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The Drawing of the Three

Stephen King (1987)

Genre

Thriller / Fantasy / Science Fiction

Reading Time

12 Minutes

Key Themes

See below

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The last gunslinger must pull three souls from modern-day New York through mystical doors to aid him in his desperate quest for the Dark Tower, battling both earthly and otherworldly demons along the way.

Synopsis

Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger, continues his quest for the Dark Tower, finding himself on a desolate beach in a world parallel to his own. Here, he discovers three mysterious doors, each opening into a different life in 1980s New York City. Roland must "draw" three companions from these alternate realities to aid him on his perilous journey. He first encounters Eddie Dean, a heroin addict struggling with his brother's criminal enterprise, and later Odetta Holmes, a disabled heiress with a dangerous split personality. Roland must navigate the complexities of these new worlds and the lives within them, facing both mundane and supernatural threats, all while battling his own fading health and the urgency of his quest. The drawing of these three becomes a brutal process of survival, addiction, and redemption, crucial to the ultimate fate of the Dark Tower.
Difficulty
Medium
Pacing
Moderate
Mood
Gritty, suspenseful, dark, adventurous, surprising

Plot Summary

The Prisoner

Roland wakes on a desolate beach in an alternate reality, having barely escaped death in the Mohaine Desert. He finds three mysterious doors. The first door, labeled 'The Prisoner,' opens into the mind of Eddie Dean, a young heroin addict on a trans-Atlantic flight. Roland can only partially appear, showing up as a phantom hand to move objects. He helps Eddie smuggle a large amount of cocaine past customs by guiding his actions and giving him courage. Roland learns about Eddie's life, his addiction, and his brother Henry's influence, while Eddie deals with the hallucination of a disembodied voice helping him.

The Drawing of the Three

After successfully getting the cocaine through customs, Eddie is confronted by Balazar's men. Roland, now able to partially materialize, helps Eddie fight them off, using his gunslinger skills to disarm and intimidate the thugs. Roland realizes he needs to fully enter Eddie's world to survive and get ammunition and supplies. Through a painful, disorienting process of 'drawing,' Roland pulls Eddie through the door to his own world. Eddie, disoriented and suffering from withdrawal, is initially hostile but slowly begins to trust Roland as they face Balazar's remaining enforcers on the beach.

Eddie's Withdrawal and Roland's Education

On the beach, Roland guides Eddie through heroin withdrawal. He uses natural remedies and his stoic endurance to help Eddie through the physical and psychological pain. During this time, Roland learns about Eddie's world, including addiction, modern technology, and New York City's social structures. Eddie, despite his suffering, begins to see Roland as a real, if strange, companion, not just a hallucination. Their bond strengthens through this shared experience, with Roland offering a mix of sternness and understanding.

The Lady of Shadows

Roland discovers the second door, labeled 'The Lady of Shadows.' Looking through it, he sees Odetta Holmes, a wealthy, educated Black woman who is a double amputee, confined to a wheelchair. He watches her life in 1960s New York, noting her strength, intelligence, and involvement in the civil rights movement. However, he also senses a darker, more volatile side to her personality. Roland realizes Odetta is one of the three he must draw. He begins to plan how to bring her into his world, anticipating the challenges of her physical limitations and complex character.

The Drawing of Odetta

Roland and Eddie work together to draw Odetta through the second door. The process is complicated by Odetta's strong will and her two distinct personalities: the kind, intelligent Odetta Holmes and the violent, malevolent Detta Walker. As she is drawn, Detta Walker emerges, immediately hostile and dangerous. Detta tries to harm Roland and Eddie, forcing them to restrain her. They quickly realize that Odetta/Detta is a single individual with severe dissociative identity disorder, a result of deep trauma, and that both personalities must be integrated for her to be whole.

Detta's Rage

Once fully in Roland's world, Detta Walker's full rage is unleashed. She is cunning, manipulative, and dangerous, using her limited mobility to her advantage and trying to kill Roland and Eddie. She tries to steal Roland's guns, setting traps and verbally abusing them. Roland and Eddie struggle to contain her, realizing the immense challenge of dealing with her violent personality. This period shows Detta's deep-seated trauma and her cynical view of the world, contrasting sharply with Odetta's more benevolent nature, and forces Roland and Eddie to confront a new kind of enemy.

