An exceptional literary novel should be a piece of work that can convey a general message to a universal audience. After a reader has finished a novel, he should be left thinking and applying the novel’s message back to his own position. As I found the pages of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany getting thinner and thinner, this seemed especially true. I was able to connect to different characters, think hard about questions the thematic topics posed, and reflect upon the message that Irving conveys through Owen Meany.
I consider this novel to be a great literary work because it carries a message about society that can also apply to individuals reading the novel. From an individual perspective, a vast majority of the readers can safely admit that they are the “John Wheelwrights” in their own life. In a society where non-conformity is advocated, being the “John Wheelwright” is exactly the opposite of what we strive to be; nobody wants to be a bystander or someone who is mediocre in every aspect of his character. I was without exception, identifying myself as John constantly throughout the novel. Through this constant reflection that I am a John Wheelwright, I could deduce the truth that Irving was trying to convey. Nobody is as interesting or leads a life as special as Owen Meany, yet everyone seeks to accomplish a lifestyle that resonates a sense of uniqueness such as Owen’s.
A Prayer for Owen Meany contains various thematic topics that help guide the reader’s reflection. For example, Owen Meany’s bee line path for what he believed was his predetermined destiny allowed me to reflect on my own inadequate attempts at what I think is going to help me for my future. I believe this thematic topic was presented in a good literary fashion, as the plot of the entire novel revolved around Owen’s destiny. Another literary quality of the novel was that the message behind the thematic topics could be applied to anybody; the topic of sacrifice allowed myself, a student trying to decide a career path, to view conflicting sides of what I would like to do in the future. As Owen Meany had done, I could lead a life built on sacrifice and selflessness, or choose a future that contains personal gains.
Although he wrote A Prayer for Owen Meany three decades ago, John Irving’s message may apply in more cases now than his intended audience thirty years ago. We as students should evaluate the significance that this novel contains, especially by today’s changing standards. Reading A Prayer for Owen Meany in preparation for the AP English course was fulfilling and very satisfactory. Apart from the aspects of the novel that allowed me to look back at myself, the story itself was personally engaging. Because the story itself was interesting enough to keep me intrigued, the novel as a piece was able to function to its completeness as a method of getting Irving’s message across. I expect that as the book had worked to stimulate in me a reflection of myself, it would have done so similarly for other students.
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