Human Development In John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany

Does environment shape moral and psychological traits? Are humans born inherently with pre-determined qualities and ways of thought? The debate of nature versus nurture, whether humans are born with a set of moral traits or whether one’s environment influences and shapes their traits, has constantly been argued, not only from a psychological standpoint, but also from a literary perspective as well. In A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving explores the relationship between environment and the development of psychological traits and personal conceptions, using both animate objects, like voice and people, and inanimate objects, such as armless objects and family influences, to prove the often powerful, yet overlooked influence of environment on human development; in the

The Meany’s were heavily invested within the granite industry and Owen was brought up accustomed to the family trade. Throughout the novel, Owen is often described as being covered in “granular dust”, giving off the impression that Owen was a human gravestone. This obvious symbol of death helped him come to terms with his ultimate fate after seeing his date of death engraved on a gravestone. Furthermore, the fact that Owen was required to work at the quarry every summer fueled his curiosity for traveling. The chance to visit an average place like Sawyer’s Depot with John during Christmas made Owen ecstatic. From this, it’s possible that Owen’s desire to fight in Vietnam was not only fueled by his desire to carry out his fate, but to also travel. It’s important to note that Owen pushed hard to go to Vietnam because he had envisioned his sacrifice to occur in a warm climate. While Vietnam was indeed a warm climate, Owen’s ultimate sacrifice came in Arizona, showing that his vision had come true, but not in the way he had expected. This only further demonstrates that fate can not be