logic
system that accepts the notion of our world being surrounded by infinite other worlds (Heterocos-
mica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 27). Doležel further explains the necessity to amend the original
notion of one world by straying away from the old metaphysical thinking of the worlds as a “tran-
scendental existence, residing in an omnipotent god-like mind” (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible
Worlds 28). The basis for the new notion of possible world is that they are not discoverable but rather
created by artistic action of a human mind.
The key to the relationship between fiction, possible worlds, and different genres of fiction is
referential function of language. In their book Style in Fiction: A Linguistic Introduction to English
Fictional Prose, authors Geoffrey Leech and Mick Short look at differences between stylistic varia-
tions and the referential function of language. Leech and Short write that stylistic variants are “alter-
native conceptualisations, or ways of ‘making sense’ of the same event” (29). They conclude that
23THE THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS
there are some aspects of language that have to do with stylistic variants and those have to be distin-
guished from aspects of referential function of language. They use an analysis of William Golding’s
The Inheritors as their base and conclude that “If Golding had replaced bushes by reeds, or river by
pond, these would not have been stylistic variants, but would have brought about a change in the
fictional world” (Leech and Short 29). Therefore, we can assume that certain stylistic choices can
point to different genres similarly as genre elements.
3.2 Doležel’s Theory of Possible Worlds
To outline a fictional world, it is important to make a distinction between a historical and
fictional narrative. When examining the fictional worlds of the Dark Tower, it is necessary to note
that Stephen King makes cultural, not historical references to the real world. However, many of the
cultural references are in some way related to historical background of their origin (different eras of
The New York City are compared several times, to give an example). Therefore, for the sake of this
thesis the historical narrative is the narrative of the real world. Lubomír Doležel tries to outline this
distinction by examining Roland Barthes’s study “Le discours de l’historie”. In his essay, Barthes
makes a claim that from a narrative point of view, there is no difference between fiction and history
(Possible Worlds of Fiction and History: The Postmodern Stage 18). In Possible Worlds of Fiction
and History: The Postmodern Stage, Doležel highlights two quotes from the Barthes’s essay, which
he believes are the core of Barthes’s theory: “Language is incapable of referring to anything outside
itself (the world, reality, the past); histography resorts to narrative in order to make its discourse
meaningful and convincing”, and “History appropriates narrative from fiction, where it was devel-
oped and cultivated. Therefore, narrative history is indistinguishable from narrative fiction” (19).
Doležel disagrees with this. He makes a point that human language cannot make fiction a reality. He
24THE THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS
writes that language has a performative power: “it can bring about certain changes in our human
affairs, but it cannot create the actual world that exists. The only worlds that human language is
capable of creating or producing are possible worlds” (Possible worlds of fiction and history: The
Postmodern Stage 30). Possible worlds are filled with real-life references – taking advantage of the
mentioned referential function of language – while being completely fictional.
In Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds, Doležel notes that one of the most important
characteristics for both fictional and non-fictional narrative in their respective worlds is a story (33).
To create a work of fiction from the base of a fictional world, one must provide the world with a
narrative. Doležel outlines three steps in creating a narrative world, each introducing one crucial ele-
ment.
First, he introduces state world W(St). It is a static world lacking movement or action (Het-
erocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 33). It is by default unalterable and without change. In the
Dark Tower saga, Stephen King creates several state worlds, some more reminiscent of the real world
than others. The most important world where most of the story takes place is Mid-World.
In the second step, Doležel introduces a new entity – a natural force NF. It is a force of change,
causing what he calls “natural events” (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 34). By intro-
ducing a natural force NF to a state world W(St), a new, dynamic world W(NF, St) is created. He
claims that “when creating a fictional world, the artists draw inspiration from real world – its ele-
ments, categories, facts, and cultural realities – and unites actual places to form a fictional setting”
(Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 34). It is clear that when introducing NF, a functioning
fictional world is created due to the referential function of language. While still empty, it is a dynamic
model of a possible world. With the addition of natural force, King introduces some of the core ele-
ments that define genres of the individual books. One of the most prominent genre elements that
25THE THEORY OF POSSIBLE WORLDS
appears multiple times throughout the books are doors between the worlds – portals. These natural
forces not only help to create a dynamic world but also connect the previously disconnected state
worlds.
