Themes from American Literature

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a story full of themes that connect to American Literature.
In American Literature, one theme is the hero. The hero is considered to be an altogether different type of person- them against the world. Owen Meany greatly applies to this concept. From the day he was born, he was noticeably different, not only in size, but everything ranging from his intelligence to the pitch of his voice. Growing up, Owen was the kid who was picked up and passed around the classroom when the teacher wasn't looking. He was the kid whose cheeks were the ones adults wanted to pinch and squeeze. He definitely suprised people though. Owen was forced to go through obstacles in life, whether it was not ever getting the chance to get up to bat in Little League, or later, almost not getting drafted for war because he could not climb the wall. Owen is defined as a hero though, because he never lost what was most important to him- faith. He always knew his purpose, and believed in himself and in God. Society viewed him and his situation as a disadvantage, but Owen embraced it. In the end, Owen dies a hero, and serves his overall purpose.
"Major Rawls never knew everything that Owen had known; the major knew only that Owen had been a hero- he didn't know Owen Meany had been a miracle, too." -Pg. 616

Another theme from American Literature is friendship. From the first page, A Prayer for Owen Meany is truly a story about friends. Johnny and Owen go through almost everything together- Tabby's death, Owen's family problems, holidays, church, getting into the prestige Gravesend Academy, driving, and for a while, even college. Irving tells a story of one of the strongest friendships I've ever read about; it's inspiring. It just goes to show that even if your best friend kills your mom, you can make it through it if you really love the person.

One last theme, of course, is religion and faith. I've touched this topic a lot already, and don't want to repeat things over again. Of course, religion and faith take a huge role in this story. They define Owen and shape him in to the person he is. It also helps create the other two themes- faith is one of the factors making Owen a hero, and the strong faith and religion Johnny and Owen share between eachother contributes to such a long-lasting friendship.