FREE ESSAY ON THE EYES OF THE DRAGON

THE EYES OF THE DRAGON

The theme of the book, The Eyes of the Dragon, by Stephen King, is to stick to one's
beliefs no matter what happens and always do what one knows is right. Don't give up on
oneself; anything is possible. 
King Roland was the noble king of Delain. He was known as Roland the Good. He was, by
far, not a bad king, though he was really not a great king. He meant no harm and was
successful, but whenever he meant to do great things, he seemed to be unsuccessful.
Roland, king of Delain, had two sons and had done his best to raise them without a wife.
Peter, the oldest, was much like his father. He was successful at avoiding harm of the
kingdom. In addition, he seemed to be more successful at the great things he attempted.
Even as a little boy, Peter was loved by the kingdom, and many were looking forward to
his reign as king. 
When Peter was merely a boy, he stood up against grown men for what he believed in. This
was why the kingdom loved and appreciated him. In one instance, Peter was passing through
the stableyard when he saw a lame horse about to be killed. Peter commanded Yosef, the
palace fixture, to stop. After arguing, Peter managed to convince Yosef to give Peter one
hour to find a veterinarian. Peter was to prove to Yosef that this horse would not die if
taken care of. Just short of an hour later, Peter and the veterinarian returned. The
veterinarian listened closely and agreed with Peter. The horse would never be a working
horse again, but it would certainly make a great pet for Peter. This was only the
beginning of Peter's wisdom and only a hint of the respect he would soon earn.
Thomas was a little different. He was very quiet, so no one was really sure of him. He
did mysterious things. The citizens of Delain were glad Thomas was the younger son, for
no one wanted Thomas as king. Anyone who attempted to, could befriend Thomas and earn his
complete reliance. This great weakness caused the downfall of Delain.
Roland had become dependent on his magician, Flagg. Roland was a good man, but he wasn't
clever. It was not known, but Flagg had come and gone many times through out the years.
He had come and gone with one uncompleted goal. It was fortunate for Delain that Flagg
tended to be unsuccessful with his plans.
Roland the Good was getting old, and it was widely known that he would soon be leaving
the crown to Peter. Disappointing news as it was, many strongly believed Peter was going
to do great things throughout his reign. 
Peter soon grew up, and though he knew what was coming to him upon his father's death,
Peter still wished his father many years to come. It had become tradition for Peter to
take two glasses of wince to his father's room before retiring. Each man, glass in hand,
sat together simply enjoying the company.
This, among other things, made Thomas unhappy and extremely jealous. Thomas believed that
he had no family to love. He had taken the blame for his mother's death and believed his
father and brother had also placed the blame on him. It was probably because of this that
Thomas had no friends, no confidence, and barely a will to live. 
Flagg, the brilliant magician that he was, used Thomas' weakness to his advantage. Flagg
had attempted many times to destroy Delain. He waited year after year and finally his
chance arose. He hadn't completely worked out the details, but he knew things would work
out for him. 
Thomas and Flagg became quite close. Flagg knew he would finally complete his life's
work, and Thomas would put his entire soul into getting what he had always wanted, a
friend. Thomas confided his every though with Flagg, and Flagg showed great sincerity.
Flagg knew all the secrets of the castle because of his coming and going throughout the
centuries. Through the eyes of Niner, a dragon Roland had killed, there were peeping
holes. Through a back hallway, one could find the hidden passage way that led to the peep
holes. Flagg told Thomas of this, and it had meant a lot to Thomas. This was to become
Flagg's big mistake.
One day, an ingenious plan came to Flagg. The magician used a special poison he had saved
for centuries just for the occasion. This poison was no ordinary poison. It would burn a
person from the inside out after simply inhaling it. While working with the poison, Flagg
wore gloves and used tweezers. After going to the window to take a breath, Flagg would
work for a few minutes, and take careful measures not to breathe in the fumes.
In a glass, he took a small amount of poison and mixed it with Roland's favorite wine.
Taking a bit more, Flagg opened up a cage and fed it to a mouse to observe the suffering.
The remaining poison was placed in a little wooden box stolen from Peter years ago. The
box had been a present from Peter's mother with his name engraved in the top. 
Flagg, knowing of Peter's nightly tradition, went to Roland's bed chamber with the glass
of wine to do away with his king. Flagg waited until he was sure Peter had left and no
one would see him enter. Since visitors were becoming few and far between in his old age,
Roland was glad to see him. After drinking their wine, both men agreed to retire for the
night. Though he knew it was for the better, Flagg wished he hadn't had to leave what was
to become a night remember. Flagg left that night thinking he would be the last to see
Roland alive. He was wrong because someone else would see the suffering Flagg had
inflicted. Someone else would be the last person to see Roland alive. Flagg's big mistake
had caught up with him; Thomas had witnessed everything. Thomas had seen it all through
the eyes of Niner.