The last step in the creation of a narrative world is introduction of characters. Doležel catego-
rises this as a person P. With a person introduced, the structure of the world is as follows: W(P, NF,
St). Person is an entity that has, aside from physical attributes, also intellectual life. Changes, caused
by person P, are simulated by specific intellectual events – these changes are called actions. Creative
actions of people enrich the world of a new type of item – an artefact. While events caused by natural
forces are uncontrollable and seemingly random, actions of characters are organized and done in order
to fulfil certain ends (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 34). Mohaine desert, introduced
in The Gunslinger, is created by natural forces – geological processes combined with the effects of
weather and sun. A weapon such as the gunslinger revolvers are created by an organized effort of the
people of the world. Therefore, they are artefacts. The desolation witnessed by the characters at the
end of The Waste Lands can be partly considered as an artefact, as it was created by the combination
of geological processes and a nuclear war.
It is necessary to note that a world W(P, NF, St) can have two variants – world with a single
person, or a world with multiple people, where two or more characters exist and act. The latter vari-
ation brings in a powerful force of change – interaction. Special kind of interaction is communication,
an exchange of information through semiotic acts (Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds 34).
Stories require that the fictional worlds have at least one person, and for characters to be able to live
and function in a world, natural force is crucial. Only worlds with people create stories – therefore
all three categories are essential to create a narrative world.
26THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
4 The Dark Tower and Genres of Fiction
4.1 The world is introduced – The Gunslinger
The Gunslinger is considered the most disconnected novel of the Dark Tower books. This is
both due to its episodic nature and King’s writing style at the beginnings of his career. The writing
process of The Gunslinger is described in George Beahm’s The Stephen King Companion: Forty
Years of Fear from the Master of Horror. It took King nearly 12 years to compose the novel into its
today’s form and it was originally being published in a form of short stories in various magazines.
Beahm mentions The Magazine of Science Fiction, edition from October 1978, as the issue in which
the first part of The Gunslinger was published (233). The episodic stories follow Roland Deschain, a
gunslinger in pursuit of the mysterious man in black. Unlike the rest of the saga, The Gunslinger in
all its forms focuses mainly on one character, and one character’s quest. With this intimacy created
by the lone hero, King allows the atmosphere of the novel and its settings to become characters on
their own. While the heavy atmosphere of the novel is unique for The Gunslinger, the latter has helped
to shape the saga by introducing the world and its central character. It is both the setting and the
character that function as genre elements in the novel, clearly categorizing The Gunslinger as a west-
ern.
The genre elements of western that are mentioned in previous chapters of this thesis are abun-
dant in The Gunslinger. Importance of landscape and setting of the book, such as the fierce Mohaine
Desert or the town of Tull, the main character of Roland Deschain, a gunslinger from the ancient
times, the plot that deals with one man’s quest, a journey across the world and with the pursuit of
ultimate evil – these all point to The Gunslinger being a western novel.
27THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
From the story-telling perspective, the novel features an excellent opening. While the first line
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” (The Gunslinger 3), clearly
conveys ideas of both the nature and the plot of the story that is to follow, as well as the main protag-
onist and antagonist, the following lines present the setting and describe the landscape in which most
of the novel takes place:
The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like
eternity in all directions. It was white and blinding and waterless and without feature save for
the faint, cloudy haze of the mountains which sketched themselves on the horizon (The Gun-
slinger 3).
Through these opening lines, readers know where the story is going and why did the main character
choose the paths he is on. Both the size and nature of the landscape have a strong collocation to
classical western novels. Desert is a widespread biome across the western United States – it summons
imagery of dusty towns, tired horses, and eyes pointed towards the horizon. The size of the desert
adds to the mysticism that is often, as Saricks puts it, a central point in western (314).
The changing landscape also reflects on the characters themselves. When contemplating Ro-
land’s lack of thirst, King writes: “It was what the country required, it was a thirsty country, and he
had in his long life been nothing if not adaptable” (The Gunslinger 4). The author uses the setting as
a way to describe Roland from the inside – as an adaptable man, that will do what is necessary to
succeed. In other instances, inner thoughts of characters are revealed through the action of desert:
“Any thoughts of guilt, any feelings of regret, had faded. The desert had baked them out” (The Gun-
slinger 71). The author does not show an inner dialogue. He rather uses a landscape-related metaphor
to flash out what the character is thinking – Mohaine desert interacts with characters and actively
28THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
changes them. Through this, King proposes a close connection between the character of Roland and
his environment.
