Prayer For Owen Meany By John Irving example essay topic

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is a novel in which religion is of great importance. One of the main themes in this novel is faith in God and oneself, and even more, the conflict between belief and doubt. Irving writes in such a way, that this is very evident throughout the book. John Wheelwright, at the start of the novel, is a young boy who does not seem to know much about how strong his faith really is. Part of the reason for this, is that the choice between believing in and doubting God is that there isn t any complete evidence that He even exists. Owen Meany, on the other hand, is almost the complete opposite of John.

He knows that everything that occurs happens for a reason, and that there is no such thing as coincidences. John Irving follows the journey from childhood friendship into adulthood between the two, showing the true meaning of friendship and the impact that Owen has on John. John doesn t feel a connection with God while growing up, quite possibly because he had changed churches several times as a child, due to his mother and her relations with Reverend Me rill. John is characterized as a person lacking to know the very self of him, and he seems to learn from the events that occur around him, rather than to himself. Irving's use of symbolism in the novel is very effective in supporting this theme of religious faith.

One of the most obvious and important symbols is Owen himself. He is portrayed as a Jesus figure, and himself exclaims, I AM GOD S INSTRUMENT. There is also reference to the nativity set in the Meany's home. It just so happens that the Baby Jesus is missing from the crib in the center. This symbolizes that Owen takes the place of Baby Jesus and therefore is not found in the nativity set.

Owen himself is a miracle, which is shown by the description of his physical appearance, his voice, and the fact that his visions and dreams have told him when and how he was going to die. Owen ultimately sacrifices his own life for the good of others, similar to Jesus. Another image in this piece of literature is the fascination with armlessness. Many objects throughout the novel have no arms. For example, the Watahantowet's totem; the dressmaker's dummy that belonged to Tabitha Wheelwright, the armless statue of Mary Magdalene at the Academy, and how Owen removes the claws from the armadillo that was so meaningful to both him and John. Also, at the end of the novel, when Owen loses his own arms and sacrifices his life to save the Vietnamese children as well as John.

God has taken every one of the arms for use of his instruments. This illustrates the idea of losing one's belongings or loved ones, often for something of importance. John puts a lot of emphasis on the absence of matter, rather than the presence of things, which holds a lot of significance with this armlessness motif. At the end of the novel, John eventually ends up becoming a believer. Owen saves a group of children in an airport bathroom, doing so by being assisted and lifted by John- something that the two have been practicing for years in basketball. This makes him realize that there really is a reason for everything, why else would they have practiced a move so hard for so long?

Owen's death is enough reason for John to have faith. Because Owen knew the way and the day he was going to die, John felt that it was enough evidence to cause his doubts to fade away. Although this is true, it seems as if John has more faith and belief in Owen than God himself, which is reasonable considering all the miraculous and almost supernatural events that occur all because of Owen Meany. Overall, John Irving instills a little bit of faith in all who read A Prayer for Owen Meany. John states on the very first page of the novel, he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. From this point on the reader knows that Owen is of great importance and there is an exciting story to be told in the following pages about the journey of religious belief.

336.