The Pusher

Roland discovers the third door, labeled 'The Pusher.' Through it, he sees Jack Mort, a seemingly ordinary man who is, in fact, a serial killer responsible for the accidents that led to Odetta's amputation and the head injury that fractured her personality. Roland learns that Mort is a malevolent force, a 'pusher' who subtly influences people to commit acts of violence. Roland realizes that Mort is not just a random individual but a significant figure in Odetta's past and an agent of chaos, possibly connected to the Dark Tower's enemies. Drawing him will be the most dangerous yet.

Confronting Jack Mort

Roland and Eddie plan how to confront Jack Mort. Roland needs to go through the door and prevent Mort from continuing his destructive path, as well as to acquire the necessary antibiotics for his infected wounds. They understand that Mort is not just physically dangerous but psychologically manipulative. Roland, with Eddie's help, plans to enter Mort's world, knowing he must act decisively to stop him and prevent further harm to Odetta/Detta's future. The stakes are incredibly high, as Roland's health is rapidly deteriorating due to the infection.

Roland's Sacrifice and Mort's Demise

Roland, despite his worsening infection, enters Jack Mort's world. He confronts Mort on a subway platform, preventing him from pushing a child in front of a train. Roland then forces Mort to confess his crimes and, in a desperate act, pushes Mort in front of an oncoming train, mirroring Mort's own method. This act is a heavy moral burden for Roland, but necessary to stop Mort's evil and to secure the medical supplies he desperately needs. He manages to acquire the necessary antibiotics and some ammunition before returning to his world.

The Integration of Odetta and Detta

Upon Roland's return, the shock of his actions and the urgency of his condition, combined with the presence of both Eddie and Roland, helps Odetta and Detta. The two personalities, Odetta Holmes and Detta Walker, begin a painful and intense process of integration. They merge into a new, unified personality named Susannah Dean. Susannah retains Odetta's intelligence and grace but also Detta's fierce resilience and street smarts, creating a powerful and complete individual, ready to join Roland and Eddie on their quest.

Healing and New Beginnings

With the antibiotics acquired from Mort's world, Roland's infection slowly begins to heal. Susannah, now a whole person, fully embraces her new identity and her role within the nascent ka-tet. Eddie, having overcome his addiction and faced the horrors of his past, is a changed man, more confident and resilient. The three companions, now bound by shared experiences and a common purpose, prepare to leave the beach and continue their journey towards the Dark Tower. They have faced their individual demons and are now a strong team, ready for the challenges ahead.

Principal Figures

Roland Deschain

The Protagonist

Roland learns to trust and rely on others, forming a true ka-tet and beginning to heal from his profound loneliness and the trauma of his past. He also confronts a moral dilemma regarding the lives he must take.

Eddie Dean

The Supporting

Eddie overcomes his debilitating heroin addiction and learns to embrace responsibility and courage, transforming from a lost soul into a vital member of Roland's ka-tet.

Odetta Holmes

The Supporting

Odetta, through the influence of Roland and Eddie, integrates with her alter ego Detta Walker to become Susannah Dean, a complete and powerful individual.

Detta Walker

The Antagonist/Supporting

Detta is ultimately integrated with Odetta to form Susannah Dean, her raw power and street smarts becoming part of a whole, balanced personality.

Susannah Dean

The Supporting

Susannah is the culmination of Odetta and Detta's journey, representing a healed and integrated self ready to face the world.

Jack Mort

The Antagonist

Mort is stopped by Roland, preventing further harm and bringing a measure of justice to Odetta's past.

Balazar

The Supporting

Balazar's influence is defeated by Roland and Eddie, effectively severing Eddie's ties to his old life.

Henry Dean

The Supporting

Henry's death frees Eddie from a destructive relationship, allowing him to pursue a path of recovery and self-discovery.

Themes & Insights

Addiction and Redemption

The novel explores addiction, primarily through Eddie Dean's struggle with heroin. It shows the physical and psychological pain of withdrawal, the drug's grip, and societal factors that contribute to it. However, it also presents a powerful story of redemption, as Eddie, with Roland's support, fights to overcome his addiction and find a new, purposeful life. His journey symbolizes breaking free from destructive cycles and finding meaning.

“The world had moved on, and it had left him behind, a junkie in a New York City airport, carrying a sack of drugs and a head full of ghosts.”

