Tattoos on the Heart: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

On Saturdays, Boyle goes to probation camps and delivers Mass. Then, he returns to his parish and officiates at baptisms, weddings, and other important events. One Saturday, during a brief moment of free time between his priestly duties, Boyle gets a visit from a woman named Carmen. Boyle knows Carmen—she’s a heroin addict and prostitute. Carmen wants Boyle’s help getting off of drugs. She breaks down and wails, “I am a disgrace.”

Boyle has read that people become addicted to drugs in part because of their strong sense of shame. The same could be said of “addiction” to gang life. People hate themselves, and don’t believe that they’re worthy of a good, happy life, so they turn to a life of danger and violence. But Boyle believes that, deep down, all people long to love God and feel God’s love in return.

Beginning on the 4th of July, Boyle’s neighborhood is transformed into a massive, two-week party space. There are parades, firecrackers, and dances. One day, Boyle angrily runs out of his office—someone has set off a firecracker outside. Boyle discovers that the culprit is a young man named Danny. However, Danny insists that he didn’t set off the firecracker. Boyle nods and gives Danny five dollars to buy some food, saying, “If you tell me you didn’t do it … that’s all I need.” Danny begins to weep from shame. Boyle believes that shame is an expression of “the absence of self-love.” Over time, people can overcome their shame and embrace God.

Boyle next discusses a man named Lula. He’s currently in his early twenties, and has a son. Boyle has known Lula since Lula was ten years old. Lula is a “special ed” student, and he finds it hard to pay attention to anything for very long. Boyle remembers how, when Lula was in school, he showed Boyle his report card. Even though it was all F’s, Lula was proud of himself for never missing a day of school. And at the church, Lula enjoys a supportive community that gives him the love he needs.

The principle suffering of the poor, Boyle argues, isn’t that they’re poor—rather, it’s that they’re ashamed. Boyle has seen people’s capacity for self-hatred, and he knows how toxic it can be.

Each Sunday after Boyle gives Mass, he speaks privately with several of his congregants. One day, he speaks with a teenager who claims to be named Sniper. When Boyle presses him, the teenager admits that his real name is Napoleón “Napito” Gonzalez. Boyle thinks it’s important that his congregants be honest about their names—“We all just want to be called by the name our mom uses when she’s not pissed off at us.” Boyle remembers teaching a sullen teenager who claimed his name was Cricket. But when Boyle found out that Cricket’s real name was William, he found that Cricket opened up to him and was no longer so standoffish.

Boyle recalls a teenager named Speedy. Speedy would risk his life walking home a woman on whom he had a crush—an action that required him to walk on a rival gang’s turf. One day, a woman named Yolanda, who’s active in the parish, tells Speedy that it would break her heart if anything happened to him. Shortly afterwards, Speedy marries, moves away, and begins working in an oil refinery. He now has three great kids, and seems to be living a happy life. Years later, Speedy comes back to Los Angeles and takes Boyle to dinner. Speedy talks cheerfully about his family and his strong religious beliefs. As Boyle listens to Speedy speak about his children with pride, Boyle thinks about how Speedy escaped from the wreck of his “disfigured, misshapen self.”