Re: request... AND THEM SOME! (OWEN MEANY//teddy?)
Win Boogie (WinBoogie@aol.com)
Tue, 21 Apr 1998 09:28:04 -0400 (EDT)
In a message dated 98-04-21 04:44:50 EDT, you write:
<<
while we're at it, i was just re-reading _teddy_ this morning, and
realised there're some similarities between teddy and john irving's owen
meany. or am i just imagining things again.
>>
i never realized the similarities, and Owen Meany is one of my favorite
books. it seems, thinking about it now, that Owen Meany is almost Irving's
response to Teddy's comment about trying to be a spiritual person in america.
that end scene where johnny wheelwright is questioning the preacher for being
able to believe in a virgin birth 2000 years ago, but couldn't even try to
comprehend one in his own age, is a very important scene for me. If Christ
were to appear before us today, he'd be institutionalized as a lunatic, never
mind something as dramatic as a crucifction. Irving claims that he wrote Meany
as a sort of cynical view on the whole religious thing, unlike Salinger who
would seem to hold some of Teddy's views himself. I'm interestd to see what
the others here have to say about the Owen/ Teddy connection.Thanks. This was
a nice start to my morning.
Robert