— Narrator

The Nature of Evil

The book explores various forms of evil, from the ordinary but destructive acts of Jack Mort, a 'pusher' who enjoys causing suffering, to the more open violence of drug lords like Balazar. It also explores the internal evil of Detta Walker, born from trauma and prejudice, and the societal evils of racism and systemic injustice. This theme shows that evil isn't always grand or supernatural; it can be subtle, manipulative, and deeply human, yet equally devastating.

“There was a kind of evil that was so quiet, so unassuming, that it could pass for normal. And that was the most dangerous kind of all.”

— Roland Deschain (internal thought)

Identity and Integration

A central theme is the fragmented and evolving nature of identity, particularly through Odetta Holmes/Detta Walker. Her dissociative identity disorder, a direct result of trauma, represents a fractured self. The journey of her two personalities, Odetta and Detta, towards integration into Susannah Dean is a powerful metaphor for healing, self-acceptance, and reconciling conflicting aspects of one's being. This theme suggests that true strength comes from embracing and integrating all parts of oneself, both light and dark.

“Two minds, two souls, two wills, locked in the same flesh. And one of them was trying to kill the other.”

— Narrator

Ka and Destiny

The concept of 'ka' (fate or destiny) is a core element, guiding Roland's quest and the drawing of his companions. Roland believes in ka, seeing the doors and the people he encounters as part of a predetermined path towards the Dark Tower. This theme explores the tension between free will and destiny, suggesting that while individuals have agency, larger forces are at play orchestrating events. The formation of the ka-tet reinforces the idea that certain individuals are bound together by an inescapable destiny.

“Ka is a wheel, sai. It always comes around.”

— Roland Deschain

The Burden of the Past

Each of the drawn companions carries significant burdens from their pasts: Eddie's addiction and his brother's influence, Odetta's trauma and the resulting split personality, and Roland's own losses and the weight of his quest. The novel shows how these past experiences shape their present actions and personalities. Drawing them out of their respective worlds is not just a physical transition but a metaphorical breaking free from the shackles of their pasts, allowing them to confront their demons and move towards a new future.

“The past was a living thing, a shadow that stretched out behind him, always threatening to catch up.”

— Narrator (referring to Eddie Dean)

Plot Devices & Literary Techniques

The Doors

Portals to other worlds, drawing the ka-tet.

The three mysterious doors on the beach serve as the primary plot device, allowing Roland to travel to and interact with different realities. Each door is labeled with a cryptic title ('The Prisoner,' 'The Lady of Shadows,' 'The Pusher') that hints at the character Roland will encounter. These doors are not merely transport mechanisms but also symbolic representations of the individuals themselves, forcing Roland to confront their realities and draw them into his own. They are the catalyst for the formation of his ka-tet and the progression of his quest.

Roland's Infection

A ticking clock, forcing immediate action.

Roland's severe infection, caused by lobster-like creatures, acts as a powerful ticking clock throughout the narrative. It rapidly deteriorates his physical condition, making him weak and vulnerable, and creating immense urgency for him to find the third door and acquire antibiotics. This device heightens the stakes, forcing Roland to make difficult decisions and take extreme risks. It also humanizes Roland, showing his physical limitations despite his gunslinger prowess, and makes his reliance on Eddie and later Susannah more profound.

Ka-tet

A group bound by fate.

The concept of 'ka-tet' is a central plot device, referring to a group of individuals bound together by ka (fate) for a shared purpose. Roland's quest is to form a ka-tet to reach the Dark Tower. The drawing of Eddie, Odetta/Detta, and their eventual integration into Susannah represents the deliberate formation of this fated group. This device establishes the core dynamic of the story, emphasizing themes of companionship, shared destiny, and the idea that individuals are stronger together when united by a common goal. It foreshadows their future adventures.

Alternate Realities/Worlds

Juxtaposing Roland's world with contemporary Earth.

The use of alternate realities, specifically 1980s and 1960s New York City, juxtaposed with Roland's desolate, post-apocalyptic world, is a crucial plot device. It allows for cultural clashes, providing moments of humor and insight as Roland grapples with modern technology and societal norms. More importantly, it highlights the interconnectedness of all worlds and the idea that the Dark Tower is the nexus of them all. These doorways into other times and places are essential for gathering Roland's companions and acquiring necessary resources for his quest.

Critical analysis

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The Drawing of the Three continues Roland Deschain's quest for the Dark Tower. He opens three mysterious doors on a beach, each leading to a different person in contemporary New York, whom he must draw into his world to aid him.

About the author

Stephen King

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published over 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections.