A Prayer for Owen Meany An RJ activity

Answer the following in your RJ How does Irving’s choice of names relate to the characters/ events in A Prayer for Owen Meany? Think “Meany,” “Gravesend,” “Tabby,” “Mr. White,” “Hester,” “Needham,” etc. Why is it that Reverend Merrill always speaks of faith in tandem with doubt? How does it enhance the story? A bildungsroman is defined as a novel concerned with the education, development, and maturation of a young protagonist. Is A Prayer for Owen Meany a bildungsroman? Owen taught John that "Any good book is always in motion— from the general to the specific, from the particular to the whole and back again." Does Irving followed his own formula? What moments of irony exist in the novel? How does Irving’s plot structure and point-of-view impact the story?

Discussion Discuss individual findings within the small group. (Whole class is next) How does Irving’s choice of names relate to the characters/ events in A Prayer for Owen Meany? Think “Meany,” “Gravesend,” “Tabby,” “Mr. White,” “Hester,” “Needham,” etc. Why is it that Reverend Merrill always speaks of faith in tandem with doubt? How does it enhance the story? A bildungsroman is defined as a novel concerned with the education, development, and maturation of a young protagonist. Is A Prayer for Owen Meany a bildungsroman? Owen taught John that "Any good book is always in motion—from the general to the specific, from the particular to the whole and back again." Does Irving followed his own formula? What moments of irony exist in the novel? How does Irving’s plot structure and point-of-view impact the story?