A Prayer For Owen Meany: Faith And Doubt In Coexistence

When we think of true friendship, we think of the classics - from Lucy and Ethel to Laurel and Hardy to even the beloved cartoon characters of Spongebob and Patrick. All these famous pairs are viewed as the epitome of what real friendship is about - being there for one another through thick and thin and everything else in between. In A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, another great pair of friends is dawned upon us - Owen Meany and Johnny Wheelwright. These two remarkable characters demonstrate a major theme in A Prayer for Owen Meany, which genuine and downright authentic friendship.

A key part to a successful friendship is definitely forgiveness. Sometimes it is hard to forgive the ones who hurt us so deeply that we cannot express our sorrow through words. When Owen hit that baseball that tragically killed Johnny's mother, obviously both would be absolutely devastated. Now, it is pretty safe to say that if anyone, with the exception of a select few people, killed one of our parents or guardians that we would hold a stolid grudge that could not be diminished by any means. However, this was not the case with Johnny Wheelwright. Despite the fact his best friend unintentionally murdered his mother, he welcomed his sympathy and friendship with an open heart, as if Owen was completely uninvolved. Clearly Johnny's concerns were not even geared towards Owen when he narrates, "So what if Owen has the ball? I was thinking. But at the time I was mainly thinking about my mother..." (Irving 35) It takes a very close bond to overlook something as major as murdering a parent, but Johnny and Owen's friendship was indeed so strong that not even this catastrophic accident could so much as dent their indestructible friendship. Their illustration of forgiveness is the model for a true friendship.

Sacrifices are not always easy to make. How much you are willing to give up really depends on how much you care about the person(s) or thing you are sacrificing for. Owen's chances of getting a full scholarship to a prestigious school such as Harvard or Yale are extremely high. Owen slightly pushes Johnny to apply to these schools as well, by saying "'YOU MIGHT AT LEAST TRY TO GET INTO A BETTER UNIVERSITY.'" (339) However, Johnny's confidence in his ability to perform well at one of these schools is not very high. He settled on attending the University of New Hampshire. Owen refuses to be separated from his best pal, and decides to forget any potential scholarship to Yale or Harvard and chose to attend the University of New Hampshire as well. This is an extreme sacrifice. Owen has the opportunity to attend a wonderful school and instead goes to one that is not quite