Soobin+Bae's+Summer+Reading

=**A Prayer for Owen Meany ** = by John Irving



=Approved =

//Each essay should include the following: // a. book title and author in the introductory paragraph b. a thesis statement that encompasses the main idea of your essay which should be how the selected chapter is reflected in your novel c. brief summary of the section to be discussed (no more than a paragraph)--just enough to get a sense of the context d. analysis of the section through the lens of one of the chapters from //How to Read Literature Like a Professor // e. a quotation you think is significant and your explanation of how the quote reflects the selected chapter f. each essay should be approximately three hundred words g. Copy and paste the essay! Do not upload a document! 

=ESSAY #1: JOURNEY =  //A Prayer For Owen Meany // by John Irving, like most other novels, focuses on a journey of two young boys, John and Owen. The story progresses as the boys grow older and later reveals shocking truths. The two main characters are on a journey in search of self-knowledge that helps them learn more about themselves.

John Wheelwright, the narrator of the story, and Owen Meany are inseparable friends. From the beginning of the novel, it describes the strong relationship between John and Owen. John mentions how Owen is the reason why John believes in God. Although Owen has an extremely small body and undeveloped vocal cords, he is able to fit into society. Everything happens in a town called Gravesend in New Hampshire. The first chapter of //A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, discusses the family background of the Wheelwright and Meany family.

The first chapter of <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How to Read Literature Like A Professor // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> by Thomas C. Foster, explains how self-knowledge is the reason to a quest in a story. Main characters seek truth about themselves. In the case of <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, John is in search of his real father throughout the story, while Owen is engaged in a mission to fulfill his purpose in life. John’s urge to find his father is his way to self-knowledge, to learn his true identity. On the other hand, Owen deeply contemplates about a premonition he has during a play, a premonition about his death. “‘I KNOW THAT I AM GOD’S INSTRUMENT. I KNOW WHEN I’M GOING TO DIE – AND NOW A DREAM HAS SHOWN ME HOW I’M GOING TO DIE… I TRUST GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD’” (Irving 416). Owen believes that his fulfillment in life is God’s will, therefore his quest is to strengthen his faith and devotion to God.

Irving provides another journey in his story as two boys strive for self-knowledge and find out their purpose in life with help from their religion. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> contains supernatural elements in order to represent the influence God has on the quest of the two boys.

Peer Edit:

I randomly came to your page and wanted to comment on your analysis, but I was worried that I would not know what you would be talking about--since this is a book I've never read before. However, after reading the first two paragraphs of your Essay #1, I didn't have to worry, because you did a great job of introducing the book in a short and concise manner. Going into the analysis of your essay, it seems like you went deep into the context and really tried to find meaningful contents. You explain straightforwardly the quest of your book and it was very easy for me to understand and follow along. This seems like an interesting book and it seems to convey a strong message about God and Christianity. I have a quick question though!! Is this a strong Christian related story? Do you think this will inspire people who are not Christian as well? You also seemed to have chosen words that fit well into your essay and makes the essay flow smoothly. I especially like how you phrased your sentences. For example, “ //A Prayer For Owen Meany// contains supernatural elements in order to represent the influence God has on the quest of the two boys.” I guess this being the last sentence of your essay, it is a great device you used to conclude and summarize your thesis. Somethings you could improve on is elaborating on what your main idea is and to analyze a bit further. This is just a very minor mistake or improvement to point out. Such as, when you explain about “self-knowledge,” you could relate it more to the story and try to expand on the topic. I think this is a great essay to help reader’s to understand the story and to also convince them to read the book. -Sejin Paik

