PROMPT #3
Chapters 7-9
Due Saturday, August 12, 2017
Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to. See the instructions on my homework page for details about what your response should include and look like in order to receive full credit.
A. The main characters in the book - Owen, John, Harriet, Hester, Dan, Tabby, etc. are all extensively developed and round characters (that is, they have flaws, and good and bad sides, just like real people do). Choose three MINOR characters from anywhere in the book. Think about characters who appeared only briefly or only in a scene or two, yet still had a memorable impact on you, and helped, in their own way, to further the themes of the story. Identify your chosen characters and explain their impact, both on the reader and the work as a whole. In your answer, consider the author's portrayal of these characters and what techniques he used to paint them in a vivid way.
B. Coincidence plays heavily into the whole plot of A Prayer for Owen Meany, but nowhere more dramatically than in the final climactic scenes. Trace the coincidences that follow Owen and John's friendship as they grow up together, and comment on whether, in your opinion as a reader, these coincidences make the book less believable, or more moving, or both.
Due Saturday, August 12, 2017
Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to. See the instructions on my homework page for details about what your response should include and look like in order to receive full credit.
A. The main characters in the book - Owen, John, Harriet, Hester, Dan, Tabby, etc. are all extensively developed and round characters (that is, they have flaws, and good and bad sides, just like real people do). Choose three MINOR characters from anywhere in the book. Think about characters who appeared only briefly or only in a scene or two, yet still had a memorable impact on you, and helped, in their own way, to further the themes of the story. Identify your chosen characters and explain their impact, both on the reader and the work as a whole. In your answer, consider the author's portrayal of these characters and what techniques he used to paint them in a vivid way.
B. Coincidence plays heavily into the whole plot of A Prayer for Owen Meany, but nowhere more dramatically than in the final climactic scenes. Trace the coincidences that follow Owen and John's friendship as they grow up together, and comment on whether, in your opinion as a reader, these coincidences make the book less believable, or more moving, or both.
Jesse
ReplyDeletePrompt A
In the book, the story involves a collection of varying types of people, each one unique and with their own story. Some are more prominent than others, such as Owen and John, Dan, Hester, and so on, but there are other characters who have just as complicated of stories and are just as memorable, but are only in the story a few times. The first, out of three, that had an impact on me would be Harry Hoyt (pg. 127-128) . He was a good example of the times of his generation. He wasn't smart. He was into sports, specifically baseball. He never did anything wrong and was a victim of events. He was the son of a widower, and was playing the day Owen hit the foul, later attending Tabitha's funeral. He was not smart enough to attend the prestigious Gravesend Academy, so he attended the high school instead. When the war came, he enlisted in the Navy. He later died in Vietnam after being bit by a venomous snake. His story is a very good example of that time. Young men who met the requirements were going to war and could lose their lives, as a lot of them did. If I was around at that time, I would probably have done the same thing. My grandfather was luckier than others and was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. If there was no war, those people would have lived out boring working lives. The subject is touchy due to the loss of life.The second person, out of three, would be Larry Lish. He is a snob. He is the exact sort of person that I hate. He comes from a family that is rich and has no sense of morals. They are the "Hollywood" sort of scummy people, like the Kardashians. They spread wacky rumors and do dirty stuff with no self conscious. He goes to Owen with a Kennedy rumor specifically because he knows Owen views him as pure. The third and final minor character who has an impact on me would be Mr. Meany. He has a lot in common with my father. They are both big men who are in different types of construction, my dad a handyman and Mr. Meany focusing with granite. They both own trucks they use for work. Both have a remarkable son who is smarter and farther than them. Also, both my family and his family are not catholic. We disagree with their ways. Finally, both my father and Owen's father are not truly with the times. These three characters were alike people I see every day and made the story more relate able.
ReplyDeleteI found the ending of the book, A Prayer for Owen Meany, extremely moving. I myself, believe that everything happens for a reason, rather than just coincedence. And from reading this book, I believe Owen thinks the same thing. The first coincedence is Owen’s voice. He has always had a high pitched voice, almost like a child, and nobody had an explanation for it. In the ending, his voice plays a great role of getting the children to understand him. Another unexplanable coincedence was Owen’s size. He never grew, and in the end the children are not afraid of him because he is very close to their size. Also in the book, John and Owen stay best friends throughout everything. They would do anything for eachother, even cut off the others finger in order to save his life. Owen wanted to spend his last days withhis best friend, and if John wouldn’t have flown out to see him, many more lives would have been lost. The last, and most important coincedence, was “the shot”. They practiced that basketball shot countless times, and strived to make it under three seconds. Because of that they saved the children, and because of Owens faith that they could do it, regardless of John’s thoughts, they suceeded and in the end, saved the day.
