Ivan's Monologue

When Stanley first got to Camp Green Lake he was timid, apprehensive, and hesitant, but now he’s dauntless, sympathetic, and worthy.

Uniquely, Jamison’s tattoo leaves a gesture of hope. “I was branding myself to mark a new era: my body was no longer entwined with someone else’s” (Jamison page ##) In saying this she inscribes freedom on her

Throughout the piece people approach Jamison inquiring about the tattoo and each time giving a response that she doesn’t want. Whenever she explains the translation of the tattoo, the inquirer immediately questions the motives behind it and gets offended by her claim to understand humanity and understand everything that is wrong in the world (Jamison 459). Except, they don’t know what Jamison has been through and don’t understand the personal meaning it holds. Although it wasn’t her initial intention, Jamison learns to accept the attention she receives from it. She explains that the purpose of her tattoo is to attract attention, be aspirational, and cause admiration. But, she also claims that it also serves the purpose of the opposite of all of those things (Jamison 460). Jamison tells this story to demonstrate the significance and symbolism of a tattoo and how a simple phrase can mean so much more about a person’s identity and how it represents people.

I was a productive woman, and I wanted people to see it in me. I wanted them to see it in the way I walked. I wanted them to see it in the way I talked. I wanted them to see it in the way I worked late every night to make my patients, and the world, a healthier, better place. Most importantly, though, my productivity was expressed in the way that I raised my boy. I wanted Eugene to be as perfect as I was, and I worked my hardest to keep all distractions from him. Still, he always managed to slide his face into the pages of his books every chance he got. I didn’t see the point in it. He had the top marks out of everyone in his class, so what was the point in reading books that didn’t improve his grades? I didn’t

Whenever he gets a chance, he looks at his tattoos, but notices that “the effect was not of one intricate arabesque of colors but of something haphazard and botched. A huge dissatisfaction would come over him…. As the space on the front of him for tattoos decreased, his dissatisfaction grew and became general” (514). He is seeking something greater.

When he was thirteen, IV broke his first mirror. He can remember how the glass sliced into his skin, like it was made of nothing, like he was made of nothing. It hadn't stung at first.

Apart from the obvious appeal of henna tattoos, I also strangely enjoy being stagnant for hours at a time now. Oddly, the activity that was previously my worst nightmare, also served as an opportunity for me to contemplate about my life. After the paste-covered point of the cone touches my skin, I lose myself. I allow myself to enter a different world for a couple of hours. The world I’ve fabricated is the most serene place on earth. In this realm, I am entirely content and free of stress or responsibility. I allow myself to enjoy the swift movements of the cone and disregard all of the elements that surround me.

uncertainty wherein the tattoo serves as both silent witness and lucky charm. Yet sailors and navel men have long applied symbols to their bodies, in an almost magical way, to guide their vessels and protect themselves, to

scars on his left hand and head which he carried with him his whole life, along

There are multiple reasons for individuals to tattoo their bodies and the reasons are usually individualistic and subjective. The experience of being tattooed is intricately bound up with one’s character,

In "Good Scars" Rhenna Murray makes sure you feel the pain she is going through about her dead sister Janis. Murray makes it clear that getting a tattoo on behalf the memory of her sister is not an easy decision for the pain she will be going through. Although she also explains that maybe the pain of the tattoo will fade away the pain in her heart. After she gets her tattoo done Murray explains that now she feels her sister is always with her by just looking at her tattoo even though she still has hopes to cross paths with her when she is out in the street. A tattoo is a permanent scar but at the end it is a good scar.

In some tribal cultures the very experience of getting tattooed was viewed as a test of an individuals courage and inner strength. The process of having razor-sharp tools cutting into one's flesh and having dirt, charcoal based ink, or other substance rubbed into the bleeding wounds was incredibly painful. It sometimes resulted in infection, convulsions, high fevers, and even death. Those who endured the experience and survived found camaraderie with other tribal members who had done the same. But there was greater amount of pressure on individuals even young children to go through the tattooing ceremony.

Like most people, Janes and Dolgoff chose the designs for their tattoos to suit their individual styles and tastes. Janes’s first tattoo was a good luck ladybug below her belly button, which, “…someone pointed out, that thanks to the ladybug’s tilt and placement, it looks as if a bug were crawling out of my underwear”(Janes 73). Janes put some thought into the design and did research in order to get exactly what she wanted and still ended up with a small imperfection with the

Using a henna-like mixture that instead permanently whitens the skin and fur, a tattoo is started in infancy that illustrates the child’s tribe, family names, or other details of their birth. Throughout life, more tattoos are added, symbolizing major life events typically up until midlife, and the finished tattoo covers the entire left half of the back. Zazanizintli are major sources of pride for individual citizens, each addition requiring weeks or months of planning before being

And each night since that vision, she has dreamed of a man decorated with swirling, glittering patterns of coral stone. Tattoos of jewels carved into his body that radiate a strange magnetic power.