1sr draft Owen

First draft --

Like classical Greek tragedy, A Prayer For Owney Meany embodies tragic vision. Obviously, Owen Meany is the tragic hero, as was Oedipus Rex. His fervor to fulfill his fate brings us to both fear and pity, which are the essential elements that tragedy should provoke from its viewers, and in our case, the readers. Fear occurs as a response to the strength of Owen's conviction and power to fulfill his fate, and pity occurs at his death and the woefully inadequate disciples that surround Owen. The bigger picture--that of tragic vision-- in this story is intertwined with the idea of faith. In the classical Greek perspective of tragedy, fate is like faith. In the modern 20th century, faith is like fate. Irving continually blends these two spiritual ideas together to create his tragic vision. And as we all know, faith and fate are full of irony. In both the classical and modern scenarios of tragedy, irony is what all the characters must endure and the only thing they are left with.
Early in the story, John states; "I remembered how he had appeared to all of us: like a descending angel--a tiny fiery god, sent to adjudicate the errors of our ways." For the Greeks, the absolute authority of the gods defines the role of fate that one will either benefit from or suffer from. He may seem like a god to those around him, but to us, he is all too human. Owen doesn't exactly know his fate, but he works purposely towards that fate. He knows that his only choice is the choice that will eventually kill him. He is fully aware and marches head on into his fate, into his heroism and head-on into his death. He saves the children; he saves his friend, and he believes completely in the power of God for his resurrection. He is acutely aware that irony fills all his choices and his nobility resides in that knowledge, and those around him also acknowledge that nobility but cannot attain it for themselves.
In the biblical perspective, John's mother's name, Tabitha, means "one risen from the dead." Owen is responsible for her death, but he is also the one that keeps her memory alive for John. Owen drives around with the "dummy" in his truck. His fate is terrible and horrible and just as "he comes for the dummy," he embraces his fate. He keeps Tabitha near him as a constant reminder that he “is an instrument of God’s will.” His irony is painful and difficult. Irving's constant use of irony in relation to Owen reinforces this Greek connection. He is helpless to change his fate--the motif of armlessness emphasizes this point, over and over. (passage)He is noble in that he accepts his responsibility and John responds by remaining his friend. Also, we can infer, he is Owen’s disciple.
John's life was inextricably tied to Owen's life. In the Bible, the book of John is concerned primarily with the mystic, spiritual connection with God, not the ritualistic aspects of the church. The intangible link with God that drives John's connection to Owen and shaped John’s entire life. Again, we are confronted with yet another irony. John's life is bolstered and given purpose by Owen's search for his fate, but once Owen is gone, John is left alone, isolated and, yet, safe. He is alive, like the Disciples of Christ, but he has lost the light of Owen. John understands much; he has experienced much but can only tell of this tragic figure. There seems to be so much John is unable to articulate because his life is shaped by the tragic figure of Owen and he, John, is not the tragic hero. Instead he flees into the political dogma of the today, and we soon grow tired of his inactive activism. He is both better and worse for the experience, but he alive and faithful. He believes in the compelling power of fate yet his own life remains commonplace. The tragic poignancy of Owen’s sacrifice is that Owen knows that John’s life will not amount to much.

Hester is the Mary Magdalene of this story. John explains that she spent her life (insert passage) sleeping with as many men as possible and only loved one—Owen. It is probable that Owen did not have a sexual relationship with her. Irony would dictate so because she loved only Owen who loved her unconditionally, yet she slept with so many others who either she did not love or they did not love her. Yet she is distinguished from John. She is tortured and filled with angst, but prospers with her music. Her purposeless life is given a purpose by Owen's fulfillment of his fate. Hester's lost life is only found in her relationship with Owen and after he is gone, she only has the experience that is translated into the language of music -- perhaps a modern-day psalms of sorts. Like John, her irony is what she is left with in her life. She is left alone and isolated, but wildly successful.

The final scene of Owen's life is with the nuns, and this scene is the final irony of this tragic vision: Owen comforts the nuns. In every relationship that Owen has, irony is the major result of that respective relationship. In the case of A Prayer For Owen Meany, the tragic vision is that of the essential irony of life that we all must suffer and never fully understand as Owen did. Owen understood and fulfilled his fate knowing that this irony is what will fill the others with the pity and fear that his tragic fate inspired. Just as Oedipus ----------------- at the conclusion of the play as an acknowledgement of his own personal irony and leaves himself as the example, Owen purposely fulfills his fate so that all can have their own, personal irony.