A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany is a book by John Wheelwright Irving published in 1989. The novel revolves around the issues of Christianity and demonstrates the significance of religion. One of the themes that completely stand out in this novel is that of doubt and belief. The characters have a conflict about what they should believe and what they should doubt about Christianity. In addition, John Wheelwright has a great belief about the predestined plan of the life of Owen. He uses several stylistic devices to make the reader believe in Owens predestination.
In this book, Owen uses first narration to give details about his life and other characters in the story. The first person narration helps a reader to experience a narrative from the narrator's point of view, thus convincing the reader to accept the beliefs and assumptions of the narrator (Zděnková 3). He introduces a story within a story with the aim of giving an in-depth information about Owens life. In the course of the narration, Johns gives his details and it is through learning about his life that a reader gets to know more about Owen. John uses the memory of the conversations they have had in the past, flashbacks, and diary entries to provide facts about Owen’s life. This shows that he has spent a lot of time with Owen and the style of going back and forth in time makes the reader believe John's account of Owen's life. The transition and previews from when they were young provide a lot of information making the relater reliable (Zděnková 5). When the reader fully trusts that the information the narrator provides is true, then they believe in the motive and beliefs of the author. John also gives a detailed description of Owen that makes the story reader believe that he is somehow a supernatural being in human form. The speaker posits that Owen has a tiny physique, a peculiar, almost glowing skin and a voice that is quite strange (Irving 17). There is an instance where John's grandmother says that Owen's voice could make dead mice come back to life. These characteristics and the fact that John is able to transform into behavior form and in religious beliefs demonstrate to the reader's that Owen was destined to lead John to this path of belief.
The author also uses symbolism, allegory, and imagery to make the person who reads the chronicle to believe that Owen is destined. In the book, it is evident that Owen has unique characteristics that set him apart from all other characters. His voice is quite unique and quite memorable. For example, when Harriet in the novel gets mental disorders, she totally forgets everything but Owen is memorable to her because of the manner he talks. The unique characteristic is deliberate in the story to convince the reader. For a reader to believe that Owen is chosen he should have unique traits that make him stand out. John achieves this through the manner in which he describes the physique and sound of Owen.
The voice, Owen possesses is not only strange but also a tool to help people. In an instance, when Dick Jarvits comes with a grenade, the orphans are restless and panic, however, Owen uses his voice to make them calm (Irving 614). This scenario undoubtedly convince the reader that Owen has a higher purpose in life, especially with his voice. John uses the name Ghost of the future to refer to Owen with the main aim of explaining how he seems to know what will happen in the future (Irving 203). Oen has the ability to predict future occurrences and it begins with the way he foretells the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. In addition, he also has a version of what his future will be like when he sees a date and his name on the gravestone prop (Irving 244). Johns uses this name to refer to him in the play, however, it also symbolizes how Owen extraordinarily possesses knowledge of what is going to happen to him later in life.
John in the book has dolls and a statue that do not have all parts of the body. For example, Owen beheads and removes the arms of the statue of Mary Magdalene after he steals it from St Michael's Church (Irving 271). Tabby’s dressmaker's dummy in the book lacks arms and after Tabby dies Owen takes the dummy to his room. These figures are connected to the death of Owen in the story. He dies from a grenade explosion that rips his arms out off his body and he dies from excessive bleeding. When are tries to draw a connection from all the images in the book and Owens death, it is clear that it is not a coincidence but a plan that was to fall into place.
Owen gets to play the role of baby Jesus during the 1953 Christmas and he embodies the role of Christ well even outside the play (Irving 164). his parents also believe that he is born from the virgin birth similar to Christ’s birth story. He also takes an interest in teaching and preaching to others about the religious teachings. He also claims that he is God’s instruments, thus supporting the Jesus figure that John uses in the novel to describe Owen (Irving 87). His death is also a mystery since it is parallel to the accounts of the death of Christ. Jesus knew before time that he was going to die similar to one's knowledge about his death. He has precise details about the date of his death and that he is dying with the sole aim of saving a group of children. This is comparable to Jesus purpose as he knows that he is supposed to die so that the children of God will be saved from their sins. These instances of imagery aid in influence the reader accept as true that Owen is chosen to fulfill a particular intention.
John also successfully uses a sad and convincing tone in the novel that draws the reader to his emotions and perspectives about Owen. As the story begins John gives the reader all his details and a reader is able to trust him to provide truth and factual information. His vulnerability helps him create a rapport with the reader and anything he says is not questionable. For example, John posits that he lost his dear mother from a very young age and the Owen, who is responsible for the death of his mother is his only best friend. Conversely, John also forgives Owen for the inevitable event and says that Owen makes him get deep religious certainty. He also utilizes a personal tone bearing even his darkest secrets to the reader. This tone helps appeal to the emotions, and reason of a reader to believe all his claims in the novel.
John in this novel has a logical flow of all events, images, and scenes that add up together to fit into one big puzzle. He structures the novel in a way that some details that a reader encounters later on in the novel start making sense. He does not explain the detail with the aim of sustaining the readers interest and maintaining concentration. His style of writing helps the reader to make a conclusion and believe that all the events that happened in the life of Owen were no coincidence but a plan to fulfill a certain reason. He skillfully leads the reader to not only conclude but firmly believe his assertion of Owen being a chosen being in the world.
In conclusion, John Irving uses a lot of stylistic device in his novel to make an audience believe his assertions about Owens life. The characters are deliberately described to help Owen stand out among all other characters. He uses imagery to compare the life of Owen and that of Jesus, which act as a suitable way of persuading the reader. At the start of the novel, He also incorporates images that similarly describe the ending of Owen's life. Evidently one is a phenomenon from the description of his voice, his body structure, and the way he leads his life. He also chooses to end his life with the aim of saving others in accordance with the visions he gets. He does not run away from his fate and decided to fulfill it as he is shown. These events and resilience that Owen possesses ultimately convinced the reader that he is predestined.