Parker's Back
Encyclopedia
"Parker's Back" is a short story
by Flannery O'Connor
. It was published in 1965 in her short story collection Everything That Rises Must Converge
. O'Connor finished the collection during her final battle with lupus
. She died in 1964, just before her final book was published. A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor often used religious themes in her work.
ing his body since childhood when he saw a tattooed man. He tattoos nearly his entire body, except his back because he cannot see tattoos on his back. After a cold, awkward courtship, Parker marries a seemingly fundamentalist woman, Sarah Ruth, who acts very judgmental towards him despite his seeming unbelief. He frequently contemplates leaving her.
After negligently crashing and destroying a tractor at work which nearly kills him, Parker abruptly leaves the scene and is filled with a desire to tattoo an image of God on his back. He also believes that this will please his harshly religious wife. After getting a tattoo of God with piercing eyes, other people are convinced Parker has had an awakening experience with divine grace
, however, Sarah Ruth is not impressed and attacks and berates him for what she claims is idolatry.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
. It was published in 1965 in her short story collection Everything That Rises Must Converge
Everything That Rises Must Converge
Everything That Rises Must Converge is a collection of short stories written by Flannery O'Connor during her final illness. The title of the collection and of the short story of the same name is taken from a passage from the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. The collection was published...
. O'Connor finished the collection during her final battle with lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus , often abbreviated to SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage...
. She died in 1964, just before her final book was published. A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor often used religious themes in her work.
Plot summary
Parker's Back tells the story of a non-religious man, Parker, who has been obsessed with tattooTattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ing his body since childhood when he saw a tattooed man. He tattoos nearly his entire body, except his back because he cannot see tattoos on his back. After a cold, awkward courtship, Parker marries a seemingly fundamentalist woman, Sarah Ruth, who acts very judgmental towards him despite his seeming unbelief. He frequently contemplates leaving her.
After negligently crashing and destroying a tractor at work which nearly kills him, Parker abruptly leaves the scene and is filled with a desire to tattoo an image of God on his back. He also believes that this will please his harshly religious wife. After getting a tattoo of God with piercing eyes, other people are convinced Parker has had an awakening experience with divine grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
, however, Sarah Ruth is not impressed and attacks and berates him for what she claims is idolatry.