The next day, servants reported Roland's death. It was also a servant who found Peter's
long wooden box. If circumstances had been different, Peter would've been overjoyed to
see the memorable gift. Unfortunately, Peter was devastated to hear that the poison used
to kill his father had been found in that box. Peter was arrested, tried, and sent to the
Needle for life. Since Peter was royalty, he wouldn't be sentenced to death but instead
sentenced to live the rest of his life atop the tower through cold, heat, and loneliness.
If Peter had been Thomas or any other man, he would've given up and died soon enough.
Peter always had hope, and searched constantly for a way to escape. It didn't take Peter
long to earn the respect of the disgusting gentlemen in charge of him. Eventually, they
would bring him almost anything he desired, for a price. 
Peter had no money; therefore, he tried his luck with an old friend. He had a letter
delivered to Penya, and he agreed to help in any way possible. Penya, after receiving
Peter's letter, chose to believe in Peter's innocence. He vowed to do everything in his
power to free Peter. 
To keep Peter's newly earned privilege, he used it sparingly. He asked for his mother's
dollhouse and a napkin with each meal.
As no one would've guess, Peter had a plan already in effect. From each napkin, Peter
pulled five strands of fabric. This may seem like very little, but it began to add up.
Using the working loom in his mother's dollhouse, he began making a rope.
Things in Delain had become awful for the villagers. With Flagg ruling through Thomas,
taxes had been raised, bankers had to become more strict with mortgages, and a great fear
fell over the land. Because of this, many people began to leave their homes, farms, and
life's work to hide in the forest. Penya was included in the move. The forest provided a
safe place of refuge and the grounds to plan for a revolt. In this newly formed
community, the majority had decided that Peter was to be somehow rescued. This would be
their next move. Upon his escape, they were to make their own decision concerning his
guilt. (Though many already believed firmly in his innocence, there would still be a
vote.)
The trip was already a difficult one, but to make matters worse, it was midwinter. Means
of travel were simply by foot, unless one was fortunate enough to have a team of dogs and
a sled. 
Penya had sent two people, Ben and Naomi, to go to try to rescue Peter. The two travelers
were fortunate enough to have Naomi's sled team. This cut the long trip down to a day and
a half. Once inside the village, there was no plan, but the two were determined. It was
difficult to sneak into the kingdom and even trickier to get into the village square
where the Needle was located.
Peter must have had the same type of feeling flowing that night as the rescue team did
because he was preparing for his escape just as Naomi and Ben arrived. It would've worked
out perfectly if Flagg hadn't been watching from his crystal ball. Flagg had gone to the
Needle to stop Peter's escape. Peter began preparing his rope as Flagg began climbing the
three hundred stairs to the top. Peter was half way down the rope when Flagg reached the
top, but Flagg watched the rope break. 
When Peter was about one hundred feet above the ground, his hands froze and he couldn't
move. He had lost feeling in his hands and moving would risk a fall. The rope was only
made of napkin cotton and broke, just as Flagg had imagined. Peter fell and thought he
had less of a second to live, but his friends were truly great. Not only did they risk
their lives through the cold to get there, risk their heads for helping a criminal
escape, and wait for Peter at the bottom of the needle, but they had also made him a huge
bed of napkins in case of his fall. Each gave a different estimate at the size of the
pile, but it was said to be twenty feet high. Peter landed squarely in the middle of the
napkin and wasn't quite sure if he was alive. His friends ecstatically rushed to him,
knowing they had little time to make an escape.
There were tired guards just now arriving. This would be a big problem to most, but not
Peter. With almost all the courage he had left, he simply told the guards that he was
king, and he didn't kill his father. The let him pass.
After spending all that time in the Needle, Peter had uncovered the truth about Flagg. On
the way to the castle, Peter explained to his friends how Flagg had been trying to
destroy Delain for centuries and he explained his plan. Peter had to reach his father's
bow and arrow used to kill Niner, because it was the only idea he had to destroy Flagg.
The heroic trio reached Roland's chambers and the bow and arrow were gone. Flagg, who had
been fresh on their trail the entire way, reached the chamber almost immediately after
them and was pounding on the door. Ben and Naomi had their weapons drawn and ready,
though Peter knew these wouldn't stand a chance against the wizard. 
Flagg was never one to rush into things and make hasty decisions, so once inside the
door, they all talked. Flagg expressed his guilt for the murder of Roland, vowing to kill
all he had just confessed to. Peter told Flagg he would never get away with it, and
Flagg's reply was simply a smile. After a few moments of silence, Flagg told them that no
one had seen him enter Roland's room that night, only Peter was seen entering the room.
At this, Thomas, who had been hiding in the shadows, spoke up. Thomas told everyone that
he had been watching that night through the eyes of Niner and with his father' bow, show
Flagg in the left eye. After being hit, Flagg disappeared.
This was quite an ending to quite a book. Most of the villagers had believed strongly in
Peter, but gave up on him too quickly when accused. Three characters persuade the truth
and did what they knew was right. It was because of them, this book had a happy ending.