How many people honestly know their true identity? In today's society, some try so hard to fit in that they get lost in the mix. However, those who remain true to themselves sometimes lose out to society. In the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany, written by John Irving, the characters all display some sort of notable identity. Whether character traits are known or hidden, they all presuppose a uniqueness that significantly influences the novel's main characters such as Johnny and Owen. A theme clearly represented in this novel is a sense of identity, which is shown through the characters Harriet, Dick, and Mr. Merrill. If you were to do an analysis on Harriet Wheelwright's character, you would see that her character changes throughout the story. novel. At first, readers see Harriet as a snobbish character, flaunting her family heritage in front of everyone. This is seen when Johnny explains what his family heritage is: I am descended from John Adams on my grandmother's side (her maiden name was Bates and her family came to America on the Mayflower); yet in our town it was my grandfather's name that held the power, and my grandmother wielded her married name with such a confident sense of self-control that she might as well have been a Wheelwright, an Adams, and a Bates. (Irving 8)However, once Tabby died, something changed in Harriet. Harriet became sweeter, kinder, and more pleasant to be around, especially with Owen. Owen and Harriet bond thanks to the most unexpected thing: television, and above all Liberace. Together, the two have grown closer and Harriet begins to think of Owen as a second grandson; where as before she simply finds him annoying. An example of this is when Harriet pays for... half of the card... she can be considered a minor character who has the most impact on the characters. The Reverend may have most likely been the reason why the baseball hit Tabby, because as the novel suggests, it is "NO COINCIDENCE" that things happen the way they do. You can't help but dislike the reverend. Although Irving makes the reader pity him by telling us his family history, throughout the novel the Reverend is an annoying character who in most cases is very unpleasant. As can be seen, Harriet, Dick, and Reverend Lewis Merrill, even though they are all minor characters, influence the main characters, such as Johnny and Owen, with their identity or personality. Without these characters the novel would no longer be the same. As Alan Rudolph said: “Human identity is the most fragile thing we have, and it is often found only in moments of truth”..”