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Death as a Sacrifice in John Irving’s a Prayer for Owen Meany

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Words: 673 |

Page: 1|

4 min read

Published: Aug 6, 2021

Words: 673|Page: 1|4 min read

Published: Aug 6, 2021

Death is a dark event that can influence anyone forever, as shown in John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany. Although these influences typically have a negative connotation, death is this book has more of a positive impact on the narrator’s life. Owen’s death results in John’s spiritual reconciliation of turning to a Christian faith. The sacrificial aspect of his death develops the message that the frailty of life reveals one’s deepest beliefs.

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Owen’s death was a premeditated sacrifice made to save the lives of Vietnamese children and John. Dick Jartvis, a mentally disturbed teenager, walks into a bathroom filled with Vietnamese children, as well as John and Owen, and threw a grenade at John. John then passes it to Owen and lifts him, causing Owen to throw the grenade in the window sill, sacrificing himself for everyone in the bathroom. Owen already knew about his death due to “the dream”, which is a vision he had frequently about his death; he wrote in his diary “I know when I am going to die – and now a dream has shown me how I’m going to die. I’m going to be a hero”. John read this entry and thought the “certainty of his convictions was always a little scary” because John did not believe in God previously, so he was confused on how Owen could be so sure about his beliefs. Owen was a man of faith; everything he did was because he knew God would help him through it. Owen’s certainty influences John to spiritually reconsider his beliefs, as he figures out God was the one delivering the message of his death to him. John starts to believe in God because he knew something as fragile as life could not be in anyone else’s hands besides a higher power.

Another prediction Owen communicates due to God was the maneuver he and John had to use to dispose of the grenade, called “The shot”. Owen creates a move where John would dribble a basketball, he would pass it to Owen, and then he would lift Owen up to dunk the basketball. John and Owen consistently practice this shot until they do it in under three seconds, since according to Owen, “Faith takes practice” in order to make the shot in time. Their practice becomes the perfect amount of time to save everyone in the bathroom. Owen’s ability to predict fate and the future is what shows his connection with God, since Owen thinks of himself as “God’s instrument” by saving others in the place of God. John realizes this connection since Owen sacrifices his own life willingly because of his faith in God, so John starts to understand how a higher power must exist for Owen to complete this miracle.

John watches the sacrifice of Owen with his own eyes, contributing to his reconsideration of beliefs. John is a very logical and doubtful character who needs proof to believe anything, which explains why he was always doubtful about his belief in God. He “became rather vague in his religion” as a teenager but this changes quickly. John needs a hands-on experience with the fragility of life in order to truly understand how you don’t always need an explanation for miracles, but that God is the one who creates them. Owen has said before “You can’t prove a miracle” and it took an actual life or death experience for John to understand this. The only proof of miracles according to Owen is God, which John believes after Owen’s sacrifice. This realization by John contributes to his character development in the book, as he used to be only believe in what he could see instead of having faith. He develops into someone who could believe based on faith rather than facts.

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The ending of A Prayer for Owen Meany exhibits John’s spiritual reassessment of becoming a Christian due to Owen’s sacrifice. John’s experience on the brink of death contributes to his realization of how delicate life is, and how God is the only one that could truly manipulate it. 

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Dr. Charlotte Jacobson

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Death As A Sacrifice In John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany. (2021, August 06). GradesFixer. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/death-as-a-sacrifice-in-john-irvings-a-prayer-for-owen-meany/
“Death As A Sacrifice In John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany.” GradesFixer, 06 Aug. 2021, gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/death-as-a-sacrifice-in-john-irvings-a-prayer-for-owen-meany/
Death As A Sacrifice In John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany. [online]. Available at: <https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/death-as-a-sacrifice-in-john-irvings-a-prayer-for-owen-meany/> [Accessed 28 Mar. 2024].
Death As A Sacrifice In John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany [Internet]. GradesFixer. 2021 Aug 06 [cited 2024 Mar 28]. Available from: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/death-as-a-sacrifice-in-john-irvings-a-prayer-for-owen-meany/
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