... changes in perspective, from past tense to present tense, develop Johnny as a man filled with bitterness. As his diary entries progress, he becomes more resentful of the US. Therefore, through the use of the diary, the author achieves a litmus test of Johnny's attitude. That is, judging by date of the entries, one can measure Johnny's hate. The narrator in this novel is, at times, an observer and, at other times, a participant. The narrator observes Owen Meany and his miracles (keeping Johnny out of Vietnam and saving the children, nuns, and Johnny in the airport). The narrator interacts with Owen as friends interact; they converse about girls, politics, and school, they also play games between themselves and with Johnny's cousins, the Eastmans, from Sawyer Depot. It is through a combination of both interaction and observation that Owen most persuades Johnny to become a Christian, and as Johnny says, "[Owen] ...

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