The Modern Expression of Prophet in Flannery O'Connor's 'Parker's Back'

摘要

As one of the last works written by Flannery O'Connor, the Southern American writer, "Parker's Back" tells a story about the spiritual quest of a tattoo enthusiast, Parker. Research on this short story does not abound compared with that on O'Connor's other representative works, and in the corpus of it, great attention is often focused on tattooing and Parker's conversion. Since O'Connor's works are featured by prophet-like figures, this paper sheds light on Parker's identity as a prophet in O'Connor's southern context. Two parts will be covered. In the first part, some connections are explored between the protagonist in the story and the Old Testament prophets. The second part demonstrates Parker's southern grotesqueness as a prophet. Hopefully, this paper can provide a relatively different perspective and moreover enrich corresponding research.