John's American Abhorrence in A Prayer for Owen Meany
John’s deep-seated resentment towards the United States and its citizens is strongly reflected in this passage; his character and point of view are powerfully illustrated by his tone and choice of words. Moreover, the reader is able to probe deeper into John’s character and learn a little more about him through his words.John is deeply split on his feelings for his native country; he treats America with contempt, stating its “arrogance” and ignorance repeatedly, but also is unwillingly drawn to it. His tone is critical, and vehement, showing the reader that John must care somewhat about what he so violently opposes. His word choice of “ridiculous” also helps to further exemplify John’s strong feelings on America. Through this discrepancy of John’s feelings and actions, we are able to see that John is both extremely unhappy and extremely confused. He voices his dissatisfaction with United States, stating, “Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world!” Yet, ironically, it is to The New York Times that John runs when he feels nostalgia for the United States – except
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Some common words found in the essay are:
, Owen Owen, John Canada, Canon Mackies, America Owen, Globe Mail, Canon Mackie, Owen America, Times John, John Americans, owen owen, john believe, loves america, version unwilling, apparent john, loves owen, elses version, hates loves,
Approximate Word count = 751
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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