That image of how the children can lift Owen over their heads in Sunday school-how he is light enough so they can easily pass him back and forth when the teacher is out of the room-is not only as near to the beginning of the novel as I could find a place for it; that image is echoed at the end of the novel, where Owen's seeming weightlessness is interpreted to mean that he was always in God's hands. But the penultimate paragraph of the
In John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany," the recurring imagery of Owen being lifted by children during Sunday school serves as a powerful motif throughout the narrative. At the beginning, this scene illustrates Owen's physical lightness, symbolizing innocence and the connection between him and his peers. It sets a tone of hope and camaraderie among the children, reflecting their ability to support and celebrate one another in a moment of...
