Parker's Back

Parker’s tattoos are a motif that explores his desire to achieve meaning and his frustration at not being able to do so. When, at a young age, he sees the tattooed man at the fair, he interprets the intricate design on the man’s body that seems to “have a subtle motion of its own” as something mysterious and powerful (513), and it awakens a deep emotion within him. The emotion is compared to patriotism, another powerful sensation that invokes intangible ideals.

Afterward, he chases that powerful emotion by getting tattoos as often as he can in a variety of locations and at the hands of a variety of artists with different instruments from “ivory needles” to “thin pointed sticks” to “pins and soot” (523). But the thrill of getting a new design is short-lived and wears off, leaving Parker feeling empty and dissatisfied once more. It is only when he gets the tattoo of the Byzantine Jesus on his back, a place he can’t see, that he begins his journey toward meaning.

The burning tree that Parker crashes into with the tractor symbolizes an encounter with the divine. The image of a burning tree, and Parker standing barefoot before it, is an