Only Flannery O’Connor would give her
readers a character who both feels as if religion “were after you,” and decides to get God tattooed on his back. In “Parker’s Back,” many of Parker’s tattoos
are described, and it is clear that tattoos are important to Parker. Though it
is evident that Parker’s tattoo of God is the most important tattoo in the story,
I thought that Parker’s previous tattoos likely also held significance. In the
story, among other tattoos, Parker has tattoos of an eagle, a serpent, a panther,
and two hawks. A black panther is often believed to be a symbol of a protector,
guardian, or savior, and for devout Christians, the black panther can be seen
as a symbol of Christ. Similarly, the eagle has positive religious symbolism
because God is compared to an eagle multiple times throughout the Bible, and in
Christian art, the eagle often represents Christ’s resurrection. Parker’s tattoo
of a serpent coiled around a shield brings to mind the serpent in the Bible
that symbolizes temptation for Adam and Eve. Parker has a tattoo of a hawk on
each of his thighs, and the fact that Parker has two hawk tattoos draws the
reader’s attention. In Christianity, the wild hawk is a symbol of materialism
and sin, but once a hawk is tamed, it is believed to symbolize a soul that has
turned to Christianity.
Because
Parker’s tattoos are not solely symbols sin and disbelief in religion, but
rather a mixture of symbols of God and sin, I was unsure of the point O’Connor
was attempting to make by listing the tattoos that Parker has. But O’Connor may
have been showing the reader the point of these conflicting tattoos when she
writes that Parker feels “as if the panther and the lion and the serpents and
the eagles and the hawks had penetrated his skin and lived inside him in a raging
warfare” (O’Connor 514). This line makes me wonder if Parker’s tattoos display
his inner battle of wishing to be saved, while also maintaining a disbelief in
God.
 |
| A black panther symbolizes protection, and in Christianity, Christ. |
Because Parker believes that if “a man can’t save his self
from whatever it is he don’t deserve none of my sympathy,” I thought that
Parker’s tattoos could also represent Parker's attempts at displaying his ability to
save himself (O’Connor 524 &525). Specifically, Parker’s tattoo of the panther
made me wonder if Parker believes that he can invoke the protection that the
panther symbolizes, just as many Catholics believe that wearing a medal of
Saint Christopher – the patron saint of travelers – because they believe it
will bring them protection while traveling. Ultimately though, Parker comes to see
each tattoo as “haphazard and botched” (O’Connor 514). It seems plausible that
Parker begins to see each tattoo as unsatisfactory because the tattoo has not granted
him the protection or redemption that he hoped. And when Parker’s wife does not
recognize God in Parker’s tattoo, Parker realizes that even after getting a tattoo of God, Parker is still unable to save himself.
https://www.worldbirds.org/black-panther-symbolism/
https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/serpent/
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