As I have been reading these short stories, I am struck by how appearances are so important by the characters. "Noon Wine," "Parker's Back," "He," etc. I know that we are like this today; we don't want to lose face. We can't do anything that would make us lower in the eyes of our friends, family, or colleagues. I can understand it, but at the same time, I am so amazed how far some of these characters take it. Parker gets himself tattooed all over, and Mr. Thompson kills himself because people don't believe his story. Everything these characters do is surrounded by the thoughts of "What would people think?"
On a funny tangent, that reminded me of the "What Would Jesus Do?" emblems. Not to seem sacrilegious or anything, but that is the ultimate incentive of doing what is "right" to keep up appearances. I wonder why we as humans take it so far? Why do we do such dramatic things just to get someone to like us? Why does Parker stress over a tattoo that will please his wife so much? Why does Mr. Thompson kill himself because people don't believe him? Why does he think that committing suicide will cause people to finally believe his story? In short, why do we care what people think? (which, of course, is different for everyone, but maybe there is an ultimate trend?)
Tags: appearances, Chelsea Oaks, He, Noon Wine, O'Connor, Parker's Back, Porter, reflective