A Prayer For Owen Meany Theme Essay

Significant Theme in A Prayer for Owen Meany In A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving a significant theme is armlessness. Irving continuously uses this concept throughout the novel. The armadillo’s claws, the dressmaker’s dummy, and Mary Magdalene all symbolize what Owen will later succumb to in life.
When Owen killed Tabby, he gave Johnny his baseball cards to show he was sorry and he still loved him. Johnny returned the cards and gave him the armadillo to tell him he loved him too. Owen returned the armadillo without claws because he wanted to show Johnny and Dan that he feels as though he mutilated the person all three of them loved. It was his hands on the bat that swung and hit the baseball causing it to kill Tabby.
Owen had a strange bond towards the dressmaker’s dummy. As kids Owen and Johnny would dress it up in Tabby’s clothing. After Tabby’s death Owen took it away from Dan, because he didn’t want him to be bitter from staring
Michael’s Church that Owen steals when he is expelled from Gravesend Academy. He mounts it to the stage in the Great Hall of Gravesend Academy, and removes the head, but most of all the removal of the arms is significant. While in the Vietnamese War, Owen tries to save the children by taking them into a men’s bathroom for cover, but Dick throws a grenade in there. Owen risks his life by grabbing the grenade and trying to pin it against a window by holding it there with his hands until the grenade explodes and his arms are blown off below the elbow. The theme armlessness is powerful throughout the novel. The armadillo’s claws, dressmaker’s dummy, and Mary Magdalene support this theme. Owen was the one who amputated the armadillo’s claws, he was the one who saw the Angel of Death in the dressmaker’s dummy, and he dismembered Mary Magdalene. During the war Owen loses his life when his arms are blown off. Irving’s use of the armlessness throughout the novel foreshadows Owen’s