The desert is a character on itself – the reader is constantly being reminded of its heat, scarcity
of resources, and never-ceasing wind. Its function is not only as a chess board, where the events take
place, but also as an impartial antagonist to the characters. There are several moments in the novel,
where the desert presents an immediate danger to Roland, such as when he leaves a hut of a young
dweller Brown, and once again embarks on a quest to pursue the man in black: “All his water was
gone, and he knew he was very likely a dead man.” (The Gunslinger 76). As long as the characters
are crossing it, the desert presents a constant danger to them. Desert is not only a static part of a static
world. In the framework of Doležel’s theory, Mohaine is a force of nature. Its introduction to the
static world of Westworld creates a dynamic world. When a person is introduced – Roland Deschain
– the world is already a living place, and it changes people in it accordingly.
As Saricks notes, it is the character, rather than the story, that is in the centre of a western
novel. In The Gunslinger, Roland Deschain is portrayed as a stereotypical western protagonist (316).
As a gunslinger, he fits the stereotype of a mythical hero that came straight from some Arthurian
legend, with ancient revolvers with a sandalwood handle, instead of a sword. His antagonist is known
only as the man in black. He is the direct opposite of Roland, the force of evil that clashes with the
force of good, represented by gunslingers. Evil nature of the man in black is seen in his actions –
resurrecting dead in the town of Tull – and in his symbolism. It is perhaps the best seen in his choice
of a place for the final confrontation between him and the gunslinger: “The man in black led him to
an ancient killing ground to make palaver. The gunslinger knew it immediately: a Golgotha, place-
of-the-skull” (The Gunslinger 215). The Golgotha reminds strongly of ancient Indian burial grounds
– part of the mythos of the world of westerns. It is connected with evil, black magic and it shows the
29THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
evil nature of the man in black. As Saricks writes, confrontation between good and evil is one of the
key elements of a western story (318).
Roland Deschain is alienated from most of the people in the novel – he is a man from times
that are long gone, in a world that has changed: “For once the drifted track that cut its way through
the thick crust of alkali had been a highway. Coaches and buckas had followed it. The world had
moved on since then.” (The Gunslinger 3). The notion of world that had moved on is present through
the whole saga, and it makes the main characters stand out – it puts a distance between them and the
rest of the world, both in space and in time. The longing for the past times is another of the key
elements of a western novels, according to Saricks (320). The mysticism of the landscape and of the
main protagonist is strengthened by the mysticism of the world itself, once again proposing the con-
nection between characters and their environment.
Central theme of the story – Roland’s moral dilemma – is introduced late in the novel. After
Roland collapses from thirst at a way station in middle of the desert, he is saved by a boy named John
“Jake” Chambers. The gunslinger quickly realizes that Jake is not from his world. When asked to
describe the place from where he came, Jake gives description that is familiar to readers: “There was
a place…the one before this one. A high place with lots of rooms and a patio where you could look
at tall buildings and water. There was a statue that stood in the water” (The Gunslinger 84). As far as
the readership is concerned, this is Roland’s first encounter with a parallel world – Jake Chambers’
New York.
Although the significance of the parallel worlds and the boy will be substantial in the latter
books, in The Gunslinger Jake is only a pawn in a game that is played by Roland and the man in
black. “The boy had been placed in his path – While you travel with the boy, the man in black travels
with your soul in his pocket – and the fact that Jake was not slowing him down only opened the way
30THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
to more sinister possibilities” (The Gunslinger 101). Roland knows that the boy might be used against
him by the man in black, and yet he continues to travel with him. The mentioned ‘more sinister’
possibilities are hinted at when the gunslinger and the boy encounter an ancient oracle at the foot of
the mountain. After it entices the boy, Roland goes to confront the oracle in order to get a prophecy,
parts of which are ominous:
“Death…but not for you
… the boy is your gate to the man in black”
“May he not be spared”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Cease, gunslinger” (The Gunslinger 143)
Roland is presented with the choice – to save to boy or to catch the man in black – three times. The
first time he is presented the choice by the oracle. The second time Jake himself pleads Roland to
turn around, when they get close enough to the man in black to see him for the first time:
“Please, please!” The boy raised a fist, as if to strike the gunslinger’s chest.
