“Parker's Back” is filled with biblical allusions as a man's journey to God and to pleasing his wife ends unsuccessfully. Parker has always been a rebel; however, his wife is a devout and simple woman who has indescribable control over him, perhaps due to her subconscious desire to be saved. Parker longs to leave her, but finds he can never do so. Not only is he unable to please his wife, he is also unable to experience spiritual satisfaction, and in the brief moment at the end when he has a connection with God, his wife breaks free. Biblical allusions are widespread throughout “Parker's Back” and serve to emphasize OE Parker's failure as a spiritual person. Parker notices a tattooed man at the fair, where he was inspired to get tattoos. The man's tattoos represent "beasts and flowers" (384) filled with "intricate designs of brilliant colors" (384), as they represent an Eden that Parker cannot have. Parker's response to the man's tattoos can never be replicated; Parker is always dissatisfied with his tattoos. The man's tattoos seemed alive and had "subtle movement" (384), and Parker is never able to experience the emotion he felt when looking at the man's tattoos, as if he could never experience Eden again. On the other hand, Parker's tattoos seem to represent something completely different. The snake on Parker's arm represents the wrongs he has committed, and with the snake on his arm, Parker cannot truly feel the religious and spiritual satisfaction that his wife feels. This biblical allusion to Eden and the serpent shows that Parker struggled to find peace and had a troubled life. As a tattooed high school dropout, a dishonorably discharged ex-sailor, and a heavy drinker, OE Parker is a failure. His soul is a “web of facts and lies” (393), and compared to his devout wife, he is a failure in religion due to his lack of faith. Parker detests his wife, calling her "plain" (382), but remains with his wife anyway, an action that has led him to be "perplexed and ashamed of himself" (382). Perhaps the real reason he is with his wife is that she "married him because she intended to save him" (382) and Parker is waiting to be saved. Sarah knows that OE Parker's real name, Obadiah Elihue, is significant when she says it aloud with "a reverent voice” (387).