Parker's Back

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1965

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. Upon their first meeting, what made Parker’s wife stare at Parker with a “stupefied smile of shock”? (Paragraph 10)

2. What job did Parker have when he met his wife?

3. What happened to the tractor during Parker’s revelation at his employer’s house?

4. Which facial feature is initially missing from the image that Parker desires?

5. Upon reflection, what does Parker realize that he has obeyed throughout his life?

6. What does Parker whisper in response to Sarah Ruth’s question, “Who’s there?”

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Under which circumstances did Parker meet his wife? What did he think about her after their first meeting?

2. What sight does Parker recall seeing at the fair when he was 14? How did this experience shape his identity?

3. Summarize how Parker began to court Sarah. Why was he surprised by the development of their relationship?

4. Which idea does Parker become fixated on? Describe how he deals with this fixation.

5. Upon reflection, what does Parker realize that he wanted in his relationship with his wife? Does he manage to do this at the end of the story? Why or why not?

Paired Resources

“Will Tattoos Finally Be Accepted as Art?”

This 2022 BBC article discusses the history of tattoos and their increased social acceptance today. (Note: This resource links to the main Activity.)
This resource connects with the theme The Search for Meaning.
Based on the text as well as the above resource, how does Parker’s interest in tattoos deviate from the social norms of his era?

“Byzantine Icons”

World History Encyclopedia explores the history of the Byzantine Christ, including pictures. (Note: This resource relates to the Differentiation Suggestion of the main Activity).
This resource connects with the theme God as Pursuer.
Based on the text as well as the above resource, how does Parker perceive the image of the Byzantine Christ? Why would O’Connor select this image in particular for Parker to be drawn to (as opposed to other visual representations of God)?

Recommended Next Reads

The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor

O’Connor’s 1960 novel follows a 14-year-old protagonist who struggles against his destiny to become a prophet.
Shared themes include The Search for Meaning, God as Pursuer, and Transformation of the Soul.
Shared topics include the Southern Gothic genre and a transformative journey for the male protagonist.
The Violent Bear It Away on SuperSummary

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Faulkner’s 1930 short story, which centers on the life of southern aristocrat Emily Grierson, is an example of the Southern Gothic genre in short stories.
A shared theme is The Search for Meaning.
Shared topics include the Southern Gothic genre, relationships and love, and notable Southern authors.
“A Rose for Emily” on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

Reading Check

1. His tattoos (Paragraph 10)

2. Selling apples (Paragraph 20)

3. “[T]he tractor crashed upside down into the tree and burst into flame.” (Paragraph 65)

4. The eyes (Paragraph 86)

5. “[W]hatever instinct of this kind had come to him” (Paragraph 113)

6. “Obadiah Elihue” (Paragraph 123)

Short Answer

1. Parker met his wife when his truck broke down on the side of the road and she came over. As she checked his hand for injuries, he thought, “I don’t want nothing to do with this one.” (Paragraphs 5-9)

2. After seeing a man covered completely in tattoos at the local fair, he felt a change in him, “as if a blind boy had been turned so gently in a different direction that he did not know his destination had been changed.” Soon after, he quit school and began to work so he could earn more money for tattoos. After his mother tried to take him to a “revival” for religion, he ran away and joined the Navy. (Paragraphs 14-17)

3. Parker decided that he “was not one to be outdone by anything that looked like her” and returned to her house several days in a row, first with apples and then with peaches. Although he recognized that he was not attracted to her, he surprised himself by continuing to show up and speak to her, even revealing that his initials O.E. stand for Obidiah Elihue. (Paragraphs 21-51)

4. Parker becomes fixated on the idea of putting a religious tattoo on his back, the one place where he does not have any tattoos, ultimately causing him to lose sleep and struggle to work. After his revelation at his employers’ house, Parker visits a tattoo parlor, and, “as plainly as if silence were a language itself,” he is compelled to select an image of the Byzantine Christ on his back. (Paragraphs 64-77)

5. After receiving the tattoo, Parker realizes that he has only wanted to please his wife throughout the course of their relationship, and this tattoo was one way of doing so. However, upon arriving home and showing her the design, she calls him an idolator and “beat[s] him until she had nearly knocked him senseless and large welts had formed on the face of the tattooed Christ.” The story ends with him crying under a tree. (Paragraphs 130-132)