The Old Man and his Tattoo

I think that both character and setting are one of the most important details to be developed when writing. As Lamott mentioned in Bird by Bird, character's are extremely significant, as they lead to the plot and conflict. In Ted Kooser's, "Tattoo," I think both the character and setting portrayed, allow the reader to rally paint an image and understand who this old man with a tattoo is, and his existing human condition.

First the man is described with "a bony shoulder," (line 4) who once had a tattoo of a dagger, which now looks as nothing more than a bruise. Even though at the end of the poem, it is a given that the man is old, the description allows the reader to understand that there is more age to this character. The reader can envision someone older and more lived. Then Kosoer describes the setting, as the man is walking through a yard sale. What first comes to mind when you think of an old man, with a worn-out tattoo of a "dripping dagger held in the first of a shuddering heart," (line 2) and a tight black t-shirt, walking through a yard sale? This is where both character and setting take a significant approach in allowing the reader to interpret through imagery and description, what or who this person is and how his surroundings add on to his character.

Of course though, Kooser gives him away by stating he's just another old man, putting things back together, and his heart is now soft. Here we understand that even though this man's dagger once gave him the possible appearance of fear and power, now that it has worn out, his past is nothing but a story. The beauty of people and their lives...