Just Finished Reading The Gunslinger (dark Tower 1

Well, I just finished reading The Gunslinger, and it’s an amazing book. I loved the atmosphere and can’t wait to read the whole series… I have The Drawing Of The Three in front of me, but I don’t think I can read it until I fully understand The Gunslinger… Please can one of the Dark Tower fans here help me out… If these questions are answered for the first time in the other books in the series, please specify…. Ok, down to business.

1) What happened to Marten? Marten was the enchanter that killed Roland’s father and seduced his mother, correct? He was also the main reason that Roland “jumped the gun” (exscuse the pun) on his training and completed his gun slinger test a few years early so he could confront him, right? But what happened to him in the end? It’s never specified.

2) Who is Walter (The Man In Black) He says that he is Walter, someone that appeared in Martens entourage.
when Marten fled to the west. But who exactly is he? I don’t recall him being mentioned in any of Roland’s flashbacks. Why exactly is Roland chasing him?

3) The main question, about the discussion The Gunslinger and The Man In Black have… This was possible the hardest to grasp part of the story, I had to reread that whole speech of the The Mam In Black a few times just to understand it (The greatest mystery the universe offers us, is not life, but size)! What exactly is The Dark Tower? Am I correct in saying it’s the link that connects the billions of trillions of universes (that exist on single atoms) together? Also, more importantly, does Roland first hear about the Tower from the oracle, and from the beginning of the book, not know anything about it? The first time the tower is spoken in the book is when The Oracle tells him that he will speak with The Man In Black about the tower. So I’m assuming Roland knows nothing about it till then, if so, once again, why is he chasing The Man In Black?

4) And now, the question that is bugging me the most: What exactly is Roland’s quest? Must he just find The Dark Tower or what? What does he have to do, and what is the reason behind him having to find it? Is the Tower “Malfunctioning” or what? The Man In Black mentions he has a master named Marelyn, and they both have a master who controls the Tower and all the magic in the world, The Beast… He also says that Marelyn has prolonged the night so that The Man In Black and Roland can speak for ten years about the tower. The Man In Black says that Roland must slay Marelyn before he can reach the Tower, but why would Marelyn allow them to have that discussion if he knew that Roland would have the knowledge that he must slay him? Why exactly do they need Roland to know anything about the Tower, what’s in it for them?

5) On a final note, am I correct in saying that the dream The Man In Black shows Roland, is a trip through the creation of all the universes and the creation of all time… This drives Roland slightly insane, trying to comprehend all the knowledge of Creation, and just before he goes over the edge of insanity, and wakes up, he sees a blade of grass and comprehends that our universe, is just one atom on a blade of grass? This is not really a question, I understand it, I just want to make sure I got it right, the other 4 questions are more important. Also, if The Man In Black is immortal, why would he be dead after the 10 year night? Was he main purpose in life just to tell Roland of the Dark Tower, and when he did, he died?

I really need help understanding these questions… I beg any of you to clear those things up with me. I felt nauseus trying to comprehend some of the goings on in that final chapter, and I had to reread them a few times, but those things are still unclear… I wont be able to read The Drawing Of The Three until I can understand The Gunslinger