Comment #2 Hi Soobin! First of all thank you for your comment on my essay, they really helped me. :D Now I’m going to analyze your essay based on the six traits because those can be the rubrics for any English writing I think (even this comment may be judged with the six-traits rubric haha). The ideas in your essay are clear and focused. You effectively focus on two themes: the quest for self-identity, and the religious aspect, which makes your writing manageable and interesting to read. For organization, it has a logical, effective sequence which also helps sentence fluency. One change I might make is dividing the third paragraph into two paragraphs, to have the two aforementioned ideas have their own spaces for discussion. The voice in this essay is outstanding and appropriate for the purpose. Throughout your writing, you demonstrate rich, colorful vocabulary and I need no further explanation. For the flow of the essay, however, could be improved in between paragraphs; the transitions from a paragraph to the next seems a bit rough. I see no major grammar mistakes. Just remember to underline or italicize book titles (I think wikispaces got rid of the formats...that was my problem...) when turning in a hard copy. Perhaps at the end of paragraph 3, “faith and devotion” are repetitive words? I’m not sure, again, no large issues with convention.Moreover, these are some additional feedbacks that came to my mind as I read your paper. In the first paragraph, maybe it is better to mention some of your ideas about religion so the readers can expect what will be coming. And I haven’t read the book, so I have no idea where these boys are going on their “journey”! Including where the boys are going in the summary would help clarify the readers’ understanding. Some sentences in your second paragraph seem unnecessary because they don’t connect directly to your ideas. Lastly, maybe you could analyze the quote a bit more (?). Although your idea is abundantly clear, the quote itself could be further dissected. Wow this comment is longer than my essays. Please don’t take my remarks into personal issues. We’re able to give constructive criticisms to each other because we are friends... Right? :P <span style="color: rgb(170, 170, 170);"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Jay Park

Hi Soobin!

As I was reading through your introduction, it grabbed my attention right away because the way the sentence flowed together was very good. I also got the impression that you are an adventurous type, too. Well, you could have had worked more on the summary because compared to the other paragraphs, the second paragraph seems a little weak. What I understood from reading your essay was the importance of God's will. You stated, //"..his quest is to strengthen his faith and devotion to God"// which shows how important religion is in this novel. Lastly, it could have been better if you could strengthen the conclusion, because peronally, to me I could not find any strong relation to the essay topic. Overall, the work you have done was attention-grabbing, and the flow of the entire essay was beautiful.

Sarah Cho

Hi Soobin! I hope you enjoyed you summer! Too bad we couldn’t see each other that much during summer! Anyways about your essay, I also wrote about the chapter about quest but it was interesting how your interpretation was similar but different from mine. It was very interesting how you compared the two character’s self-knowledge differently from one another. But on the other hand, by writing both of the characters I think you might have lacked some analysis. Maybe by focusing on one stronger character it might have made your message more clear and stronger. But I really liked your choice on quotation because I think it really reflected the character’s own quest and the real purpose that what Foster said all quests in novels contain. Overall considering the sentence fluency and the idea your message was clear and portrayed a good understanding of Foster’s message about quests in novels.

-Lauren Kang

=<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ESSAY #2: COMMUNION =

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">John Irving’ <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">s A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> includes several events that are significant. However, one of the most important is the scene in which the main characters have dinner. According to Thomas C. Foster’s <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How to Read Literature Like A Professor // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, dinners usually symbolize communion, which is exactly what Irving tries to portray in his story. John Wheelwright is able to meet a new member of his family through this communion.

In the second and third chapter, John begins to introduce his mother, Tabitha, whom everyone calls “Tabby.” Although John is accompanied by his grandmother and mother, he does not know who his father is, an enigma John tries to solve throughout the story. While John and his family are having dinner, they are joined by Tabby’s new boyfriend, Dan Needham. Despite the fact that John is uncomfortable and reluctant to start a relationship with Dan, he begins to resign his stubbornness as Dan gives John and Owen a rather unusual present, an armadillo. John continues to describe his relationship with his mother, until he explains the incident of his mother’s death, a rather tragic accident in which a baseball, hit by Owen, strikes her head. Tabby and Dan’s wedding is mentioned, as well as Tabby’s funeral. The two chapters reveal more religious elements as Owen claims to have seen an angel, which later causes John to believe in angels.

While reading <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, it is evident that John’s curiosity of who his father is one of the main themes of the book. He only knows that his mother had met his father on a train to Boston. However, in order to mitigate his sense of “loneliness,” due to his father’s absence, Tabby encounters another man, Dan. The dinner in the second chapter definitely depicts John’s union with his new father, not to mention Tabby’s connection with her mother. “Thursdays were the days my mother returned from Boston, and we always had a better-than-average dinner those nights” (Irving 40). Dinner is usually a time when families converse and discuss, as well as feel warmth from the presence of family members.

Tabby communicates with her mother and seeks approval for her new boyfriend, while Dan tries to loosen John’s discomfort. The dinner represents an important phase in John’s life as he meets a new person who will influence his life in the future. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

=<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ESSAY #3: SYMBOLISM =

<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Symbolism is a literary device John Irving constantly uses throughout his story, <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. There are symbols that are displayed in order to emphasize certain motifs such as religious faith and friendship. Irving primarily uses symbols in order to deliver an important message to readers.

