"THERE WAS NO DATE," Owen said. 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" (397). In this quotation, Owen's point-of-view about his death and the nature of his relationship with John is revealed. He does not want to tell John the date on the tombstone he envisioned, because he wants to protect John and keep him from worrying about his impending death. This quote shows how selfless Owen's point-of-view regarding his friendship with John is.
"IF KENNEDY CAN RATIONALIZE ADULTERY, WHATELSE CAN HE RATIONALIZE?" Owen asked me…! IF CATHOLICS CAN CONFESS ANYTHING, THEY CAN FORGIVE THEMSELVES ANYTHING, TOO!" (301). This quotation is highly demonstrative of Meany's point-of-view regarding Catholicism, which is contrasted with the Christianity which he inspires within the narrator. Meany continually disparages Catholic practices within the novel, particularly their sacrament of confession which he believes allows them to sin as much as they like. There is an inherent duality in his low regard of Catholicism and the Christian beliefs that he inspires in Wheelwright.
"WELL, NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT GOD," said Owen Meany....
"I CAN'T SEE HIM -- BUT I ABSOLUTELY KNOW HE IS THERE!" (267). This quote is a fairly important detail within this novel, because it becomes one of the elucidating points in Wheelwright's life in which he begins to truly open up to the faith of Christianity, which is one of the central themes in the novel. In this quote, Meany sets up a comparison to John's certainty that a statue exists in the dark even though he cannot see it, and the fact that the former believes there is a Christian God, even though neither one can see it.
"Squeezing a hailstone the size of a marble in my hand, feeling it melt in my palm, I was also surprised by its hardness; it was as hard as a baseball" (206). The author's usage of diction in this quotation is quite deliberate and highly significant. By choosing to describe the hailstone as being hard as a "baseball," Wheelwright is actually making an allusion to the death of his mother, -- who was of course killed by a baseball. This usage of diction subtly informs the reader that perhaps the death of Tabby was not an accident, after all.
"GOD WILL TELL HIM WHO HIS FATHER IS," Owen said; Graham McSwiney shrugged" (182). This quotation is highly important in terms of the organization of the
