Owen Meany Literary Devices

Nature has a way of ensuring that things change and develop as necessary. However, there are times that nature needs a bit of a push. The agent that provokes this quick and life changing push is called the catalyst. In the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving Owen is the catalyst. It is through a series of literary devices that Irving discloses the immense effect that Owen has had not only on the life of his best friend, John, but on everyone that he encounters.
One interesting literary device used to drive the story is the style of narration. The story begins from the point of view of middle-aged John Wheelwright. John is quickly identified as the former best friend of Owen Meany. As it turns out, this is John’s story. This makes

the title regarding only Owen’s name rather misleading. In fact, the story is written in first person leaving no evidence of any insight into the mind of Owen Meany. Due to the style of John’s storytelling, however, Owen becomes the center of the plot. While it starts in adulthood, John’s story follows no chronological order. The setting takes place anywhere between the ages of ten and forty-five. Not only does this make it possible to experience Owen but also to better understand the importance of each foreshadowing event. This very personally written novel walks through each important event in John’s life, carefully analyzing the ways in which Owen’s friendship impacts his personality and experiences. This style of narration is important in understanding the bigger picture that Irving is trying to portray.
Another important device is provided through the use of characters and themes, focusing specifically on physical quality and appearance.

A prime example of Irving’s emphasis on appearance is that of Tabitha Wheelwright. Tabitha is the mother of John, a boy born out of wedlock. Back in the mid-1900s, this was a rather shameful sin to carry around. There is not a woman that would not be heavily looked down upon for such a disgraceful action; this is, except for Ms. Tabitha Wheelwright. She is such a beautiful and sweet woman that everyone is willing to look passed it. She is even granted the ability to wear white at her wedding to Dan Needham with no confrontation. Someone whom is especially taken by Tabitha’s overall sweetness is Owen Meany. This is ironic seeing as he has the same effect on people. In fact, they are quite stricken by each other. The difference between Owen and Tabitha is that their looks seem to be on the opposite ends of the spectrum. While Tabitha is described as baring unfathomable beauty, Owen is a rather peculiar looking fellow. He is small enough for his classmates to hold over their heads. Even into adulthood John is surprised that he was tall enough to meet the military’s height requirement. His ears are described as being oversized and rubbery. His skin is so pale that he is almost translucent. His overall appearance is so shocking that Hester actually screams the first time that the two meet. While these are all important notes on Owen’s

appearance, the description of his voice is probably the most important. Every time that Owen speaks in the novel, his words are expressed in all capital letters. It is such a memorable sound that it is even recognizable by John’s grandmother while she suffers through Alzheimer’s. This childlike voice that is deemed to be so strange throughout most of the story is the same voice that keeps the children calm on Owen’s last day. The focus on appearance exemplifies the idea of being different or “chosen.” The reference towards appearance goes beyond the main characters of the novel. A very common theme with appearance is that of armlessness. This theme appears as early as Lydia’s leg amputation and referenced several other times, including: the time where John and his cousins see Owen standing with his arms behind his back with the sun shining from behind him, the time that Owen plays baby Jesus and his arms are bound tightly at his sides with swaddling clothing, the dressmakers dummy, Mary Magdalen, and the end of the book when Owen loses his arms to an explosive. This portrays the idea of helplessness. While John sees Owen as being anything but helpless (he’s actually a rather strong force to be reckoned with), Owen sees himself as having no control of his own. He is restricted to doing only as God commands.
One of the most obvious, and important literary device used is that of symbolism.

The entire novel comes down to the realization that Owen Meany is symbolic of Jesus Christ. To be truthful, the evidence of Owen being a Christ figure is sometimes overbearing. It begins with the little things, such as the sun projecting a glow about him and the mere idea of being different or chosen, and rapidly progresses. For starters, John reveals on the very first page that Owen the reason for his religious beliefs. Much like Jesus, Owen is not shy about spreading the word of the lord. Much like Jesus, Owen is also blessed with the power to heal. While Jesus possessed the power to heal physically, Owen can do the same emotionally. Look at his ability to soothe the kids, for example. The end scene is filled with chaos and his voice still has a calming effect. Perhaps the biggest example of emotional healing is Hester’s. Hester is known to be the wild child of the family. She is rowdy, promiscuous, and loud. She even ends up becoming a rock star. In spite of her strong personality, Owen has had the ability to tame her from their first encounter. She has always been exceptionally caring and cautious in the presence of Owen. The end up in a long term relationship, where Hester even expresses the idea of settling down and having his children if Owen withdraws his attention from the war in Vietnam. The issue of Vietnam creates a whole other connection to Jesus. Owen’s job as a member of the

military is to guide the bodies of the deceased back home. Coincidentally, the point of Jesus dying for the sins of others is to save and guide their souls back to their spiritual home. Yet another Christ-like quality is Owen’s endless supply of divine knowledge. It seems as though Owen has always had insight to the unknown. Much like Christ, Owen knows how he is going to die and why. While Jesus died for all of God’s children, Owen died for a specific group of children. All of these are very important to the symbolic appeal of Owen to Jesus. The most shocking reference to the son of God, however, is the belief that Owen is a result of Immaculate Conception. While this is not revealed directly until the end of the novel, the foreshadowing is always there. John states in the beginning that Owen’s family was disgraced by the Catholic Church for an unknown reason; this is the reason. Baby Jesus is missing from the manger in the Meany’s nativity scene, but why is he necessary when his equivalent is present in their home? When Owen is playing the young king in the Christmas pageant, he calls his parents out for their distasteful and ironic appearance to the show. All of these things are brought into prospective when this idea is revealed. Owen truly is the instrument of God that he believes himself to be.
Without Irving’s persistent use of these literary devices, it would be difficult to understand why Owen is a catalyst. His strong presence is exceptionally important to the development of the novel. If it were not for him, Tabitha may be alive. John may still live in America, or have died in Vietnam. The identity of John’s father may still be unknown. There is no question that Owen changed nature’s plan for Gravesend, New Hampshire. As an instrument of God, he undoubtedly had the ability to ability to do so. Owen Meany changed the lives of everyone that he encountered, and the novel simply would not have been as good without him.