I'm taking English Composition this semester, and even though, after acing Comp I last spring, I didn't have many fears about this class, I wasn't too happy to learn that we would be studying literature during the following 15 weeks. I sure like to read, but expressing my thoughts about literary works on paper has never been my favorite task. As you know, I do write occasional reviews here, but the majority of them definitely lack any of the qualities that make up for a thoughtful and worthwhile criticism. Moreover, I write these reviews not because I enjoy expressing my opinion about books so much but because, this being my least favorite part of writing, I want to challenge myself in hopes of one day getting a little better.

Right now we are almost two-thirds through the program for this semester. The first month or so was devoted to short stories by different American authors whose names (with exception of Faulkner) I have never heard before. I enjoyed to a certain degree most of the stories we have read, my favorite being "A Rose for Emily" and "Parker's Back" and, in general, would say that it was a time well spent. Next came the poetry, which, having read more poems written in English in the last month than ever before, I came to absolutely hate. Based on what we had to work with, I came to conclusion that English speaking poets do not see any sort of rhyme to be a necessary attribute of their works. I will even go so far as to say that I enjoyed reading Russian translations of Shakespeare's sonnets much more than their originals. Below, for example, is one of the poems by William Stafford that we had to read:

Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.

I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
I certainly do not see how this can be called a poem and why it is worthy of being printed in a textbook. Yes, the words are very well chosen and the sentences are embellished in many ways, but, in my opinion, the same could have been much better said in prose. Our book tried to justify publishing this kind of creations by saying that it is a choice of words, not a rhyme, that is an essential component of a good poem. I most definitely disagree with it - both are equally important, and neither rhyme alone nor a choice of words make for a beautiful verse. Take classical Russian poetry, for example: the works of our greatest poets are incredibly melodious and are a joy to read due to both a subject matter and various types of rhyming. Having struggled through every single one of the poems we had to read, I once again came to a conclusion that English language is just not poetic enough. No wonder, neither Pushkin nor Lermontov are widely known here - the beauty or their work simply cannot be translated into English.

Unfortunately, my next assignment will be a poetry one, and judging from the first paper I had to write for this class, it will be a tough task. It took me forever to come up with something to say about symbols in one of the short stories we have read during this semester. I ended up choosing "Parker's Back" because it seemed to be the most symbolic one and have spent almost two weeks trying to put together 800+ words research paper basically out of a thin air because, considering that the story was hardly a groundbreaking accomplishment by an author, there was practically no information to research. I ended up just writing what I knew the teacher would want to hear and, to give it a look of a research paper, sprinkled a few of those very few suitable quotes that I was able to find in most of the paragraphs. This, to my great satisfaction, worked very well, end I ended up with an "A".

Tattoos and Their Symbolic Meaning in Flannery O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back”
Written by Flannery O’Connor, “Parker’s Back” is a great illustration of how symbols can be effectively used by an author in order to better convey his or her message. In this particular story, for example, O’Connor skillfully employs the concept of tattooing in order to more vividly demonstrate gradual development of the main character throughout his life. When reading the story, one can easily notice that, while Parker’s fascination with tattoos is undoubtedly symbolic on its own, it is the image of the Byzantine Christ engraved on his back that serves as the central symbol of the story. This very last tattoo represents the protagonist finally finding his way and ready to embark on a new journey.

Flannery O’Connor opens her narration by painting a picture of a man who is obviously lost on his way: Among other things, Parker is married to a woman whom he seems to despise, has a job he does not care about, and is not capable of changing the situation. The protagonist, however, is not just another unlucky fellow who does not have enough will and determination to turn his life around. There is at least one noticeable peculiarity about him – most of Parker’s body is covered with tattoos. Of course, what actually matters are not the tattoos themselves, but the reason that underlies getting them. There is no doubt that, while, for some people, tattoos are not much more than following a trend, for Parker, every new picture on his body represents a search for an identity.

Having given a brief introduction of the character’s life at the moment of the beginning of the narration, O’Connor continues her story with a flashback into his past, which offers an important insight into what makes Parker keep altering his body in such a radical way. Here readers learn that the protagonist’s obsession with tattoos is long lasting: It starts at the age of fourteen, when, at a fair, Parker sees a man whose body is completely covered with ink. This unusual vision has such a great impact on the protagonist that, for the first time in his life, he begins to wonder about his own being. As André Beikasten observes in his work, “The sight of the tattooed man startles him [Parker] out of his drooling stupor into awareness of a body not yet totally his, a body to be appropriated and made whole and beautiful” (12).