In the fourth and fifth chapter of <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, it discusses how John spends his Christmas without his mother for the first time after her death. Instead, he is accompanied by Owen. Their church decides to hold a nativity play in which John play Joseph, and Owen plays Jesus, while at school they decide to act out <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Christmas Carol // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. Throughout this chapter it explains Owen’s religious faith as he does not approve of inappropriate behavior. In the end, the plays rehearsed turn out to be complete disasters.

Symbols often puzzle readers, yet are easy to understand once readers comprehend the significance of the symbol. According to Thomas C. Foster’s <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How to Read Literature Like A Professor // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, symbols are open to any interpretation and can have more than one meaning. One such symbol in <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For A Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> is Owen himself. Though he seems like an ordinary boy, he is a crucial symbol of the story. “The Rev. Mr. Wiggin, such as veteran of Christmas pageants, looked at Owen Meany with profound respect – as if he’d seen the Christ Child come and go, but never before had he encountered a little Lord Jesus who was so perfect for the part” (Irving 165). Owen’s role as Jesus and the ghost of Christmas in the two plays represent the connection between God and man. A series of supernatural events occur involving Owen, including prophecies, visions, and unexplainable deaths. The book revolves around religious faith and Owen is an essential symbol that signifies God’s relationship with humans. Owen believes that his stunted growth and undeveloped voice are both gifts from God, while Owen’s visions are messages. Owen continues to remain religiously faithful until his death, believing that he is the “instrument” of God.

As Foster explains in his book, anything can be a symbol that conceals a hidden meaning. In the case of <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, the main character himself is a symbol that represents the central theme of the book. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

=<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ESSAY #4: SEASON = <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The season in which a story is set in usually defines the mood of a book. John Irving uses seasons to stress the theme of religious faith in A Prayer For Owen Meany. Though winter usually reminds readers of coldness and bitterness, Irving describes winter as a religious season when unexplained happenings occur.

The sixth and seventh chapters explain a shift in life for Owen and John, they are growing into adolescents. John and Owen become seniors at Gravesend Academy, a prestigious school in New Hampshire. Despite Owen’s physical incapabilities, he is always ahead of John. Owen reaches his goals first, yet is always willing to sacrifice his achievements for his friendship. As Owen grows older he constantly has visions and premonitions of his death. He knows when he is going to die and finds out how he is going to die.

According to Thomas C. Foster’s <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How to Read Literature Like A Professor // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> winter frequently correlates with old age and resentment and death in literature (Foster 178). Owen first begins to have premonitions of his death in the winter during the nativity play. Not only is winter the season when Owen finds out when he is going to die, but also the season when Jesus was born and Christmas is celebrated. Irving tries to portray winter as a religious season by mentioning supernatural events that occur, including Owen’s vision during the play. A variety of emotions are stirred such as shock and disappointment. “I wanted to cry – not because I believed a single thing about his stupid ‘vision,’ but because it was the first time he had lied to me” (Irving 255). For the first time John feels disappointed towards Owen, which contributes to the mood and atmosphere, and emphasizes the coldness of winter. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Winter is most often characterized by its coldness in literature. Irving’s <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> is no exception as it refers to Owen’s shock and John’s feeling of disappointment during the winter, along with religious and supernatural occurrences.


 * //comments//**

=
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi Soobin, I chose to read this essay, because season is a topic that I didn’t get a chance to write on. First of all, your essay’s sentence fluency is really great. All word choices are great, and I don’t see any awkward or vague phrases. Just to point out, I found a little grammar mistake on your second paragraph. It should be “The sixth and seventh chapters explain,” instead of “The sixth and seventh chapter explains.” Anyways, I see that you added even more analysis to winter than Foster did in How to Read Literature Like a Professor, which is great. According to your essay, winter can be associated with death, religion, and coldness. Though I really like your ideas, I would have written them differently. For instance, instead of having two body paragraphs, I would have three, so that each main idea could have a solitary section of its own. That would probably have made the quote support the essay much more, since it’s a bit hard to understand why you used that specific quote for this paragraph. Dealing with that would improve your essay much more, but I don’t see any other parts that seem weird. The essay overall is really nice, especially your content and writing style. Well done! ======

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">-Daeun Lee
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

=<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ESSAY #5: VIOLENCE = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Violence is often seen as irrational or even unnecessary in most cases; however, John Irving utilizes violence as a way to portray devotion, friendship, and of course death. Owen faces violence that inevitably leads him to his death and commits an act of violence in order to help his friend. Devotion and friendship is often depicted through sacrifices a character makes, however, acts of violence are a tool to display important themes in <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">.