“No.”
The boy’s face took on wonder. “You’re going to kill me. He killed me the first time and
you’re going to kill me this time. And I think you know it.”
The gunslinger felt the lie on his lips, then spoke it: “You’ll be alright.” And greater lie yet.
“I’ll take care.” (The Gunslinger 155).
This time, Roland actively lies to Jake. While the first time he might have believed the prophecy not
to be true, this time it was Jake himself who confronted him – the boy whom Roland grew to like, the
boy who saved his life at the way station. The gunslinger, however, choses to follow the man in black.
31THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
The third and the last time Roland is presented with the dilemma, he has to make the choice. After
following the man in black through the insides of the mountain, they finally close the distance and
find themselves face to face with the antagonist. The man in black offers Roland a choice – to save
Jake, who is hanging for his life by a rotten railroad – or to emerge with the man in black on the other
side of the mountain: “No more games. Come now, gunslinger. Or catch me never” (The Gunslinger
210). Here, for the third and the last time, Roland choses the man in black over Jake, and lets the boy
fall to his death. Three times Roland is presented with the dilemma, and three times he chooses his
quest. Saricks considers internal struggle, such as Roland’s moral dilemma, to be one of the key
elements of the western genre (318). This, combined with the other genre elements, such as the clear
western imagery, prevalence of nature, and a nearly stereotypical character description, serves as a
clear point to The Gunslinger’s genre identity as western.
4.2 Genre Shift – The Drawing of the Three and The Waste Lands
4.2.1 The Drawing of the Three
The second and third books in the Dark Tower saga are The Drawing of the Three and The
Waste Lands. Having come out five and nine years respectively after The Gunslinger, with some of
Steven King’s best acclaimed novels such as Pet Semetary, It, Misery, or The Sand between them,
the change in King’s writing style is apparent. Both of the instalments are more connected to the rest
of the series and feel like a true beginning to the saga, with most of the key characters being intro-
duced. Although the first book hinted towards the multiverse in which the story takes place and men-
tioned importance of the Dark Tower, it is The Drawing of the Three that explores these ideas and
sets up the journey ahead, and it is The Waste Lands where the author properly starts building the
world of the Dark Tower saga.
32THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
In The Drawing of the Three, Roland Deschain continues his journey to the Dark Tower. In
the book, he encounters series of doors on the beach – a kind of portals to different realities. By
entering these doors, he recruits other characters that join him on his quest. In The Waste Lands,
Roland and his companions travel across Mid-Worlds. They have two main objectives. The first goal
is to save the boy Jake – the same boy, who was thrown to his death by Roland in The Gunslinger.
The second is to find means of transport to End-World, where the Dark Tower is supposed to stand.
One of the striking differences between the first and the following two instalments of the
series is deviation from the heavy western influence into the more science fiction and fantasy-oriented
novels. As Mathews notes in Fantasy: The Liberation of Imagination, the line between science fiction
and fantasy genres is blurry (4). In The Drawing of the Three, King walks this line perfectly and plays
to the both sides of the spectrum. From the point of view of the gunslinger, Roland Deschain, the
story is reminiscent of the science fiction genre, while from the point of view of the characters that
are being consecutively brought into the Mid-World, the story is much more fantasy oriented. Fur-
thermore, with each new character introduced more genre elements of both science fiction and fantasy
are introduced. In the second and the third book of the series, Stephen King attempts a technique that
he later employs in the rest of the Dark Tower books – the genre shift.