Zoe Downs
ReplyDeletePROMPT B:
In the universe that John Irving creates with A Prayer for Owen Meany, coincidences do not exist whatsoever. The Grand Plan is The Grand Plan, whether that be through fate or God's divine intervention, and in the novel most (if not all) events leading up to what Owen was meant for were exactly meant to train him for that purpose: the ending climax that would have him save many lives while sacrificing his own.
All things have purpose here: his voice, which remained a mystery throughout his young life, was meant for soothing the panicking Vietnamese children because they would immediately listen to him. The 'shot,' which John comments he figures is a compensation or a fantasy on Owen's part due to his height, comes into play when they have to reach a ten foot window. Both of them strive to do it quicker when they are young just for the sake of a personal record, but in the grand scheme of things, it's what allows Owen to so quickly dispose of the grenade.
The short Vietnamese phrases Owen studies closely in preparation to go to Vietnam are the exact necessary phrases he uses when trying to soothe the terrified children. Are these coincidences? Is it an unconscious decision to save John from Vietnam by taking off his finger, only to have him end up in the same scenario as the dream? Was it just coincidence that Owen had an odd motif of armlessness, which ended up extending to his death? Coincidences, in this novel, do not exist. Everything happens for a reason, and to have everything unexpectedly coalesce like that is an extremely clever and well-thought out way to make your story as moving as it was.
Was it unrealistic? Sure. I mean, you're not going to get a whole lot of realism out of a story talking about fate, because unless something so unbelievably miraculous has happened to you personally as a reader, you're not going to relate too strongly. That being said, however, I really liked this story!
Prompt A.
ReplyDeleteThe three characters that I believe impact the story are Harry Hoyt, Randy White, and Dick Jarvits. Each of these characters all had an affect on John Wheelwright and especially Owen Meany. All of these characters appeared at different points in the story, but their personalities and influence were felt until the end.
Harry Hoyt was just a boy. A boy who was playing baseball because he was a team player. A boy who didn't realize he would contribute to the death of Tabby Wheelwright. Harry's at bat allowed Owen to get up to bat. Harry Hoyt was then off to war when the time came. He died not in war, but by a snake while waiting to see a prostitute. While Harry died by a snake waiting to see a prostitute Tabby died from Owen waiting to finally hit a ball. I think Harry's role in the story way very small, but important because it started the whirlwind of events that led to a tragic end.
Randy White was the first person to really question and push Owen Meany. He questioned Owen's writing in the paper and was not fond of him from the beginning. Randy White had Owen expelled right before graduation. When Owen was expelled he changed. He wasn't "The Voice" anymore. He wasn't this young man who asked questions and gave his opinion to change things for the better. If Randy did not expel Owen maybe Owen's fate could've been different. From Randy's actions many views on the academy were changed. Randy's actions made Owen different. Owen didn't try in his classes in college. He never voiced his opinion and only answered the question at hand. Randy White cracked "The Voice" and changed him forever.
The final character who changed the story and the lives of everyone was Dick Jarvits. Owen tried to help him and straighten him out. He tried to be a leader to Dick. Dick didn't think Owen's help was too helpful. He instead killed Owen. From the moment we met Dick we knew something was off about him. His family was not normal. They were very odd. Dick killed Owen and it happened like a movie. Dick throws the grenade and then and he gets away, but is still killed by Major. Rawls. Then no one can hear anything because of the grenade, the children are crying and everything is chaos. Then John slowly gains his hearing back and he tries to find Owen. He's in the sink and then a nun has him in her arms. Owen's arms are gone and he's "reaching" for John. He's glad John is there and just like that he's gone. If Dick wasn't so off maybe he wouldn't have killed Owen. Maybe Owen would've went to Vietnam and been a big war hero.
All of these characters never meant to change so many lives, but they did in many ways. They never knew that there could be deaths from their actions other than Dick. He knew what he was doing. The actions of people no matter how small will change people. They can even kill people.
