A Prayer for Owen Meany Blog #2

            As I continue to read A Prayer for Owen Meany, it is becoming clearer that Owen Meany is, in fact, a Christ Figure. Owen is now the star of both of the annual Christmas plays that are put on by his community. He is Jesus in the Nativity and The Ghost of the Future in A Christmas Carol. His role as Jesus in the Nativity is quite a literal reference to a Christ figure, but John Irving’s novel is full of biblical references that are significant, but not quite as obvious.

            Especially now that the evidence is clearer in this second section of the novel, it is clear that Owen has been a Christ figure from the beginning. For example, like Jesus, Owen, figuratively is a martyr. He reveals this characteristic when his classmates raised him up over their heads and pass him around the classroom. Johnny recalls that Owen “never complained about us” even in those times of cruelty and humiliation (6).

            Owen also embodies Christ at his performance in the Nativity when he sees that his parents have joined him and yells, mid-pageant, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING HERE?... YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE!” at his parents (220). This reminded me of Luke’s story of young Jesus in the Temple when he stays behind on his family’s pilgrimage and when his parents come back to look for him, he is surprised and almost exasperated to find that his parents have been worried about his whereabouts because he has been in “my Father’s house” with the religious leaders the entire time. While Jesus was not mad at his parents for coming back for him, to me, both stories had the same message: “Mom, Dad, would you please just leave me alone while I do God’s work? I know what I’m doing”. Both Jesus and Owen are carrying out the work of God, one by preaching in the temple and one by telling Jesus’ story through the Nativity, and both boys want to be uninterrupted by their parents as they work.

            Owen also embodies Christ in the Christmas Carol pageant when instead of seeing Scrooge’s name on the tomb stone, “"The gravestone said, 'Paul O. Meany, Junior” and a date that he has refused to disclose (254). It is too early to tell whether or not his vision of the date of his death comes true. However, Owen is a Christ figure nonetheless because Christ, too, knew he would be killed at a young age. Christ did not know the exact date of his foretold death, but he knew it would happen, just as Owen swears his death will.

            As the novel unfolds, it appears more and more that Owen believes himself to be a servant of God. From the deep faith that he has always had to the prophecies that he shares with Johnny, Owen is no ordinary being. What God’s purpose for Owen is, I am not sure yet, but I am sure it will be revealed as I keep reading.