How we cite our quotes:
Quote #7
"I SAW MY NAME—ON THE GRAVE," said Owen Meany.
Dan put his arms around Owen and hugged him. "Owen, Owen—it's part of the story! You're sick, you have a fever! You're too excited. Seeing a name on that grave is just like the story—it's make-believe, Owen," Dan said.
"IT WAS MY NAME," Owen said. "NOT SCROOGE'S." (5.316-318)
Owen's belief that he knows when he's going to die starts at this moment. Nobody really believes him until the end of the novel, but Owen is certain that he knows the exact date of his death. Owen's concept of his own mortality shapes his actions throughout the novel – he wants to be a hero before he dies.
Quote #8
[Owen] was very good at that part of it—very respectful of grief, very tactful (while at the same time he managed to be very specific). I don't mean that it was simply a matter of spelling the name correctly and double-checking the date of birth, and the date of death; I mean that the personality of the deceased was discussed, in depth—Owen sought nothing less than a PROPER monument, a COMPATIBLE monument. The aesthetics of the deceased were taken into consideration; the size, shape, and color of the stone were only the rough drafts of the business; Owen wanted to know the tastes of those mourners who would be viewing the gravestone more than once. I never saw a customer who was displeased with the final product; unfortunately—for the enterprises of Meany Granite—I never saw very many customers, either. (8.140)
It's pretty interesting how death seems to be a running theme throughout Owen's entire existence. He's brought up around death – his dad creates and sells monuments made from the granite he digs up at his granite quarry. Here, we see how seriously Owen takes death. He doesn't think that people should be stuck with some random gravestone after they die; he believes that monuments should represent the people that they commemorate.
Quote #9
The night [Grandmother] died, Dan found her propped up in her hospital bed; she appeared to have fallen asleep with the TV on and with the remote-control device held in her hand in such a way that the channels kept changing. But she was dead, not asleep, and her cold thumb had simply attached itself to the button that restlessly roamed the channels—looking for something good.
How I wish that Owen Meany could have died as peacefully as that! (9.112-113)
Peaceful deaths are far and few between in this novel. Even when we do encounter death when it comes naturally, we're constantly reminded that other people die in shocking and disturbing ways.