The detached manner in which Johnny tells the story is both alarming and attractive. It is alarming because the reader never gets a direct grasp of Johnny’s true emotions with regard to his mother. He tells of Owen’s undying love and mourning for Tabby Wheelright, but never tells of his own emotional struggle with her death. The form of narration gives the impression that his story is free of opinion and entirely objective, but through closer analysis it is discovered that this is not true. In his complacency to mourn, a scornful boy, full of reproach towards his mother for her concealment of his father’s identity and favor of Owen, is revealed.
It is evident that Johnny harbors much resentment towards the government beginning with the Johnson administration and the Vietnam War. His life becomes a 20-year rage against American political gullibility combined into an unrelenting attack on America, the ignorance and irresponsibility of the electorate, and its betrayal by its political masters. This rage was an obsession that was evident in his self-inflicted torment with regard to the media. He resists buying the paper, for fear that such an indulgence would only remind him of his reasons for leaving, but yields nonetheless.
'I am a Christian because of Owen Meany' says Wheelright, and the plausibility of Meany's power to redeem is questioned but never doubted. Wheelright needs belief. Dominated by an army of towering personalities and eccentrics, he doesn't know the identity of his father, his enchanting mother is lost to him, his best friend thinks he's Jesus, and he can't shake off the past. What turns into an obsession with Vietnam (and hence Watergate and Nicaragua) is more psychological than political; if it weren't for Vietnam, Owen Meany would still be alive to help and guide him, because he needs to be led. That's why Meany is important for him.
Johnny Wheelright was best developed and understood indirectly because of his behavior and spoken beliefs found in the book. Johnny is an observer and his cynical attitude is reaffirmed throughout the book. He is, enthusiastic in his contempt of the government throughout the book. Moreover, his fixation with Vietnam is a result of his reminiscence of Owen Meany.
