Now I will admit I have never read Slaughterhouse Five (from which the above phrase was taken). It's one of those books I have always been meaning to read. Eventually. Since I haven't my knowledge of this phrase is only that its repeated throughout the book and holds some significance. That's it. But that phrase was able to reach out from a novel and become a person's entire belief system. Enough so that they got a tattoo of it.
I think it's a great testament of a writer's ability to stick with its audience if people are tattooing your words across their skin. I mean that shit is permanent. That's the idea anyway. Your words will be on this person's body until their skin has disintegrated. Imitation might be the highest form of flattery but tattooing someone else's words onto you might be as flattering as it gets.
 |
| via contrariwise.com |
It says "the world is quiet here". The quote is from my favorite book series as a kid, "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. I've always loved that quote. But would I get a tattoo of it? After consideration I had to keep it real with myself. Nope. But this person did and I must say it looks very nice.
I'm also a huge fan of Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar". I found this gem:
 |
| via contrariwise.com |
It says "I listened to the old bray of my heart" on the left side and "I am i am i am" on the right.Now I LOVE LOVE LOVE this tattoo. From the font to the placement I think its perfect. However, once again, no, I would not get this tattoo.
Finally, I also fell for this tattoo.
 |
| via contrariwise.com |
From Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk it says "It's only after we've lost everything that we are free to do anything." Another quote that I love and that is pretty popular in the tattoo world. It's great but again not for me.
I am a person who has no tattoos and most likely would never get any because I'm sure as soon as I did I would change my mind and want a different one in a different place. I am the person who struggles to decide what to eat every day and then just as I take the first bite of my Big Mac decide I really wanted pizza. Or maybe sushi. I cannot make a decision to save my life...so hopefully I never have to.
Other people can though. And so many decide what they should tattoo are another person's words. Although I probably won't be jumping on the bandwagon myself I am infatuated with the idea. If someone ever decided to make that commitment between words of mine and their flesh, my words would accept the proposal blushing and crying while calling all the other words over to flaunt the engagement ring.
Contrariwise also has a section for So it goes. I discovered it's a mini literary tattoo phenomenon. All caused by one man's mind. So it goes...'til death and beyond. It's chilling, but in the greatest way.
I can definitely relate with sucking at making decisions. Especially with something as permanent as a tattoo....I do like the idea of a forearm tattoo, but then again, I would never be able to decide on something so profound that it's worthy of permanence.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually pretty set on getting a tattoo as a graduation present to myself. The words, "with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair" is going to be etched onto my back right next to my left shoulder blade and behind my heart. It's from the song After the Storm by Mumford and Sons. It basically means to carry yourself with grace after every struggle, disappointment, or failure and to continue on with dignity. That's my interpretation of it at least. But since it's going to be on my body for the rest of my life I really want to find a nice parlor where they'll have it look exactly like I imagine it to. It'll probably be a good 'get your butt to the gym' motivator too! I don't want my tattoo to look like crap hahah.
ReplyDeleteI really like the book "Slaughterhouse Five." That phrase pops up in the good parts and the bad parts, and was always a reminder to me that sometimes life just doesn't make sense, and to not try to apply meaning to it. Sometimes bad things just happen - all you can do is adapt and overcome. Sometimes good things happen. It's just life.
ReplyDeleteI'm really indecisive too, and especially about tattoos, too. But Sylvia Plath has also really spoken to me, so instead of getting tattoos, I write quotes on postcards and hang them in my room, and change them out with other ones that are relevant. One of the most beautiful literary quotes to me is much too long to consider getting it as a tattoo, but I'll keep it up on my wall forever:
ReplyDeleteI saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet."
-The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
Also, this contrariwise site is lovely! New procrastination tool :)