A Prayer for Owen Meany: Analysis of Major Characters
"A Prayer for Owen Meany: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate dynamics of its primary characters within a narrative steeped in themes of fate, faith, and sacrifice. Central to the story is Owen Meany, a small-statured boy who perceives himself as an instrument of God, destined for greatness despite his physical limitations. His tragic yet heroic journey culminates in a self-sacrificial act during the Vietnam War, which positions him as a Christ-like figure within the narrative. Alongside him is John Wheelwright, his best friend and narrator, who grapples with alienation and a complicated family history, ultimately serving as Owen’s disciple in recounting his story. Other significant characters include Hester Eastman, who embodies the rebellious spirit of the Vietnam era while remaining emotionally tethered to Owen's memory, and Tabitha Wheelwright, John's nurturing mother whose life is tragically cut short. The complexities of these characters are further enriched by Dan Needham, who provides guidance and a paternal role, and Reverend Lewis Merrill, whose struggle with guilt and faith adds depth to the story's exploration of morality. Together, these characters weave a rich tapestry that invites readers to reflect on their own beliefs and the impact of destiny on their lives.
A Prayer for Owen Meany: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: John Irving
First published: 1989
Genre: Novel
Locale: Gravesend, New Hampshire, and Toronto, Canada
Plot: Bildungsroman
Time: 1952–1968 and 1987
Owen Meany, a midget with a high, squeaky voice who always sees a clear destiny for himself. Because of his size, Owen is always lifted overhead by other children in his Sunday school. He is a bright young man with leadership qualities. He believes that all actions and objects have meaning. He processes all information, forgets nothing, and saves everything. Owen believes that he is God's instrument. Although he usually is unable to hit a ball, at one little league baseball game Owen hits a foul ball that strikes and kills Tabitha Wheelwright. Owen thinks that he warded off the Angel of Death from Tabitha's room and thus later became the agent of her death. In high school, Owen, as editor of the school newspaper, becomes the voice of moral authority. As a young man living through the Vietnam era, he criticizes his country's flawed leadership. Owen sees his life as fated. As a child, he sees the date of his death on his tombstone and later has a dream vision that he will die saving Vietnamese children. While in a Phoenix airport, he indeed saves several children by hurling himself on a grenade. Owen's sacrificial death, his part as the Christ child in the Christmas pageant, and his mother's belief that his was a virgin birth mark him symbolically as a Christ figure, a hero in an age that has lost its belief in heroes.
John Wheelwright, an alienated man who holds onto his faith in God and cynically criticizes the moral laxity of the United States. As a young man, John is slow in school and depends on Owen for leadership and direction. John's mother has him out of wedlock and does not tell him who his father is. Owen's voice from beyond the grave reveals the identity of John's father to him, but his father is a disappointment. John dodges the draft during the Vietnam War by having Owen cut off his trigger finger for him. After Owen's death, John moves to Canada, where he teaches English at a girls' school. Unable to assimilate into Canadian life, John finds himself detached from his own generation, an isolated man clinging to the margins of his faith, a man never able to have sexual contact with a woman. John knows of Owen's vision and witnesses his miraculous death. This memory has haunted him; he lives in the past and wishes he had Owen back again. Symbolically, John is Owen's disciple, writing the story of Owen as Christ figure.
Hester Eastman, John's sexually precocious cousin, labeled Hester the Molester. She becomes a part of the rebellious youth movement of the Vietnam era engaged in violent protest. In love with Owen, after his death she remains attached to his memory. Later, she becomes a famous rock singer and makes music videos that are an odd mixture of sex and political protest. Her songs, which evoke the memory of Owen, appeal to a generation of young girls who have never known suffering.
Tabitha Wheelwright, John's free-spirited mother, who had a brief fling that resulted in John's birth. Tabby loves both John and Owen, and she nurtures and protects them. She marries Dan Needham and shortly afterward is killed by a baseball hit by Owen.
Dan Needham, a Harvard graduate who teaches history at Gravesend Academy and works in amateur theatricals. He marries Tabby and becomes a father to John, teaching him the meaning of friendship. He also guides and protects Owen.
The Reverend Lewis Merrill, John's father. He is a guilt-ridden minister who had a brief affair with Tabby. As she waves at him at the fatal baseball game, he wishes her dead. Haunted by the guilt of her death, he loses his faith, but he regains it when John uses Tabby's dressmaker's dummy to fake a ghostly apparition of Tabby.