Flannery O Connor Parker's Back Analysis

Throughout the world there are several different opinions when it comes to the belief of God and the Bible. There are thousands of different religions that people belong to; the most well known being Christian and Catholic. Many writers often use different genres that help to symbolize different realism aspects of stories. For the short story, “Parkers Back” author Flannery O’Connor uses a Christian realism theme to portray the life of a man who battles with the belief of God. The idea that there is or isn't a God is an ideal that many people will one day question as many people are taught at a young age that help mold them into what they later begin to live by. Different spiritual beliefs stem from mainly culture and different situations …show more content…
O’Connor, uses representations of God through different objects to show that Parker has more of the presence of God in him than his wife Sarah while slowly showing more of God in Parker than Sarah. Analyzing this short story will help further unfold how God uses all things to show his presence and can reach even those who are the most non believers, according to author O’Connor. Also, showing how people change over time and manifesting into something they never thought they desired is a reoccurring theme within this …show more content…
They couldn't be more different in every way but for some reason she marries him both knowingly that they have nothing in common. Sarah believes that she is the most religious and has the attitude that she feels the presence of God and doesn’t see it in her husband. Whereas, Parker denies any part of God or anything that represents spiritual ideals throughout this story until he has his moments where he finally feels God. One of those important moments when, one day he was on the tractor thinking about how to try and convince his wife of the recent awakening moments he had with God. While on the tractor he crashed into a tree and it catches fire. This is the moment where Parker feels like this is identical to the moment of Moses and the burning bushes. On the other hand, Sarah isn’t presented with these moments because it seems like the author wants the reader to see how Parker transitions and grows while Sarah’s character is stagnant. Author O’Connor, chooses to show images that happen in the bible to show that people always have spiritual encounters but would rather ignore it than to realize what spiritual awakenings they have. For the character Parker, he starts to accept it more as the story progresses and he wants to show his wife through yet another tattoo. While Parker believes this is something that will finally