Prompt A
ReplyDeleteMrs. Walker was the Sunday school teacher that would tell the students to think very hard about something they discussed. She would then leave the room and the other children would lift Owen in the air. When she returned she yelled at Owen, as if he put himself up there. Mrs. Walker left an impact on me by the way she believed Owen was floating, like an angel in some way. Which helps with the idea that Owen is different and special. Maybe she knew Owen was going to carry out God's plans, or maybe she was just crazy and honestly believed Owen could fly. Mr. Fish was Johnny's neighbor. He had a dog named Sagamore, which was hit by a diaper truck and killed when Owen and Johnny were children. Throughout the book I often thought of what started this chain of untimely deaths and Sagamore was the first one Owen had a part in. This left an impact on me because Owen was still a child and had accidentally killed Sagamore. However I see it as God using Owen, like he used his hands to hit the ball that killed Tabitha. The last character that left an impact on me was Mrs. Meany. She stayed inside, rarely spoke, and seemed to be bothered by any noise. Ironically her husband was the owner of the Meany granite business, which creates a lot of noise. I feel as though since she never spoke and stayed indoors Owen barely talked to her or saw her. I think this is why Owen grew so fondly of Tabitha, she was a mother figure for him. Tabitha took him places and talked to him and the reader could see that she treated Owen like her own child. Mrs. Meany didn't do these things with Owen but I feel like that added to the story because it brought Owen and Tabitha closer together.
Prompt 2- Jillian BArtel
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story many coincidences occur, So many that it basically makes up the story. The biggest coincidence is owen hitting a foul ball and killing johns mother. He later states that owen interrupted the angel of death then forcing him to do it himself. THis is a very emotional and trying part of the story and lays the foundation. Another coincidence is who owen ended up being in love with. Hester Eastman was a headstrong sexual coudon of john’s. OWen was a small attractive boy who you would never expect to find love. THese two characters are very different but also have a connection on being treated unfairly, Owen by almost everyone and hester feeling this way about her parents. The book also has a very spiritual feel leading to the next coincidence. The coincidence of john being the son of a reverend and not knowing, I think this is so important because owen was going to him asking questions about religion, while he was then helping John find his real “FATHER”. So It was ironic that owen knew john's father the whole time and owen even comes back as a ghost to make the reverend tells john. The last coincidence i will talk about is to help prove owen is an instrument of god and god listens. Reverend Merrill has the boys prey for owen after he was expelled for helping students make fake ID’s,. Shortly after this the headmaster of the academy is fired . Owen does not get to return but it was a coincidence that again someone was pushed for hurting owen.All of these coincidence prove that owen was in fact and instrument of god. I do believe that even these two coincidences made the story feel real. It made me realize that everything does happen for a reason even if you don't know it. I also believe that if these were not included the story would be missing a big part
The main characters in the book such as Owen Meany, The Wheelwrights, Dan, a few other key roles have a huge impact on the story, but the minor characters also play a key role as well. The first character would be Lydia. She was a maid to Harriet Wheelwright until she lost her leg to cancer. She then was taken care of by Harriet and Germaine, a maid hired just for her. Lydia adapts the same views, likes and dislikes as Mrs. Wheelwright's and is said to had become her like a twin. I believe Harriet and Lydia were something like best friends. Lydia also played an important part in the amputated/limbless motif after losing her leg. Another minor character was Larry Lish. He told Owen Meany that Kennedy, his favorite that he worshiped so much, was having an affair with Marylin Monroe. Later, he had his mother Mitzy confirm this which enraged him. Mitzy reported Owen to Randy White, the headmaster of Gravesend Academy and Owen was suspended. Eventually he was expelled after Larry Lish used a fake ID Owen had previously made for him. Larry and his mother are snobbish and arrogant. They're the type to start and believe rumors just for reactions. The third person would be Dick Jarvits. He was a sadistic fifteen year old boy from Phoenix who couldn't wait for the day he could go to Vietnam. Owen Meany has to return Dick's brother's dead body. Afterward, Dick saw Owen escorting a bunch of Vietnamese kids into a bathroom and he threw a grenade in the room. Owen and John saved the kids, but as a result, Owen had died. He knew this was his purpose and Dick Jarvits's assisted this. Owen and Dick were complete opposites. Owen was loving, small, and helpful while Dick was psychotic, huge, and gross. Dick Jarvits is all that's wrong with the world. Each of these characters played a huge role in this story and impacted the life of the main characters.
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I found the ending of the book, A Prayer for Owen Meany, very unbelievable but moving. I believe the coincidences for the ending of the book to be slightly less believable than perceived. The fact that Owen’s voice and size is the reason the children feel that they can listen to him and feel comfortable is very unbelievable. I believe that if somebody looked liked a child the children wouldn't take him seriously because they would think he was trying to be above them because they would see him as one of them, but since it worked out in the book it also gives owen his size and voice incredible meaning. Another huge coincidence is that Owen tried to help steer Dick onto the right course and for that he killed Owen. This is a huge part of the book that is very deep and meaningful.
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