Three Major Themes in A Prayer For Owen Meany

The three major themes in A Prayer For Owen Meany are: Christ, death, and sex. Quite a combination I would say. Using Foster's list on how to identify a Christ figure, in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Owen seems to be portrayed as a Christ figure or an angel. He has the wounds: his height and voice, he was in agony, he's self-sacrificing, he was employed as a carpenter (to some extent), he is often characterized with arms outstretched, he has "believed to have had a confrontation with the devil, possibly tempted," (Foster, 119) and he is also very forgiving. As for death, it continues to reoccur. Owen believes he has seen the angel of death, (on pgs. 101 & 102), also Owen kills John's mother, Tabby with what Owen calls, "THAT FATED BASEBALL," not to mention the death of Sagamore; Mr. Fish's dog. As for sex, that also continues to reappear. From Johnny having feelings for his cousin Hester, to Johnny kissing Hester and enjoying it, to Owen and Hester flirting and Owen taking her panties, to the point where Owen and Hester are dating and eventually living together as man and wife. And, because Owen and Hester are living together as man and wife, people such as Johnny,Noah, and Simon begin to suspect that they have had sex. This sex theme even progresses to the point where Johnny and Owen end up at a strip club called, "Old Freddy's" (on pg. 343) But, as Thomas C. Foster says in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, "It's all about sex...except for sex."

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