Religion and Deformities

In Thomas Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor, he writes, "...we live in a Christian culture." What he means is that a majority of our culture is derived from the beliefs of the European settlers. This does not mean that we are all Christians but many societies are based around the same concept. No matter what are your religious beliefs are, knowing what the old and even the new testaments are is very important.Even if you read literature from other cultures like an Islamic or Hindu culture it can be helpful to know about other religious beliefs. By putting your belief system aside you can recognize Christ figures(Chapter 14). In addition in chapter 21 he says that deformities Lawrence Duller's book called Alexandria Quartet, the author introduces several characters with disabilities and deformities one who has to had to amputate her hand just to save her life and later on she became a painter.It turned out that her prosthetic hand can paint but the deformities was more than an inconvenience to the character it lead the character to figure out that just because you are missing a limb it cannot stop you from going on in life.It also means that we cannot go through life with out being marked by the experience.

A Prayer for Owen Meany

" The Little Lord Jesus", chapter 4 of A Prayer for Owen Meany was at first inappropriate and completely awkward. After 13 pages of hearing about "beetleskins" and pornographic magazines, the dialogue finally started to get a bit more serious. Feeling frustrated with hanging in the air and being laughed at as the angel for Mrs. Wiggin's pageants, Owen decides to take charge and "suggest" a handful of changes. Owen Meany proves to be a Christ-like figure once again, by volunteering himself to be Baby Jesus. He also relates to the armless motif of Watahantowet when he is swaddled in clothes when he wants to have his arms free. Although he has the capability of of his arms, this detail signifies how important arms are. Despite the fact that Owen Meany is a Christ-like figure, he takes a large interest in sexual paraphernalia. This is an ironic characteristic of Owen Meany's because Christ was celibate. However, this does not mean that he isn't a Christ According to How to Read Literature like a Professor, all Christ like figures don't have to be good.

Marked for Greatness...

Was Owen Meany marked for greatness? According to How to Read Literature Like a Professor, characters known to be marked for greatness often have significant physical marks or imperfections. By writing about characters marked with greatness the author may try to make a specific point, or just prove that all characters are imperfect, which instead of making the individual look unsatisfactory, makes them appear more unique. The author of how to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster stated, "How many stories do you know in which the hero is different from everyone else in some way? Why does Harry Potter have a scar, where is it, how did he get it, and what does it resemble?" (Foster 195)

That brings me back to my previous question, what significant physical mark does Owen Meany acquire? Just at the beginning of the book, readers get the apparent image of Owen. Owen is extremely small for his age; at eleven years-old he resembles a five year-old child. He barely weights anything, and is so miniature that when he sits down on a chair, his feet don't even touch the floor. Owen is also the color of a gravestone; pearly and smooth. His diminutive face has rough cheekbones, that often blush with the touch of his best friend's mother, Tabby. Owen further has, as John described, "protrusive ears". In addition to that, specially at his temples, Owen's blue vains are clearly visible through his translucent granite skin. John also mentioned that Owen usually "had to shout through his nose to be heard", it was obvious that by his physical appearance he was born too soon. His squeaky voice made him even more unnatural. That voice, could literally "bring dead mice back to life" as told by John's grandmother.
Owen is not the perfect character in A Prayer For Owen Meany. In fact, he's the character with the most imperfections, which makes him quite extraordinary. This proves that Owen is in fact marked for greatness.

Owen Meany: Short. Cute. Christ Figure?

In the novel by John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Owen is meant to be portrayed as a "Christ Figure". In Chapter 14 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the author, Thomas C. Foster, discusses characters in novels who exemplify similar qualities to that of Jesus Christ, the "Savior" from the Bible. Page 119 of the book provides readers with a list for recognizing Christ figures. The list includes the following characteristics: "2. in agony; 3. self-sacrificing; 5. good with loaves, water, and wine (can perform miracles); 7. employed as carpenter; 8. known to use humble modes of transportation, feet or donkeys preferred; 10. often portrayed with arms outstretched; 12. believed to have had a confrontation with the devil, possibly tempted; 14. creator of many aphorisms and parables; 16. had disciples, twelve at first, though not all equally devoted; 17. very forgiving; 18. come to redeem an unforgiving world" (Foster 199-120). Owen complies with many of the characteristics listed on this page.