For Parker, the encounter at the fair is clearly a beginning of what later will become a constant quest for an identity that seems to lead nowhere – the protagonist quits school, works in a garage for a while, begins to drink and get in trouble, joins the navy, and finally ends up marrying Sarah Ruth despite knowing that she is wrong for him. Parker’s search is accompanied by getting more and more tattoos in hopes that this is what will help to find the fulfillment he is so craving for. It is important to mention that the protagonist considers being able to admire every new picture to be a crucial part of his obsession – this is why he refuses to place tattoos where they cannot be easily seen. As Alice Hall Petry points out, “Parker’s prerevelation refusal to embellish his back with tattoos is in keeping with his practical nature, but most importantly underscores his lack of faith” (38).

Despite Parker’s seemingly narcissistic fixation with the look of his body, his tattoos are much more than a random collection of pictures that serve the purpose of embellishment – they undoubtedly reflect character’s inner struggles and spiritual development. In the beginning of the story, for example, one can perceive the lack of tattoos as a symbol of Parker being a clean slate. During this period of time, the protagonist does not yet have a clear realization of who he is and what his purpose in life is supposed to be. The great impact the encounter at the fair has on him, however, suggests that Parker has subconsciously been searching for his identity for a while. Not surprisingly, with his options being few and far between, he is so eager to grab the first alternative to religious fanaticism of his parents when he sees the tattooed man.

As the story continues, readers learn that, for a short period of time after getting his very first tattoo, the protagonist believes to have found the solution. To his great satisfaction, Parker is gradually changing from a kid whose “mouth habitually hung open” (O’Connor 395) to a popular young man favored by girls – a pleasant nuance he thanks the tattoos for. As long as the tattoos are a novelty, the protagonist, however, does not realize that they are just an easy fix for his problems and that the identity he is so happy to embrace is not actually his. Not surprisingly, very soon he begins to notice that, contrary to his expectations, men and beasts and flowers on his own skin do not seem to have a subtle motion but, to his great disappointment, look like something “haphazard and botched” (O’Connor 396).

As the story goes on, greater and greater unrest sets in Parker’s soul – the more tattoos he gets, the deeper his dissatisfaction grows. By the time of the encounter with Sarah Ruth, the protagonist is so confused that, seeing how strong beliefs and values of this woman are, he, perhaps, hopes that she can, in one or another way, teach him how to achieve the same in his own life. This is why, despite Sarah Ruth being unattractive, bigoted, and opposed to everything that Parker finds exciting and worth living for, he decides to go through with the marriage. Unfortunately, once again he has to realize that, just as his obsession with tattoos did, this alternative lifestyle fails to alleviate the unrest within him. To make matters even worse, Parker finds himself trapped in a marriage with a woman he does not love, who is pregnant with a child he does not want, and whom, for some reason, he cannot bring himself to leave.

It is not until the dramatic accident with the tractor that Parker finally sees a gleam of hope in front of him. While the protagonist initially believes that his choice of the very last tattoo is solely influenced by the desire to appease Sarah Ruth, he soon comes to realize that, in the image of the Byzantine Christ, he has finally found his true and only guiding light: “The eyes that were now forever on his back were eyes to be obeyed” (O’Connor 404). There is no doubt that this tattoo becomes a center that can pull Parker’s life together and give it a new shape and meaning (Mayer 124). The fact that it is no other image but the one of the Savior that becomes this center is, however, more than ironic because it demonstrates that the identity Parker has subconsciously been searching for was his all the while (Petry 41).

It is evident that, while symbols of the story are many, the Byzantine Christ engraved on Parker’s back is by far the most important one because it implies the final transformation of the main character that culminates the story. This image engraved on Parker’s back clearly demonstrates that the protagonist has finally come to terms with his own self and is now ready to accept his religious nature: “Like Hazel Motes and young Tarwater, Obadiah Elihue Parker is ready, at long last, to become one of God’s prophets and martyrs” (Bleikasten 16). While the author has left it up to the reader to decide what shape the protagonist’s life is going to take, it is obvious that, despite a number of difficulties his conversion might cause, Parker’s existence is going to have much more meaning and purpose to it than it used to, and the image of the Savior on his back will help him not to get lost on the crossroads again.

Works Cited

Bleikasten, André. "Writing on the Flesh: Tattoos and Taboos in ‘Parker's Back’." Southern Literary Journal 14.2 (1982): 9-18. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. SCCC Library. 09 Oct. 2009 /search.ebscohost.com>.

Mayer, David R. "Outer Marks, Inner Grace: Flannery O’Connor’s Tattooed Christ." Asian Folklore Studies 42.1 (1983): 117-127. Academic Search Premier. SCCC Library. 09 Oct. 2009 /search.ebscohost.com>.

O’Connor, Flannery. “Parker’s Back.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 11th ed. Ed. X. J. Kennery and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2010. 393-406.

Petry, Alice Hall. "O'Connor's PARKER'S BACK." Explicator 46.2 (1988): 38-43. Academic Search Premier. SCCC Library. 09 Oct. 2009 /search.ebscohost.com>.