The Eyes of the Dragon: Flagg's Character Analysis

Every author uses various characters to enhance plot development and communicate different messages. In The Eyes of the Dragon, the author, Stephen King, presents his characters through a narrative of the honor and heroes that could comfortably fit in the tales of Knights of the Round Table and Ling Arthur. The novel traces the story of Flagg, the Kings magician, and his plans to ruin the kingdom of Delain (King). Flagg eliminates the king and frames the heir, Peter, with the murder. After Peter secures his freedom from jail, Flagg runs the kingdom behind the new, weak ruler, Thomas. Nevertheless, Flagg made a mistake of underestimating Peter who has a will to save the nation and clear his name. The narrative is a perfect example of deceit and honor that amazes and pleases the readers at the same time. Flagg is one of the leading characters in the novel, and a critical analysis of his role unearths his personality and what he embodies.

The character Flagg proves that not only does the author combine genres while coming up with a storyline, but also puts into consideration individual traits. Flagg is the fusion of attributes such as that of the trickster and dark man. There is an investigation on the works that Flagg reoccurs. It is to reveal the contradiction between his complex work and that of the King. Despite having spiritual people and events, the overall deduction is in the Kings realization of his intense practicality. As readers, we have to face our flawed humanity in the wickedness of Flagg. The representation is by Flagg who appears to be the embodiment of possession by an external force which is similar to the King's view of evil and wicked as standard attributes. The basis forms a challenge for us to fight for the values we honor and uphold. Thus, Flagg symbolizes the King's genre alteration and the worry between realism and supernaturalism (Strengell). They form universal aspects in the authors writings. The name Flagg never occurred accidentally. It comes from the verb flag. It represents the giving of a sign or the unfortunate outcome of the pursuit. Flagg shares some common traits and personalities such as a tempter, a liar, and a killer. He spreads the seed of evil and malice in many ways aiming to harms others and causes chaos.

Flagg is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He has a variety of names due to the fact of his many roles in various literature. It is notable that Flagg is an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the dark. He poses abilities involving prophecy, necromancy, and control of humans and animals that he inappropriately uses. His primary goal mainly centers on ruining civilizations through battles and destruction (King). He has previously appeared in about nine novels by King (Wiater, Golden and Wagner). The first appearance was on The Stand as a demonic figure. His second manifestation was in The Eyes of the Dragon as an evil wizard aiming to put the city of Delain in chaos. The other was the Dark Tower where he was a principal antagonist who tried to prevent Ronald from ascending to the tower. The Dark Tower extended Flaggs motivation and background, connecting his past appearances.

Considering that and focusing specifically on Flaggs character in The Eyes of the Dragon, one can conclude that he appears as the wizard. His personality as a magician has a link to the trickster trait because he plays cruel jokes on others only to fall victims to the revenge of those he offended. Based on that, one cannot trust him as he continually changes stances according to his preference. In Flaggs perspective, the deception aspect comprised of his primary goal and motive in the novel. In the region of Delain, we come across a Kings sorcerer, an evil individual, capable of bringing bad luck in ways such as poisoning and in an art that makes him almost unnoticed. Flagg has different qualities that assist him in achieving his motives. To accomplish his goal of eradicating his opponent, the Queen, he coerces her midwife to cut one her blood vessels during the birth of her child, Thomas.

Despite appearing as a wizard, Flagg is rather cowardly. When the queen passes away, a foolish King Roland remains at Flaggs mercy. He trusts Flagg thinking that he would be of help and loyal to him with is far from the reality. The King gets poisoned, and Peter bears the blame (King). He goes to jail since false evidence points at him as the victim. Later on, Peter manages to escape from prison and unites forces with his brothers to bring down Flagg. However, he is unable to locate Flagg as he disappears and no one knows of his whereabouts. The situation is evident of Flaggs behavior when faced with obstacles. He is a coward who is unable to defend himself.

The initial page of the book The Eyes of the Dragon depicts Flagg as a plotter whose aim is to make sure Thomas inherits the throne. In achieving that, Flagg intends to manipulate and take advantage of the weak ruler. While thinking about the death of the Queen, he realizes a plot that convinces him on the need to eliminate the Queen. Peter has long discovered that Flagg is a monster in Delain with the intention of harming others. The view is reflective of how other characters saw him as a malicious individual that required care while interacting. Flagg often shifts names and identities, his looks, and usually, he has a hood. As a frequent guest in Delain, he is continuously followed by death and misery. Despite having different personalities, in most instances, he is faceless and camouflaged.

Similar to all evil characters, Flagg's primary interest is to atttain power so that he can be mischievous (Wiater, Golden and Wagner). His joy results from seeing others suffer which is a sad situation. According to the king, evil has no description and remains hidden therefore making Flagg aim at that perception. Dimness excites characters such as Flagg but does not help him from his misinterpreted thoughts. Regarding everyone with suspicion, Flagg believes that people conceal reasons of their deeds for various reasons. Compared to his medieval predecessors, he is proud and defiant. In spite of seeing much, he is surprisingly blind with regards to variation, love, and vision. In a turn of events, fate leads him to self-destruction when Thomas watches him serving poison to the King. Evidently, the magician is either demonic or under control. While searching for Peter in the streets, he shows off his face and the town urges him to change or stay away from evil to avoid unprecedented action on him.

As the Kings advisor, Flagg, is a dangerous and ambitious character. He embodies pure evil as he does not have his superiors interest at heart. Flagg represents greed that leads to his destruction. He speaks in a way that raises suspicion of his knowledge. As the Kings guide, Flagg is unable to arrive at concrete decisions that are of good to the society. Contrary, he is always plotting on his next evil move that would enable him to achieve his desires. His psychological characteristics reveal his inner sentiments. He cares less about people and their welfare. The attributes show the traits of a selfish and self-centered person. Despite other gothic archetypes, Wandering Jew and the Ghost are other examples (Strengell).

The character of Flagg reflects the image of a meandering evil. Moreover, the author uses ghosts in his narrative. The King also applied the Flaggs Jungs idea of the Trickster to reflect the psyche that has hardly left creature level. In the Jungian view, the character to mock others derives its origin from the ancient level of consciousness. It existed before the realization of the myth relating to self-gratification. In general, the archetypes play a significant role in elaborating the themes to the readers. Flagg seems an integration of both the Trickster and the Dark Man perspective. The characteristics allow the author to offer a comparison between good and evil. King tends to divide the archetype of the Old Man who becomes a dictator and then replaces it with the emergence of wickedness. However, the aspects do not entirely reflect Flaggs personalities and are a representation of one phase of his multiple traits.

In conclusion, Flagg is depicted by Stephen King as one of the major characters in the text who portrays various character traits. The author does an excellent job in striking a balance between Flaggs challenging and routine traits. In so doing, the author is able to communicate the intended messages. Therefore, the author has effectively enabled the reader to successfully unearth Flaggs personality and what he embodies

Works Cited

King, Stephen. The eyes of the dragon. Simon and Schuster, 2017.

Strengell, Heidi. Dissecting Stephen King: From the gothic to literary naturalism. Popular Press, 2006.

Wiater, Stan, Golden, Christopher and Wagner, Hank. The Stephen King universe: A guide to the worlds of the king of horror. Los Angeles, Calif: Renaissance Books, 2001. Print.