Paper Example on Parker's Back: Unveiling Dissatisfaction and Its Effects

Introduction

The author wrote the short story Parker’s Back to show the events that occur in society and how they affect the people who get to experience them. The person selected by the author to bring about most of the themes, which express the author's reasons for writing the piece, are brought to light. First, the author writes the piece intending to bring out the issue of dissatisfaction and the effects that they have on the people in society.

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Parker brings out dissatisfaction throughout the piece, and several incidences have been used in bringing out the theme. For example, his marriage to Sarah Ruth was one which he could not understand since he could not have seen himself being with someone like her and did not think she could be married by anyone.

However, when one thinks of the lengths to which he went to get her, he unexpectedly would end up being dissatisfied with her to the extent of looking for ways through which he could get her to leave him. Getting the tattoo of the back to anger her to the point of leaving was an extreme measure Parker took, showing the lengths he was willing to go to get her to leave.

Parker’s tattoos were a representation of the dissatisfaction which he had experienced throughout his life. He admired the tattooed man he saw at a fair and thought of doing the same, which ended up with him getting so many tattoos on his hand and chest, all which seemed unable to satisfy his insatiable need to feel perfect. His dissatisfaction was further seen in many women's pursuit so that he could have his way with them, despite being a married man. His dissatisfaction with the women he had in his life was seen in his desperate attempts to get the old lady he worked for to admire him by removing his shirt, but she was not interested in his approaches. Secondly, the author intended to write this piece to show the misery that comes with marriages born out of love but situations.

Parker regrets ever marrying his wife, and the only reason why he puts up with her is because of the pregnancy that she is carrying. The two are opposites in behaviors and attitudes towards life. Therefore their marriage is filled with instances whereby the two are in arguments due to their different views of life. While Sarah was a religious woman, she was married to a man who paid no mind to religion; therefore, their outlooks to life differed in many instances.

Their differences are seen from the first time that they met, with Sarah reprimanding him for using obscenities when he pretended to be hurt, and this shows the difference in the two's values in life. Additionally, Sarah does not approve of his lifestyle, especially his tattoos, which she views as evil and unnecessary. Yet, Parker still manages to convince her to love him and marry him and carry his child.

Maybe the author wanted to show that while people may hold different opinions in life, love knows no boundaries and will always prevail over the things that people hold dear in life, such as their value systems or the religious views that they hold on to dearly. It is also the author’s intention to show that when people pulling in different directions in life settle in marriage, they will always end up in disagreement, unhappiness, and separation of their marriages may be inevitable.

The other reason for the author writing this literature piece is to show how religion affects the lives of the people that it impacts. First, Sarah Ruth is influenced by her religious beliefs into being the person that she is in the piece. While she does not engage in acts that one would consider unacceptable throughout the piece, her religion instills a sense of self-righteousness. Therefore she ends up judging people and setting unrealistic expectations on them. For example, due to her religious beliefs, she does not believe in cursing or using profane language, and she reprimands Parker when she hears him using the same, telling him that he is not allowed to do that despite the circumstances that may have led him to do so.

Additionally, she is influenced by religion to the point of leaving Parker when he says that he is blasphemous for tattooing what he says is the face of God on his back after he almost died. Additionally, the effects of religion are seen in Mrs. Parker when she feels that her son was probably possessed by an evil spirit and seeks to find him to get exorcised in a revival meeting, making her son leave home.

Additionally, the author wrote the piece to show the effects that one’s actions have on their lives in the long run. Parker was inspired by a tattooed man he saw at a fair when he was 14 years old, and by the time he was 16 years old, he had his first tattoo. This action led to his dissatisfaction in life, and he got more tattoos throughout his life to try and get an identity of his own.

Parker's decision to run away from home when his mother tries to get him baptized at a revival meeting led him to a life of doing menial jobs since when he left home, he was not done with his education. Therefore he was not qualified to get any white-collar job. Most of the accidents that he experiences in his life, especially with the old lady's tractor, can be viewed as avoidable had he taken his studies seriously. Furthermore, his decision to pursue women ended with him being in a marriage that he did not enjoy, to the point of having to look for ways through which he would get his wife to leave.

How the Author Delivered Her Message

The writer uses description to bring out her works in a more vivid manner, thus helping to paint a picture of the person or events being described in the situation. Imagery and description go hand in hand since while the author describes the events in their works, the images are formed in the reader's minds, therefore making the book more relatable to, as well as making the piece exciting to the reader. For example, the author describes Parker's tattoos so much that one feels as if they are seeing them physically.

This helps in identifying with the character and therefore trying to see things from their perspective. Additionally, the author describes the beauty that Parker saw in Sarah Ruth, which does not compare to the haggard look that she had at the beginning of the piece when she was pregnant, thus giving the reader a glimpse into the decision why Parker was still pursuing other women.

The use of symbolism has also been employed by the writer to help them in delivering her message. For example, Parker's tattoos in several places on his body could be symbols of different aspects of Parker's life. For example, when one views it from the religious people in the story, that is, Sarah Ruth and Mrs. Parker once can view the tattoos as a depiction of sin, since sin can sometimes be visible for all to see.

When religious people see sin, they feel it as their duty to free the sinner from their sin, as Mrs. Parker tried to in the revival meeting she took her son to. However, when one views the tattoos from Parker’s angle, they can see the tattoos as a representation of the freedom that people in society are in pursuit of, but few are open to pursuing.

It is, therefore, Parker that has been used to show someone who is not held back by societal or religious expectations to comply with the set standards and rules, but as someone who pursues what makes him happy, and even adding more to his collection as a way of showing his openness to being free from the set norms. Finally, the tattoo on the back can be interpreted as a conscience that Parker grew, one that made him feel guilty of his sins and safe at the same time. Therefore, it is a depiction of the experiences that new converts, whereby those who they hold dear walk out on them when they cannot handle their new-found religious beliefs, just as Sarah Ruth did.