Writing Style of John Irving

    I am reading the novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving and while reading this I am noticing his writing style for this piece is used to help convey certain aspects of the novel to the readers. In this novel he uses capital letters for the speech of one of the characters, Owen Meany, and he also uses biblical references throughout the novel to demonstrate to the readers Owen Meany's beliefs and how he has influenced Johnny's beliefs.
   The use of capital letters for the speech of the character Owen Meany allows the readers to hear his voice. The capital letters stand out and make the words seem to be shouted, rather than the speech of the other characters which is written in normal text. These letters, since they are capitalized, allow the readers to visually understand the difference between Owen Meany's voice and the voices of everyone else. Since Owen's voice seems to be a main trait that set him apart from the rest, along with his scrawny stature and translucent skin, Irving does a good job in making sure Owen's speech sets him apart from the speech of others.
   Throughout the novel, the theme of religion is brought up by the many biblical references and by the trading facts of different religious cultures between Owen and Johnny. These references to the bible allow the readers to understand the beliefs of Johnny and how he credits Owen for them and they also allow the readers to understand Owen's own personal beliefs. When discussing the various forms of religion and each of the cultures' beliefs, Owen demonstrates that he has a deeper connection to God and that the religion he formally belongs to does not allow him to nurture that bond, rather it takes him away from it. These facts about the different religious cultures allow the readers to understand how serious Owen is in his faith if he feels they "believe less than he believed"(Irving 25).
  Irving's style for this novel allows the readers to get a better understanding of the characters and help the plot to move along smoothly. An example of both of the styles combined would be, "'GOD HAS TAKEN YOUR MOTHER. MY HANDS WERE THE INSTRUMENT. GOD HAS TAKEN MY HANDS. I AM GOD'S INSTRUMENT'"(90). This is quote demonstrates the capitalizing of Owen Meany's speech and the referencing of religion, or in this case God. So as one can see this quote shows the distinct voice of Owen, while also showing his beliefs. Irving uses this style to aid the readers in their understanding the storyline by allowing them to get to know the characters better.