by tstromdahl ยป Thu Aug 29 2013 23:37:25
IMDb member since August 2004
Call King and ask him.
As much as we would all like to, that's an unlikely option unless you catch him at a public appearance somewhere or perhaps post to the official website. King rarely has any online interaction with his fans, as he likes his privacy, but if there is a question, it's limited possibility of being relayed to him via site admins, publicists or fan mail, which understandably given the genres he works with, are heavily screened, is few and far between at best.
As far as the subject of this thread, who the hell Andre Linoge is, there is some information from King himself through various related sources. King has stated one of the etymological influences for Linoge's surname is "la neige" or "snow" (though "le neige" also can be associated because that translation is "to fall") which makes it not too far fetched if Linoge has control of many types of weather to varying degrees, depending on his state of strength or weakness.
Born in lust, turn to dust. Born in sin, COME ON IN.
On the commentary, King's mentioned several times Linoge's association to being The Devil, but which one is never specified, as a character like that has appeared somewhere in many types of folklore, mythology and religion worldwide. Knowing King's personal background, there's the obvious relation to Christianity, but since he likes to combine similar sources in one creative work, Linoge may be just a long lived figure who has influenced many societal beliefs, not just one. The Devil can also be a figurehead of some type, like the one used in Tarot readings. This falls in line with Linoge's minimal ability to easily manipulate by leveling emotional devastation equally among individuals or groups.
In that case demonic associations like Linoge's name being an anagram for "Legion" is an easy association, but we have to remember Linoge has stated he is long lived, at least 4000 years old and not immortal, however, because of this longevity, he in essence has lived the lifetimes of many generations, and consequently has experiences and memories that divided among individuals would be a legion. As such, he also is aware of the history of humanity's weaknesses with misguided religious influences, and uses that in his favor. Having access to abilities like illusion, controlling another individual's involuntary actions, weather manipulation, telepathy and psychokinesis only augments this falsified image all the more.
Those powers mentioned above can be connected to the possibility of him being a warlock, sorcerer or wizard of some kind, as well as the cane he carries which he uses as if it were a staff or wand to concentrate and up his abilites to an exponential level. Additionally, this totem has a wolf's head that has clear symbolic associations, as the wolf is not often seen in a positive light.
Examples would be Fenrir (the son of Loki, who is expected to kill Odin at Ragnarok while simultaneously his progeny would eat the sun and moon), The Big Bad Wolf, Wolf of Gubbio, wolves as malicious pack hunters eating more than their share/attacking without merit, wolves as guardians of the underworld/associated deities or figures, lycanthropy (werewolves) and expressions like "Keep the wolf at the door." (poverty, succumbing to the elements, starvation) and "A wolf in sheep's clothing." (something perceived as innocent but underneath is quite the opposite). Through intimidation tactics, wolves will bare their teeth, much like Linoge, and later Ralphie does. The wolf is also a common symbol of power, used in items like crests, coat of arms, houses of nobility, flags and armor.
Hell is REPETITION.
(repeated singing) I'm a little teapot, short and stout / here is my handle, here is my spout / when I get all steamed up, hear me shout / "Just tip me over and pour me out!
(repeated line, spoken and written on various surfaces throughout the series)
GIVE ME WHAT I WANT AND I WILL GO AWAY!
Due to his own personal needs for an heir, it's interesting that Linoge's name can be taken as a homonym, or sounds alike/similar, to the word "lineage". At best, hopefully it would be the the most innocent and typically a child, identified as an inheritor of his abilities and personal culture. Apparently he lacked the means of creating life on his own, and as the last of his kind, he had to go to the one governing sentient species who often takes this for granted. This may explain some of his abject disgust with a majority of the humans he encounters.
What's more, it's apparent he has some outside influence from unseen third parties/entities (Powers That Be or some other being/beings greater in power than himself) when it comes to rules set for finding an heir. As it's a repetitive process, so goes his frustration and futility if one is not found within those set of rules, for him a repetitive hell. At this point he may have been driven to the point where his patience is wearing thin, gleefully using a boiling teapot as a metaphor with his association of hellish repetition. This thematic repetition goes further when he continually tells the population not a flat out lie, but the bare truth, to give him what he wants, which they eventually do, fulfilling his promise of going away.
Linoge may not even be Linoge, just a name he uses with it's entailed associations. If he is indeed 4000 years old, which he could easily be lying about, he could have been born someone else and used many names over the centuries associated with evil tricksters, gods, demonic creatures/figures and great liars.
Ultimately, even though his methods are what can be considered qualities we associate with evil, he appears to be a lonely individual put into a difficult position whose motivation is like any of us wanting to create life and pass on our own personal knowledge, history and legacies.
Edits: Mark ups needed. Moving on...I'm Not Bad, I'm Just Drawn That Way...
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bayardhiler
11 years ago
That was one of the most thought out and detailed responses I've seen in a long time. I loved all of your theories and ideas, very interesting. Thank you very much!
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