The character of O. E. Parker, in Flannery O'Connor's story, "Parker's Back," is very distinct and in some ways the same as the charters of the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin. In the story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," the grandmother, considers herself to be a lady and that times are changing and there is becoming less and less good people. In the story, "Revelation," Mrs. Turpin is a lady who believes she is better than other people and tends to judge them. Parker is the opposite of them, he is what they might think of as trash or that he is from a lower social class than them. All three of them however share the fact that they all have a revelation. It is important to show how the grandma and Mrs. Turpin are different from Parker.
Parker has many distinct qualities that make him different from the grandma and Mrs. Turpin. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin are from a higher social class and Parker is considered to be in the lower social class. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin are judgmental and tend to believe that they are some what better than other people. Parker instead is someone that they might judge, because his body is filled with tattoos. The grandmother and Mrs. Turpin believe in God and religion, and Parker does not. But, religion is what brings these characters together and connects them.
How these characters come together is through the fact that they all have revelations. Also, even though Parker is from a lower social class, he still tends to judge people and make assumptions about them. Parker obviously does not believe in God or religion, but his wife however does. Sarah Ruth, states that God will look down on him because of his tattoos. Parker grows very irritated and frustrated with her. Parker believes that tattoos help him deal with his frustration. He only gets tattoos on the front of his body, because he wants to be able to look at them. But, when he runs out of room, his frustration with Sarah Ruth grows even bigger. He decides that to deal with this he needs to get another tattoo that she will enjoy, on his back. While he was working, he wrecked the tractor he was on and it caught on fire, this is when his revelation starts to happen. He decides right then and there to go get his tattoo on his back. He picks out the picture of the Byzantine Christ, he heard a voice that told him to stop and go back. It is almost like Jesus had told him to pick this picture. Parker believes that Sarah Ruth will be amazed by his tattoo and will like it. After, Parker's tattoo is finished he does not want to even look at it, and some what wants to deny that he ever got it. On his way home Parker sat in an alley examining his self and he finally realized that he now believes in God. When Parker gets home and shows his tattoo to Sarah Ruth, she gets very upset with him and says that he is an idolater and she beats him. This is what connects him to the other characters because, even though they see things clearly in the end and realize the true meaning of religion and faith, they still get punished. The fact that Parker is completely opposite from the grandmother and Mrs. Turpin does not matter; really they are all the same, because they all did not know the true meaning of faith in the beginning and realized it in the end. .
Word Count 623
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