Introduction
Parker’s Back is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor with an explicitly religious message. It revolves around the protagonist, O. E. Parker, initially rejecting any religion but eventually conceding to the Spirit and Christ. The writer portrays how the character is affected by his wife, calling his tattoos acts against God, giving more details about the character’s revelations throughout the story. O’Connor utilizes literary devices such as a distorted plot and symbols and stylistic dialogue to highlight how sinful actions committed by Parker gradually bring him closer to being saved by God’s grace.
Discussion
Character Analysis
The writer primarily focuses on Parker’s becoming a Christian humanist from the person completely denying God. It hints at the author’s purpose: to show that religious divine truth is always present and can be seen in a human being praising God (Guroian 52). Although from the early beginning, Parker is a person with many tattoos, looking for a way to attract as many women as possible, he ends up being a man with a Christ tattoo on his back.
He is exceptionally distinct from religion, so he does not even mention his complete name, Obadiah Elihue, to anyone, as it means God’s servant (Guroian 54). O’Connor purposefully describes this character in such a way as to demonstrate how any person who truly glorifies God can be incarnated. Her central focus is that God’s love and forgiveness are always given to those who seek it.
O’Connor demonstrates Parker’s obedience to God most unusually, as the character has a tattoo on the back. It might appear to some that he does it to trigger his wife or to make her sympathize with his new tattoo. However, he decides to have a tattoo as he feels attracted to God’s revelation, whom Parker ought to follow from that time: “The eyes that were now forever on his back were eyes to be obeyed” (O’Connor 14). Therefore, the writer aims to describe how this character, with all his resistance to religious claims, becomes God’s follower mysteriously.
The Use of Dialogue
Although the author relies on several literal and stylistic techniques to convey her message to the audience, the most straightforward case is one of the stylistic devices, the dialogue between Parker and his wife. During the first conversation in the text, instead of utilizing gentle and loving collocations, they talk in a coarse tone (O’Connor 1). The second example of dialogue advocating the writer’s purpose concerns Parker’s tattoos and flirting with a female employer (O’Connor 8).
When Sarah asks him to think about God’s judgment, he does not particularly address her concerns about God. This dialogue, full of vernacular language, shows how Parker and Sarah argue since they have two opposing life orientations. Parker rejects God’s punishments, while his wife fears sinful actions. The author utilizes this technique to highlight the degree to which Parker does not worry about the religious concerns raised by his wife.
Distorted Plot Through Flashbacks
This story’s most prominent literary technique is the distorted plot due to flashbacks. For example, the writer illustrates how the married couple first meets, and Sarah urges Parker about his ugly tattoos. More importantly, the flashback describes Parker’s first impression of a man at a fair with many tattoos: “It did not enter his head that there was anything out of the ordinary about the fact that he existed” (O’Connor 4).
Parker chooses a new tattoo whenever he feels dissatisfied with his life. However, it seems that after having a tattoo of Christ on his back, he would stop this peculiar habit as it should bring more satisfaction to his life. This unusual flow of plot as a device aims to narrate the protagonist’s story in more detail, highlighting the importance of tattoos and increasing the audience’s sympathy toward him.
Religious Symbolism
Only attentive readers would mention how carefully O’Connor uses symbols of the character’s name and fire. The first one of Obadiah Elihue symbolizes his connection to God. The fact that he prefers to keep his complete name secret symbolizes his attitude toward religion as he refuses to accept his name and ultimate attraction to God (O’Connor 7).
Another example of religious symbolism happens before Parker’s tattoo of Christ on his back. He falls off the tractor and mentions how his shoes are burnt: “The first thing Parker saw were his shoes, quickly being eaten by the fire” (O’Connor 9). Shortly after, he meets a tattoo artist and makes his first religious imprint. It symbolizes that his previous rejection of God is burned similarly, meaning he becomes closer to God. Therefore, these two symbols highlight the protagonist’s character change, who accepts God’s grace.
Conclusion
To conclude, O’Connor writes this story to persuade the audience that anybody who admits God’s presence might receive his grace. The author carefully chooses the character’s name to symbolize his inner connection with God and his description, which denotes how one person can transform by being affected by his wife. The dialogue between Sarah and her husband around Parker’s sinful actions illustrates how they share different religious positions, which could have affected the protagonist’s transformation. Flashbacks interfering with the story’s plot portray how Parker gradually becomes saved by religion, while literary devices such as symbols hint at the character’s previous rejection of incarnation. All these devices help the audience understand how Parker smoothly becomes saved by God, as God can save every human being.
Works Cited
O’Connor, Flannery. Parker’s Back. Gothic Digital Services, 1965. Web.
Guroian, Vigen. “The Iconographic Fiction of Flannery O’Connor.” The Intercollegiate Review, vol. 46, 2000, pp. 46–55. Academia. Web.