Memorial Tattoo Interview

It’s no secret that many people get memorial tattoos to honor the deceased. For many, it is a way of carrying that special person(s) around with them. These are not normal tattoos since they usually have much thought placed into creating them. I have heard many stories of people that get tattoos commemorating their marriage but then they get an unforeseen divorce. Some people also get tattoos that they regret when they reach a certain age. Memorial tattoos tell stories and preserve important memories. Branding the body is also a huge commitment since it is permanent. Depending on where the tattoo is, many people will also notice it and may ask questions about the person or have similar stories. Last year I took an African Studies class where …show more content…
I remembered that he had a memorial tattoo of one of his good friends. At the time I had noticed it but I never asked him about it because I felt like it would have been awkward. For this paper, I decided to interview him about his memorial tattoo and the story behind it. The tattoo he has is for his friend Alex. The reason he chose to get a tattoo was because he wanted a permanent personal way to remember his friend that passed. Jonathan wanted to carry a piece of Alex …show more content…
He admits that he was not sure how to deal with the loss since losing someone that was a big part of his life had never occurred before. I asked him if he would describe his reaction as “rage” He agreed that he was upset and did not know how to deal with death. Music played a huge role in him finding peace. It’s interesting because I use music as my outlet to deal with stress sometimes and relax This process of grief is also mentioned in “A contribution to the study of the Collective Representation of Death” by Robert Hertz. He classifies death as a process instead of the generally accepted opinion that death occurs in an instant. I compared this to Jonathans grieving process because it showed that Alex’s death had long term effects since it was neither simple or unchangeable. Another article I related this to was “Kinds of Death and the House” by Maria Catedra. Alex’s death according to the article would be considered a tragic death since he overdosed on painkillers. Furthermore, the tattoo depicts a cross with angel wings and the words “R.I.P Alex” are wrapped around the cross with a ribbon. Directly below the cross is a soldier with a sword. He told me that this represents Alex as a warrior and that he will be watching