After the tractor incident, Parker’s behavior and self-awareness significantly change, as he feels “a leap forward into a worse unknown” (9), or an unfamiliar, new path to life. Parker also acknowledges God and has a slight spiritual connection with God. This is evident when Parker is choosing his tattoo, when he “reached the one ordained… a pair of eyes glanced at him swiftly” (10). He feels that God has spoken to him in a silent but personal manner. Parker becomes increasingly agitated by his surroundings and others, as he seems tense and cautious. In addition, Parker also begins to hear voices from a divine being. It whispers to him silence, and messages like “Go back” (12). He spends lots of time contemplating, reflecting, and making purposeful choices rather than the impulsive ones he had made before the tractor accident.
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The tree was emphasized by the old woman to be very old and large, just like Parker’s mundane, old life before the incident. The lost shoe in particular represents a part of him that is permanently gone. O’Connor states that one of his shoes was “quickly being eaten by the fire” (8), and she emphasizes in a concerning tone that “He was not in them” (8). The shoe represents a piece of Parker that has been lost forever and taken away from him, and he is left with an open foot to allow for a new, spiritual part of himself to enter. When Parker returns to the tattoo shop, he feels as though “his heart began slowly to beat again as if it were being brought to life by a subtle power” (10). This illustrates the sudden internal change he experiences by an external power, which O’Connor alludes to as God. This accident had triggered an awakening in Parker as his behavior changes and his relationship with God
The tree was emphasized by the old woman to be very old and large, just like Parker’s mundane, old life before the incident. The lost shoe in particular represents a part of him that is permanently gone. O’Connor states that one of his shoes was “quickly being eaten by the fire” (8), and she emphasizes in a concerning tone that “He was not in them” (8). The shoe represents a piece of Parker that has been lost forever and taken away from him, and he is left with an open foot to allow for a new, spiritual part of himself to enter. When Parker returns to the tattoo shop, he feels as though “his heart began slowly to beat again as if it were being brought to life by a subtle power” (10). This illustrates the sudden internal change he experiences by an external power, which O’Connor alludes to as God. This accident had triggered an awakening in Parker as his behavior changes and his relationship with God