The point of view that makes the line between the genres so blurry in The Drawing of the
Three is apparent from the characters’ reactions to doors between worlds, and from their approach to
problem solving. Even though the protagonist wakes up on a strange shore of a strange land, with
horrific creatures attacking him and mutilating his hand, from Roland’s point of view it is not a typical
fantasy setting – according to Mathews, it is the plausibility of rules of the world that distinguish
science fiction from fantasy, and for Roland the strange coast and strange creatures are well within
the rules of his world. Saricks adds that it is science, not magic, that drives the story of a science
33THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
fiction novel – and the problem that Roland faces is malfunctioning ammunition and lack of medicine,
problems created by failure of technology: “The guns themselves must be tended to … no gun in this
world or other was more than a club without ammunition” (The Drawing of the Three 19), and “I am
a gunslinger with shells which may not fire; I am sickening from a monster’s bite and have no medi-
cine” (The Drawing of the Three 24). Gunslinger revolvers are mythical items and instantly recog-
nisable by people in Mid-world, who have seen a gunslinger before. It is not the mythical nature of
the guns but the technology that is rare. This is also demonstrated The Waste Lands. When Roland’s
companion shows his gun to a town elder as a proof of identity and trust, the elder’s reaction shows
just how rare the technology is: “She gasped, almost dropped it, then ran her hands over it wonder-
ingly. She turned the empty sockets where her eyes had been up to the man ‘A gun!’ she whispered.”
(The Waste Lands 315). Roland’s first concern after being attacked is to check the condition of his
guns and ammo – not because of their mythical heritage but because of the upper hand that the tech-
nology gives him. Roland is also not looking for a magical spell that would heal his wounds and fever
– he is searching for medicine, a scientific solution.
In The Drawing of the Three Roland encounters other worlds for the first time – the first of
them is the New York City in the year 1987. He enters the mind of Eddie Dean through mysterious
door on the beach. However, it is not the door itself that is shocking to Roland, it is what he sees
through them: “Insane as it might seem, he was looking at part of a marriage that flew through the
sky” (The Drawing of the Three 33). While the idea of a commercial airplane does not evoke science
fiction imagery without the context, it is most fantastical technology from Roland’s point of view.
Saricks writes that setting is core in a science fiction novel (245). For Roland the setting is borderline
futuristic – the insides of an airplane and an airport hall, skyscrapers and traffic of the New York City
(The Drawing of the Three 102).
34THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
When Roland meets his first companion, Eddie Dean, more science fiction elements are in-
troduced to the story. The idea of other worlds – parallel universes or alternative realities – is a thing
that science fiction literature has been dealing with for years. It unlocks nearly unlimited possibilities
while staying within the limits of the genre. Through employing parallel worlds, King manages to
shift to a science fiction genre without erasing the western base introduced in The Gunslinger. As the
story progresses and Roland and Eddie come to the second door, another of the genre’s most common
elements is introduced – time travel:
It was New York, okay … and it was some New York department store he had been in at one
time or another, but it was…was…
‘It’s older,’ he muttered.
‘Before your when?’ the gunslinger asked. (The Drawing of the Three 226).
When Roland enters Odetta/Detta’s mind, she is living in New York in 1963. She is also a perfect
schizophrenic – while Odetta is an upper class African American rights activist, Detta is a wrath
harbouring lowlife with extreme racist tendencies. She directs her rage against all white people – as
it was Jack Mort, a white person, who caused not only both of her accidents (throwing a brick on her
head when she was a child, causing her mental condition, and pushing her under an underground
train, costing Odetta/Detta her legs), but it was also his body that was controlled by the man in black
when he killed Jake Chambers. With the second door on the beach, the number of options given to
the writer by introduction of the parallel worlds is amplified even more by introducing the possibility
of multiple time periods during which those worlds could be visited. The role of time travel in fantasy
is mentioned by Mathews: “Antiquity – history – is one gateway to infinity. The impulse to explore
and recover the past seems to be at the heart of fantasy” (6). This is yet another unifying trope of the
two genres – fantasy, and science fiction.
35THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
Roland perceives the doors on the beach as something suspicious but not surprising, whereas
the phenomenon is perceived quite differently by inhabitants of New York. Roland is in awe by the
technology of the world he visits, not by the sheer existence of it. For Jack Andolini, a mob henchman,
the encounter with the door and the world on the other side is borderline terrifying: “The droning
hum of New York City at night, so familiar and constant […] was replaced by the grinding sound of
the waves and the grating, questioning voices of dimly seen horrors crawling to and fro on the beach”
(The Drawing of the Three 150). The familiarity of New York fades and only the incomprehensive
prevails – no technology in Jack’s world could achieve what he was witnessing. While magic is never
explicitly stated as the moving force behind what he sees, the inconceivable setting and unbelievable
monsters all demonstrate this core genre elements of fantasy.