In the last two chapters, John and Owen have grown and both attend the University of New Hampshire. However, each follows a different pathway. Owen is eager to join the army. He believes that his dreams are messages from God, and that Owen’s duty is to fulfill God’s wish: to fight in the Vietnam War. On the other hand, John is reluctant to enlist in the army and as a result cuts off his right index finger with help from Owen. In the end, Owen is killed by a grenade after trying to save a group of Vietnamese children.

According to Thomas C. Foster’s <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">How to Read Literature Like A Professor // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">, violence does not merely mean destructive behavior, but can symbolize a deeper theme. Owen expresses his camaraderie by amputating John’s right index finger, which means that John will not be able to trigger guns. John is strongly reluctant to join the army; therefore Owen’s act of violence is rather an act of helping. “‘JUST THINK OF THIS AS MY LITTLE GIFT TO YOU’” (Irving 509). Owen’s death also signifies his devotion to God. Attempting to save a group of Vietnamese orphans, Owen is killed by a grenade thrown by Dick Jarvits, a ruthless boy. Owen and John finally realize the reason to Owen’s unusual voice and tiny body, to win the trust of the Vietnamese children. “‘I MUST TRUST IN THE LORD’” (Irving 585). Owen believes that God created him for the purpose of saving the Vietnamese orphans, and continues to express his piety.

As a religious book, <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">A Prayer For Owen Meany // <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> emphasizes Owen’s devotion to God through his death caused by violence. Rather than representing hatred and malice, violence is used to display the friendship between John and Owen, as well as Owen’s religious devotion. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">

=<span style="font-size: 180%; color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">COMMENTS = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> 1. Select and read two of your peers' essays. 2. Underneath each essay, thoughtfully comment on the ideas put forth. 3. This comment should be no more than one succinct paragraph. 4. Post and label the comment on //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">the writer's page //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> with your name at the bottom of your comment. 5. Copy and paste the comment onto //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">your //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> summer reading page in the comments section. 6. Write the writer's name and essay # underneath the comments on your own page.

= Comment #1 = Jay Park Essay #1<span style="color: black; font-family: '맑은 고딕';">

Hi Jay! We’re in the same class! Anyways I’ve also read //<span style="font-family: '맑은 고딕';">The Lovely Bones // and I completely agree with your analysis. First off I liked how you compared //<span style="font-family: '맑은 고딕';">Dracula // with //<span style="font-family: '맑은 고딕';">The Lovely Bones //. Although they appear to have different themes, it is interesting how you made clear and convincing connections between different literary works. Your interpretation and analysis of Mr. Harvey as Dracula and Susie as Dracula’s victim is understandable. Your word choice is very concise and sophisticated. The quote you included clearly supports your essay, and I can see why you specifically added that quote. There are a few minor mistakes, for example, change “women” to “woman” at the end of paragraph 3 and change “21th” to “21st.” Apart from these, your essay is captivating and provides a thorough analysis of what you have read. Well done!

= Comment #2 = Sarah Cho Essay #2

<span style="color: black; font-family: 맑은 고딕;">Hi Sarah! Thanks for the comment! Your essay seems very interesting especially because a character actually symbolizes the author of the book. I like how you used different sentence structures to make your essay more appealing. Transitions between sentences seem to flow. The conclusion clearly states your idea and wraps up your essay. I also like your explanation about how the character is ironic and sarcastic. I think your essay would be better if you made more connections between Kurt Vonnegut and Kilgore Trout. I can see how they relate because they are both writers, but try and analyze why Vonnegut decided to portray himself as Trout in the story. Make sure to write in present tense when summarizing or referring to a story. Also, the first sentence of your essay and the first sentence of paragraph 3 both define what symbolism is, so maybe you can reword or delete one of the sentences. Apart from these, I think your essay is interesting. It sounds like a good book! Well done!