Hero worship and hermeneutic dialectics: John Irving's 'A Prayer for Owen Meany.'

From: Mosaic (Winnipeg) | Date: September 1, 1995| Author: | Copyright information

John Irving's novel, 'A Prayer for Owen Meany' plays with the differing hermeneutical dialectic of William James and Paul Ricouer which explores the differences between explanation and understanding. Irving's central character, John Wheelwright, narrates in retrospect, the effects of his childhood friend, Owen Meany, on his life. In doing so, Irving subverts binary opposition as a way of knowing and offers an alternative way: the use of commonsense.

In the Western tradition of hermeneutics, two ways of knowing have often been contrasted. One, usually considered inferior, is a process - ...

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