When entering the third door, Roland enters the mind of Jack Mort – a man responsible for
both Detta’s existence and Jake Chamber’s death in New York. Unlike Eddie and Odetta/Detta, Ro-
land does not bring Jack Mort into his world. He uses him to solve his first dilemma – the lack of
proper ammo: “The gunslinger looked at the sign over the shop. CLEMENTS GUNS AND SPORT-
ING GOODS, it said. AMMO, FISHING TACKLE, OFFICIAL FACSIMILES … He would know
what he needed when – if – he saw it.” (The Drawing of the Three 387). By refilling his supply of
ammunition, Roland solves his dilemma from the beginning of the book. He spends some time in
Mort’s body roaming New York and marvelling at its technological advances, saving Jake’s life in
the process by killing Mort. While saving Jake is a small step towards Roland’s redemption, an im-
portant theme of the series, getting the munition and spending time in for him futuristic city shows
the science fiction nature of the story from Roland’s point of view.
4.2.2 The Waste Lands
36THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
In The Waste Lands, the line between science fiction and fantasy is not based as much on the
points of view of different characters as it is drawn between the book’s chapters. The first part of the
book, titled Jake: Fear in a Handful of Dust, deals with themes that are much more akin to fantasy,
whereas the second part, titled Lud: A Heap of Broken Images, is full of science fiction genre ele-
ments. The genre shift from fantasy to science fiction happens through the process of familiarization
– the more accustomed the characters become to the world, the less like fantasy and the more like
science fiction it feels. To repeat Mathews’ quote from the theoretical part of this thesis, “fantasy
consistently incorporates a radical departure from the real” (Mathews 4). The process of familiariza-
tion dulls the radical nature of the departure from reality as the characters acclimatize.
In The Waste Lands, the genre elements are much more explicit. While the first part of the
book has more genre elements of fantasy (as stated above) and the occasional use of science fiction
genre elements in fantasy shows the genre shift as it is viewed by the characters from New York, who
joined Roland on his quest in The Drawing of the Three. The point of view for them changes and
what they once perceived as a fantasy setting slowly shifts into science fiction, as they spent more
and more time in Roland’s world. This is demonstrated by their encounter with Shardik, a massive
robotic bear that guards a magical beam, one of twelve that hold The Dark Tower.
The encounter shows how familiarization of characters with the world results in a genre shift
from fantasy to science fiction – a shift that happens throughout the whole book is demonstrated here
in a smaller scope. Initially, both the readers and the characters witness the beast, a giant bear, and
believe that it is of magical origin, a part of a fantasy world: “As if in answer, she heard the unseen
beast loose its cry again. That vast voice was like thunder. Like doom” (The Waste Lands 24). After
the initial surprise, Eddie and Susannah realise the true nature of Shardik: “There was something
growing out of the bear’s skull, and to Eddie it looked like a small radar dish” (The Waste Lands 37),
37THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
and Eddie’s later reaction: ”Holy Jesus, this thing is a robot” (The Waste Lands 46). This type of
genre shift – shift from unfamiliar to familiar, from fantasy to science fiction, happens through The
Waste Lands on both small and large scale. It is apparent not only in the book as a whole, but also in
smaller encounters.
Even though Roland’s ka-tet (a term coined by the author, describing a group of people with
unified goal), encounters elements that fit the science fiction genre more than fantasy (and keep en-
countering more of them the longer they stay in Roland’s world), the first part of The Waste Lands is
a fantasy quest. The ka-tet fights a beast, Shardik, travels through a vast, unfamiliar landscape, and
mainly, they try to rescue Jake, the boy that fell to his death in The Gunslinger and that was rescued
by Roland in The Drawing of the Three. While pointing out fantasy genre elements is difficult, the
first half of The Waste Lands has several genre elements that help to definitely demonstrate that The
Waste Lands is a fantasy novel. The first part of the book is perceived, much like The Drawing of the
Three, from multiple points of view. In The Waste Lands, however, journey of both Roland, Susannah
and Eddie in Roland’s world, and Jake in New York employ elements that are clearly part of a fantasy
canon. The goal of both groups is to create some kind of portal between the two worlds, so that Jake
can pass to the other side. Creation of the portal is the main plot point of the first half of The Waste
Lands, and the way it is created reveals the genre.
