Irony in A prayer of Owen Meany - Essay Example

This essay explores the common question that a critical reader would ask after reading the book: How much John Wheelwright contributed to his own country? The fact that the answer does not amount to much becomes really ironical. Were it not for Owen who helps him in school, he would have failed terribly. As evident in the novel, he dodges the draft and later fled to Canada a country where his role as a serial critic to a country continued to be seen. Ironically, on arrival to Canada, he found no interest in this country to boot.

Increasingly, he had so many opportunities to improve his life but did very little about it. It is thus difficult to show any compassion to such a boy despite having lost his mother in a tragedy. Though John might have thought that in finding Owen he found faith, he still remains lost, abandoned, dispirited and unhappy all through. It is ironical how the life of Owen appears to be a miracle. The supernatural visions, dreams, the way he perceives himself as an instrument of God are ironical. To support this, he appears not to be of this world.

His bizarre spiritual life is validated by his appearance whereby it appears as though he has a direct communication with God. Ironically, it is presented on the other hand that he is entirely of this world. The way he grew up in a granite quarry and his name Meany a word that simply means commonness and smallness contradict the thought that such a small person could have a direct link with God. His appearance, tiny dwarfed body, the weirdly glowing skin, and the ethereally nasal voice that the author presents in capital letters cannot be perceive to be for a person with such attachment to God.

The only distinguishing factor is that unlike what people see of him, Owen Ironically believes that he is a God’s instrument. Additionally, it is ironical how the death of Owen wins John’s trust to a point that he invests more of his faith to Owen that he does to God. This is because he considers the death unjust painful. In fact the death happen so miraculously obviating the need for an immediate choice since to a large extend, the evidence it offers expels every doubt. Ironically, the death of such a simple person brought up in the normal way becomes a sacrificial death since Owen dies to act as a savior of a large number of Vietnamese children.

At the end of the novel, Owen is presented as something of a messiah to a point that John request God to resurrect him and bring him back to the Earth. The manner in which Owen appears as the only self direct and most confident of all the characters in the novel is ironical. Therefore, when a prayer is to be said to him becomes ironical since this idea appears ludicrous. This is because as evidenced in the novel, he lived all his life a plan to execute his final act and did it so perfect when it comes to show time.

Therefore, in normal sense, there is no need to have a prayer said to him. If anyone with such a close attachment to God like he had Owen can be prayed for, then it becomes hard to make a decision on the fate of those who do not believe in him. The reverend has witnessed several miracles. First is the life of Owen, his death, his visitation the time when he discloses the baseball in his drawer, and