A Prayer for Owen Meany

1 Pages 312 Words

The title A Prayer for Owen Meany is referred upon several times throughout the story. The author uses the “prayers for Owen” by illustrating the reverend’s difficulty to create proper words for Owen and his needs. Also, the author uses his “prayers for Owen” to illustrate to the audience that this man who is so rare must be a gift of God and must be prayed about and often reflected upon. He is a sign of the holy and the supernatural.

The setting of the book is in many places because of the author’s erratic flavor in which he chooses to reminisce. In most scenes, the author tells of his life in the late 40’s / early 50’s in Gravesend, New Hampshire. The author himself is writing from his home in 1987 in Toronto, Canada, however most action takes place in his flashbacks occurring in and around Gravesend, (whether it be the Academy, 80 Front Street, or The Meany Granite Quarry.) What is significant about Gravesend is that it is an extremely older town founded by Mayflower descendents, many of which belong to the families of the town’s elite, aristocratic older society. The Wheelwright family can be traced back to the town’s founders, and John’s grandmother is considered an aristocrat of Gravesend.

The main theme centers around the emerging theme of religious faith and doubt. John struggles throughout the book to resolve his religious faith with his skepticism and doubt, but at the end of the novel he isn’t required to make a real choice between the two extremes. John begins the novel by saying that Owen is the reason that he is a Christian man, and the rest of the novel explains his reasoning. It also themes around courage and belief through the means of faith. To John, Owen’s existence is a miracle and Owen is a distinct proof of God’s existence....