Owen Meany is in agony. For instance, he killed his best friend's mother with a baseball; a woman that he also loved deeply. He also has to deal with the day-to-day task of being shorter than normal. Also, Owen's parents don't like children, which makes Owen feel unimportant. In Chapter 5, Owen finally snaps and yells at his parents to leave his performance at his church's Christmas pageant, possibly releasing a great buildup of stress and anger toward his parents for basically wishing he did not exist.

Owen Meany is a very selfless person as well. Chapter 1 depicts a scene where Johnny, Owen and their Sunday school classmates are supposed to be "thinking very hard" about the Bible passage they just read. Instead, Johnny and the others take turns throwing Owen into the air, as if he were a little baby. Often times, the teacher would re-enter the room and catch Owen while he was in the air. As angry as he was, Owen never complained about his classmates, and, on page 6, Johnny says, "Owen showed us what a martyr was."

Another similarity that Owen shares with the list is that he lives modestly, just as Christ did. When he wanted to go to Johnny's house, he walked there, or accepted a car ride from Tabitha, Johnny's mom, when she offered. His father had a similar average lifestyle to Jesus' earthly father, Joseph. Joseph was a carpenter, and Owen's father worked in a granite quarry.

Although Foster adds that Christ figures are typically portrayed with their arms outstretched, it is quite the contrary for Owen. Many times, Owen is caught with his arms behind his back, or armlessness is mentioned repeatedly throughout the book thus far. On page 8, the Watahantowet is first mentioned as an "armless warrior". On page 69, when Johnny and his cousins are in the attic, Hester notices Owen when he is standing still under a beam of light, resembling an armless angel of some sort. Additionally, Owen says, "GOD HAS TAKEN YOUR MOTHER. MY HANDS WERE THE INSTRUMENT. GOD HAS TAKEN MY HANDS. I AM GOD'S INSTRUMENT" (Irving 87). Owen is similar to Christ through this quote because it is revealing that he believes that God sent him to Earth for a specific purpose. He also believed that God controls all his actions, and he is not in charge of his own destiny, for God has everything mapped out for him, just as God did for Jesus in the Bible.

Owen also has disciples, sice Johnny said that Owen is the reason he believes in God. And up until her death, Tabitha believed greatly in Owen's academic potential.

Throughout the book, Owen and Johnny have some rather interesting adventures together. The things they encounter and explore, if you will, became some of the major reasons why some of my classmates don't believe that Owen Meany is Christ figure. In the beginning of Chapter 4, Dan, Johnny's adoptive father, allows Johnny and Owen to explore Waterhouse Hall, a dormitory at Gravesend Academy, and they discover pornographic magazines, and, in one room, they take turns trying on a condom. These things may be viewed as unholy to others, but to me, it is just a friendly reminder from the author that Owen is, in fact human, and that he does get tempted. For, just as How to Read Literautre Like a Professor states on page 122: if he didn't have a few flaws, Owen Meany wouldn't be a Christ figure; he'd be Christ.

Harry Potter's scar....

In How To Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster suggests that character differentiation resembles a scar...all the way to disabilities and deformities. Wounds and such can be a mark of greatness that set a character apart from everyone else. For example, JK Rowling's famous character, Harry Potter, is widely known for his lightning shaped scar on the right side of his forehead. This scar, in a way, marks him for greatness because of the story behind it. Deformities and disabilities are usually ignored, or just skimmed over when reading...but by reading this chapter I've come to recognize that when something like that is mentioned in books, it could be a mark of greatness, or a sign that that character will prevail in some way.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

The novel A Prayer For Owen Meany, within the first three chapters I read, were both exhilarating and surprising in every way. John, the narrator is best friends with Owen, a so called "Christ Figure". In the text I believe Owen is not a "Christ Figure", in fact I believe the opposite. So far Owen has caused heinous acts upon innocent people. He has brought death, jealousy, and sorrow into the lives of the Gravesend residents. I felt that on page 138 when the novel says, "I felt another rush of jealousy, to think that Owen's concerns for my mother's first night underground had preceded my own." How would you feel if you had someone acting as if your mother, was there own?

In the fourth chapter on pg 148 I felt that where it said "he was always cast as the announcing angel" I felt that that was a premonition saying how he was an angel and how he is always being the one to announce something that is going to happen.

Also, on page 150 where it was talking about how Owen was complaining about how unnecessary it was to keep switching the babies, I second his opinion because babies were meant to cry and be loud. It's not like they are supposed to be still and not cry.


Also I think it is interesting to see how Johnny can get defensive when a conversation about Hester is brought up but yet they are cousins I feel that they shouldn't be so intimate with each other.