The Gunslinger By: Stephen King Forest Van Horn

Attribute: The setting/main character makes it a western What is it? The gunslinger, Roland, tries to catch the man in black in his quest to the dark tower. Attribute: The setting/main character makes it a western Title: The Gunslinger What is your book’s genre? Write it here: Fantasy Western Attribute: The magic and magical creatures makes it fantasy Example: The Vengeance Trail of Josey Wales Attribute: having to journey to reach his goal Example: The Hobbit Example: The chronicles of Narnia

Attribute: Magic and magical creatures make it fantasy “Who are you demon? Speak, if you would speak. My time is short; my patience is shorter’”(123) “That word is nineteen. If you say it to him his mind will be opened. He will tell you what lies beyond . He will tell you what he saw.” (49) “The slow mutants fell back a step and watched them go with faces hardly human(or pathetically so) faces that generated the weak phosphorescence common to those weird deep sea fishes that live under incredible black pressure…”(248)

Attribute: The main character and setting makes it a western “Without a thought the gunslinger had drawn his pistols. The boy cowered to his right and behind, a small shadow. Roland fired three times before he could gain control of his traitor hands-the echoes bounced their bronze tones against the rock valley that rose around him.”(197) “The man in black fled across the desert, the gunslinger followed. The desert was the apotheosis of all deserts, huge, standing to the sky for what looked like eternity in all directions.”(3) “It was a flat square plate of metal that sat mutely on the tracks. There was a seesaw handle in the center of the square. It descended into a connection of cogs. The gunslinger had no immediate sense of the things purpose, but the boy grasped it at once. ‘It’s a handcar.’”(213)

Attribute: The main character goes on a journey to reach his goal. “During the fourth period of waking (halfway through? Three-quarters? They didn’t know– knew only that they weren't tired enough yet to stop.) there was a sharp thump beneath them;…”(253) “‘And I suspect I’ve never read a tale such as yours.’ Mockery was creeping into his voice again. ‘You are the worlds last adventurer. The last crusader. How that must please you, Roland! Yet you have no idea how close you stand to the Tower now, as you resume your quest...’”(275) “Five days had passed since the last hut, and he had begun to suspect there would be no more when he topped the last eroded hill and saw the familiar low backed sod roof.”(20)

EVALUATION: Is The Gunslinger a good example of a Western Fantasy? Stephen King did a fantastic job at making the whole story feel like a journey. The whole story you are wondering if he is close to catching the man in black. He does this while using elements of fantasy so discretely that even the most fantastic of things are believable while you read. Also he adds the Western aspects that makes the reader respect the main character and give a good setting for this story.

What is a Fantasy and Western Fantasy- the reader must suspend belief. Setting in different world and may involve magic. Western- Normally takes place in a desert or desert area. The main characters include cowboys, desperados, and gunslingers.