Jan 1, 2010

A Prayer for Owen Meany | Themes

Faith and Doubt
The theme of religious faith versus doubt is prominent throughout the novel. Owen Meany has an absolute faith in God and seems to have possessed it from a very early age. When he is eleven, for example, he tells John that God knows who John's father is and will eventually identify him. Owen never doubts that there is a purpose to everything, and his faith in his own destiny as decreed by God never wavers.

In contrast, John, as a child, has no particular religious beliefs or faith. He learns to believe in God mostly through his knowledge of Owen's...