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Doug Jones read Flannery O'Connor's story, "Parker's Back" at our weekly disputatio today. What a wonderful story! It includes a burning bush and theophany; a baptismal vigil that ends with the main character, O.E. Parker, bearing a tattooed picture of Jesus on his back; a temple-cleansing, when O.E. gets into a brawl at his old bar, which also leads to him being an outcast from his old community of drinking buddies; a naming scene, when O.E. finally identifies himself by his given name, Obadiah ("servant of Yah") Elihu ("Yah is my God") Parker; and a final scene where Parker's wife beats the Jesus his bears on the face (which is on Parker's back), bruising the tattooed face.
The amazing thing is that what could be over-wrought symbolism is effortlessly set in a story dominated by pathetic white-trash characters. The symbolism is pervasive but doesn't intrude at all into the story, doesn't stick out, doesn't seem the least bit out of place.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, December 13, 2003 at 12:37 AM
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1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
