The Eyes of the Dragon

Prince Peter is a typical protagonist. In many ways, Peter is the “chosen one” of the story. He is the ideal prince; he has “his mother’s brains and his father’s love of the common folk” (39). He grows up to be tall, handsome, honest, and kind to others. He is an incredible warrior but also patient and deliberate. His only flaw, if he has any flaws, is that he doesn’t recognize his brother’s pain until it is too late. The fact that Peter is so good and so exceptional at everything he does often makes him seem more fantastical than Flagg.

Peter is destined from birth to take the throne and lead Delain into an era of peace and prosperity. He is conceived on the night of King Roland’s greatest act, and for that reason, he grows up to be tall and strong, with the authority of a king in the way he talks and walks. He is kingly because, as the eldest son of Roland, he was born to be a king. He is a hero of the story not because he learns any lessons but because he cannot help but be a hero. His moral compass is pure and never wavers because he is a force of goodness—it is written onto his soul.

The author also presents Peter as his mother’s son. Sasha instills lessons in Peter at an early age that stick with him throughout his life. She explains that whatever kings do is considered right, so it is important for Kings to do things that are morally just. Peter grows up to be sweet to his father because Sasha was sweet to Roland. He grows up to have manners at the dinner table because Sasha insisted that goodness is something that extends from the largest acts to the smallest habits. Just as King leaves it ambiguous whether Flagg is a mortal man or evil demon, he leaves it for the reader to decide whether Peter is the product of nature (and genre convention) or nurture (and psychological realism).

Thomas is one of the more complex characters in the novel. From the start, the narrator makes it clear that Thomas and Peter are drastically different in type and fate. Even their names harken to the differing apostles of the Bible: Peter whose faith leads him to become the first Pope and (Doubting) Thomas who does not believe in the Resurrection. Where Peter is too smart and brave for Flagg to manipulate, Thomas is slower, more afraid, and more fragile of mind. Where Peter is born in the wake of Roland’s great defeat of Niner, Thomas is born of dark magic and sexual violence, marking him for lesser things if not actually terrible things befitting his origins.

Thomas does not become all bad in the way Peter becomes all good. Every time Thomas does something unsavory, such as killing a dog or letting his brother stay unfairly imprisoned, the narrator insists that Thomas is not a “bad boy.” He is sad, scared, nervous, and jealous, which leads him to seem bad. That isn’t to say that Thomas isn’t culpable for his actions; at the end of the novel, Thomas knows he was a bad King and needs to atone, but Thomas is not inherently evil. He is just deeply flawed and, in a novel with a character like Flagg, there is a very big difference between being evil and troubled.

Thomas is not to blame for all the terrible things he does (or is done in his name). His jealousy of Peter is partly due to the neglect of his father or his manipulation by Flagg, and that jealousy feeds Thomas’s inability to relinquish the crown once he has it. Thomas is mostly guilty of letting himself be controlled. He is like the “dog” (16) Sasha describes at the start of the novel; lacking a strong sense of right and wrong, he follows the lead of someone else. He lacks clarity of purpose and faith in himself, which makes him vulnerable to forces like Flagg.

However, Thomas is the one who defeats Flagg. Like his father, whom he takes after in body, mind, vices, and archery skill, Thomas has one great moment as king: slaying a dragon with Foe-Hammer. It is Thomas who manages to do the central heroic act of the novel, and it is especially heroic for it is the moment Thomas also breaks free of Flagg’s influence and finally gains the clarity of purpose and sense of right and wrong to no longer serve evil.

Roland is called Roland the Good not because he is benevolent but because he is neither terrible nor great. He is a mediocre king. He grew into adulthood never expecting to be king because his mother remained queen until Roland was 50 years old and never particularly wanting to be king. In fact, he finds the job too high pressure. He considers himself not smart enough to make important decisions while still being wise enough to know that every decision a king makes is important. Because he is too scared to govern by his own wits, he relies on Flagg to govern for him.

Roland is also a sad and lonely person. Though he never had interest in women, he loves Sasha and cherishes her. When Peter begins bringing Roland a glass of wine every night, Roland cherishes those moments. He craves the company of others who are kind to him, and when given a chance, he is gentle and kind to others, but those times are rare, as Thomas learns as he spies on his father through the eyes of the dragon. When Roland is not hunting or getting drunk at celebrations, he is a pathetic figure. He drinks alone in his rooms and struggles with the shame of not standing up to Flagg.

Sasha only has a few scenes in the novel, but her influence on the story is much larger. Though she is barely 17 years old when she marries Roland, Sasha is the first example of someone whose goodness presents a threat to Flagg’s control of Delain. She fights for just rulings by convincing King Roland not to punish the innocent or unduly raise taxes. She takes it upon herself to raise Peter because she knows how important it is for a king to be a good person, and she considers herself responsible for making him such. In Peter’s hero’s journey, she serves as the mentor figure. If she lived, it is likely Delain would never have suffered the dark times of Thomas’s reign.

Sasha sets the stage for many of the themes and events of the novel. Roland has the dollhouse built for her, and she is the one who teaches Peter to always use a napkin, the two items that lead to Peter’s escape from the Needle. Her lessons for Peter frame the forces of good that stand up to Flagg’s evil.

Dennis is a guileless butler. He is raised in the castle by his mother and father, Brandon, who was Peter’s butler before him. He comes from a long line of butlers who have proven their worth through honorable service, and he believes in the importance of that service after his father’s teachings. That dedication to service backfires when Flagg uses Dennis as a pawn to frame Peter for Roland’s murder. Dennis then becomes Thomas’s butler and must suffer Thomas’s abuses for years. Along the way, Dennis often serves as a “wise fool,” giving insight into Thomas and the ways of the castle.

By the end of the novel, however, Dennis is one of the most complex characters of the story. He learns to stop unwittingly following the orders of his assigned “master” (Thomas) and even hide some things from his father, all for the sake of helping Peter. He never stops believing in the importance of service, but he claims some agency regarding who he serves and why. He serves Peter because he was his first “master” but also because he feels he needs to atone for his role in putting Peter in prison to begin with. Though a fearful person, the desire to atone leads Dennis to do some of the bravest things in the story. Once Peter is restored as king, Dennis continues to play the reluctant hero by volunteering to join Thomas on his quest to find Flagg again.

Ben belongs to a family of farmers. The Staads weren’t always farmers, but their typical “Staad luck” led to a fall from the ranks of nobility to poverty. That fortune briefly turns when Ben befriends Peter, the future King. Ben and Peter are close friends, and that friendship leads them each to become strong, good, and honest men. Ben is Peter’s nonroyal mirror: He embodies a heroic strength and sense of purpose that makes him seem a good leader.

Anders Peyna is the Judge-General of Delain, the most powerful person after the king (and Flagg). He believes in the law, and he relies on logic over intuition. He is a good man and fair ruler, but he is also morally compromised by serving the law for kings under Flagg’s influence. Like Dennis, Peyna changes over the course of the novel. After realizing he was manipulated into imprisoning Peter, Peyna wants to atone for this mistake. He resigns from his position because he can no longer serve the law and an unjust king at the same time. When Dennis comes to him and tells him it was Flagg who murdered Roland, Peyna seizes the opportunity to set things right by orchestrating Dennis’s and Ben’s involvement in the final act—using intuition over logic.