Free Essays - A Prayer for Owen Meany :: Prayer for Owen Meany Essays

The main theme of A Prayer for Owen Meany is religious faith -- specifically, the consanguinity between faith and doubt in a world in which there is no obvious evidence for the existence of God. John writes on the premier(prenominal) page of the book that Owen Meany is the reason that he is a Christian, and ensuing story is presented as an explanation of the reason why. Though the plot of the novel is kind of complicated, the explanation for Owens effect on insurrectionists faith is extremely simple Owens life is a miracle -- he has supernatural visions and dreams, he believes that he acts as Gods instrument, and he has inspired foresight of his own death -- and offers miraculous and almost undeni qualified evidence of Gods existence. The basic thematic shape of the novel is that of a tension being lifted, kind of than a tension being resolved Johnny struggles throughout the book to resolve his religious faith with his skepticism and doubt, but at the novels end he is not requi red to make a choice between the two extremes Owens miraculous death obviates the need to make a choice, because it offers evidence that banishes doubt. Yet Johnny remains troubled, because Owens sacrificial death (he dies to save the lives of a group of Vietnamese children) seems painfully unfair. Johnny is left with the problem of accepting Gods will. In the end, he invests to a greater extent faith in Owen himself than he invests in God -- he receives two visitations from Owen beyond the grave -- and he concludes the novel by making Owen something of a Prince of Peace, ask God to allow Owens resurrection and return to Earth. Of course, the thematic development of the novel is somewhat more complicated and cluttered than that. The presentation of religion in the book is continually undercut with irony and the constant presence of sex. Further the thematic development of the book is also inconsistent and indirect, in part because we are never able to obtain a secure view or outloo k of Johnnys mind he is such a subdued narrator that it is difficult to tell simply where he stands during much of the novel, which often clouds our sense of his struggle with faith and doubt. This ambiguity underscores the important point that Irvings basic intention for his novel is not to present a philosophical meditation on the nature of God, but rather to tell a clutching story.