On the Roland’s side of the door, the ka-tet makes their stand in a stone circle, that reminds
Susannah of Stonehenge. What seems to the characters as a ritual site reminds the readership of oracle
that Roland and Jake encounter in The Gunslinger. The oracle was one of the main fantasy elements
in The Gunslinger, and it is still one in The Waste Lands:
“Not all is silent in the halls of the dead. Behold, the sleeper wakes.” He turned his haunted,
terrified eyes on Roland. “There is a monster.”
38THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
“The Demon –”
“No. A monster. Something between the doors – between the worlds. Something that waits.
And it’s opening its eyes.” (The Waste Lands 262).
The oracle itself is a strong fantasy element. The Demon that resides ‘between the worlds’ is some-
thing far above natural. It is a thing that does not obey rules of either Roland’s or Jake’s world. Use
of phrases like ‘halls of the dead’ and mention of ‘demon’ and ‘monster’ also evoke strong feelings
of something otherworldly. The presence of a fantastical creature on Roland’s side of the door is
complimented by an entity that Jake encounters on his side of the door.
In order to get to the door and emerge on the other side, Jake has to enter a haunted house –
“a place of death and murder and madness” (The Waste Lands 262). In classic King fashion, the
author incorporates horror into his story. Horror is a genre with long tradition, and it often mixes with
other genres, as stated by Saricks (112). As it often features the supernatural, it blends very well with
fantasy to create suspense and sense of danger in a fantasy setting. Similar to what Roland, Eddie and
Susannah have to deal with on their side of the door, Jake also encounters a supernatural creature that
wants to stop him from reaching the door:
There was a loud snap as a chunk of broken lathe tore free of the ripping wall. It became the
jagged pupil of one eye. Below it, the wall writhed into a snarling mouth filled with jagged
teeth. Jake could see fragments of wallpaper clinging to its lips and gums. (The Waste Lands
276).
The supernatural origin of the monster in the house is a clear indication of the fantasy genre. This
link is furthermore strengthened by King’s reference to Edgar Allan Poe, who is a famous example
of dark fantasy writer: “Jake could hear the whole house collapsing, like the one in that story of Edgar
Allan Poe” (The Waste Lands 285).
39THE DARK TOWER AND GENRES OF FICTION
In The Waste Lands, more science fiction elements are introduced as the story progresses,
similar as in The Drawing of the Three. As the book comes to its second part, Lud: A Heap of Broken
Images, the familiarization process completes the genre shift from fantasy to science fiction. As Ro-
land’s ka-tet progresses through Mid-World, they start to recognize things of apparent fantastical
origin for what they really are – pieces of technology, science fiction genre elements. Two headed
animals they encounter are not some magical beats but mutated cattle. A mysterious drumming that
the ka-tet hears every night as they approach the city of Lud is not some magical message but is
recognized by Eddie as drum beat of a popular song from his world. It is perhaps the best demon-
strated by their encounter with a flying machine that is not from Roland’s world: “See the machine-
gun under the wing? That’s an air-cooled German model, and this is a Focke-Wulf from just before
World War II. I’m sure it is. So what’s it doing here?” (The Waste Lands 377). The New Yorker’s
familiarity is demonstrated here by an actual plane from their world. The lack of surprise or disbelief
shows just how assimilated have they become – so assimilated that they no longer view it as some-
thing magical. It is their world now too and the bits of technology they encounter only strengthen the
sci-fi nature of the story.
The most prominent science fiction genre element of The Waste Lands is Blaine Mono. It is
an artificial intelligence controlling a supersonic train. For Roland and his ka-tet, Blaine Mono pre-
sents the final challenge in the book, and it is their means of getting to the Dark Tower. While their
adventure in the city of Lud is full of science fiction elements – remains of an advanced civilization
that is long gone, thousands of computers beneath the city – it is their encounter with Blaine Mono
that truly showcases the science fiction nature of the latter part of The Waste Lands. Susannah’s
reaction to Blaine’s intercom shows how the characters feel: “What is this thing, do you think? It
looks like a gadget in a science fiction movie” (The Waste Lands 478). While her reaction can be
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