A Close Reading of the Death of JFK and Owen Meaney's Reactions Savannah McClendon 12th Grade

John Irving’s esteemed 1989 novel, “A Prayer for Owen Meany” is a lot of things - but it is not subtle. Over the course of its 600 pages, “Owen Meany” lends to us a surplus of heavily symbolic and provocative moments, which illustrate its protagonist’s tragically manufactured fate as well as the struggles of humanity against inhumanity during the storm that was the Vietnam War, and all the years of calm before it. However, even in dealing with such a loud subject matter, and a protagonist with a PERMANENT SCREAM, Irving manages to weave in a few very quiet, understated scenes - most of which, upon first glance, may seem to be simply skimmable. Upon second glance, a lot of these moments add significantly to the depth and the intricacy of this story - certainly none of them are put in by mistake.

Take, for example, the scene where Johnny, Owen, and the gang are watching John F. Kennedy’s assassination on television (pg. 441 - 443). It seems fairly insignificant, taking place directly after a discussion between Johnny and Owen about the complexities of high school geology. Of course, it’s always significant when a President dies, but nothing seems to occur in this scene - besides a brief meltdown, courtesy of Harriet Wheelwright....