The end of A Confederacy of Dunces was one of the most satisfying and sweet endings of any book I have ever read. On one hand, it nicely brought the millions of little plots in to book together, and on the other hand, it did justice to the characters and left us with a satisfying aftertaste and just the right amount of “give me more! what happens next?” that modernists usually tend to over prescribe.

Towards the end of the novel we have the Levys, we have paradise vendors, we have the Night of Joy and its constituents and Jones, we have Irene and Santa and Mancuso (no, not the one who brings you gifts), we have Myrna, and we have Ignatius. How could Toole possibly tie them all together? Well, here‘s a short summary of how it happens: Ignatius is on his weenie route when he passes the Nigh of Joy, the owner of which happens to be practically enslaving Jones and literally hosting a pornography ring. Jones, knowing the accidental sabotaging capabilities of Ignatius, invites him in to see the bird show. The bird attacks Ignatius and Ignatius runs outside to shake the bird off of his costume earring and patrolman Mancuso is outside tailing Ignatius for his aunt (Santa) and her friend Irene (Ignatius’ mother). He stops the whole thing and somehow busts the porn ring. Later, Mr. Levy goes to Ignatius house to ask him about a letter that was written by one party and signed by Mr. Levy to a company denouncing their moral values. The letter somehow turns into a libel suit and Mr. Levy is trying to sort it out. Ignatius successfully points the finger at senile Mrs. Trixie. Irene, overcome with depression with what her son did, calls the mental ward to come pick up Ignatius and leaves the house. Ignatius picks up on this and plans an escape. Justas he was packing, long lost Myrna comes to unknowingly save Ignatius. The novel ends with them leaving to go to New York (from New Orleans). As you can see – and if you cannot see from my very brief but possibly confusing summary, I apologize – John Kennedy Toole ties in every mini plot to each other.

You know when you finish a book with a great ending but you think, “Man, I wish Ahab could have made the catch,”? Well that was not the scenario in this book. Two specific examples are the destinies of Mr. and Mrs. Levy and Patrolman Mancuso. Mrs. Levy is perhaps the most detestable character I have ever come across, in literature and in life. Everything the Mr. Levy does, she twists and threatens to tell their daughters. When he fires Ignatius for organizing the factory workers to March and attack the office manager, she tells Mr. Levy that their daughters will be very sad to hear that their father fired such a free “idealist” thinker like Ignatius. I hate every fiber in her body with every fiber in mine. And Mr. really, well he’s a nice guy. Not too stand out, but we gain some sympathy with him knowing his wife. Its nice to see the victory he experiences in the end of the novel and his revived interest in his company, with his decision to change the name to “Levy Shorts” (from Levy Pants) and show some initiative in his company; however, it is even nicer to see that, “Mrs. Levy wouldn’t really fit into the Levy Shorts plan.” Patrolman Mancuso is a character that we all feel bad for in the novel. This guy never catches a break. His boss ridicules him and makes him wear a costume and hide in a cold damp bathroom until he makes a “real” bust. Well in the end, he makes the bust of the century. He breaks the entire pornography ring in the high school system in New Orleans. This was of small importance to the novel, but it still contributed to the satisfaction in the ending.

The end of this novel was one of the best over; it encompassed everything that is necessary – in my opinion – for a good ending.

Image Study

In A Confederacy of Dunces, images did not prove an extremely important role, but they were there throughout. The main purpose of the images in the book was to show the oddities of the characters – mainly Ignatius, the massive hero of the novel. Four of the images I have selected characterize Ignatius: his Belch, his Fat, his hot dogs and his fat. (For the record, I am aware that that rhymed.) The fifth characterizes a smaller character in the novel, Burma Jones: Smoke.

Let’s start with Burma’s Smoke:

Throughout the novel, Jones never spoke. He never said or yelled or asked or screamed, he blew smoke. For example, when he was at a bar he normally attended the book says how he “aimed some smoke over the bar, ‘I mean I’m glad…’” to be more explicit, the book illustrates Jones’ speaking by evoking some image of his release of smoke. This was simply used, but frequently used, because Jones always seemed to be smoking.

Next comes ole’ Iggy. Ignatius is a huge man with horrible acid reflux and an odd sense of fashion and choice of work. Toole used images to display these grotesque features in Ignatius.

First is his green hat. Ignatius wears this odd green hunting hat, much like the one worn by Elmur Fudd. When he gets a job at the hot dog vendor and is required to wear a ridiculous pirate costume, he concedes to wear all of the costume except the pirate hat. He wears his normal hunting hat even with the pirate costume. This leads into the next image, the Paradise Hot Dog. Paradise Hot Dogs is the hot dog vendor where Ignatius is employed in the later parts of the novel. He consumes so many of these hot dogs during each of the shifts that hew works that he leaves work sometimes with less than a dollar wage. These hot dogs represent his basic world view: success is not attained through money, or happiness. It is attained through living with medieval morals. He is highly educated, yet he chooses to work selling hot dogs. Next come the image of his burps. Often, like with Jones’ smoke, the author says that Ignatius “belches” or “burps” his comments. This adds to Ignatius’ disgusting appearance, since he would never dare to upset his valve and hold in a burp when he is in the company of other people, or as he sees them, “Mongoloids.” Lastly is Ignatius’ huge being, his fatty content, his beer-less beer belly. Whenever people first lay their eyes on Ignatius they notice his size. He is massive, and through the novel he himself notes (not self-consciously I might add) “My stomach is getting out of bounds; the seems of my vendor’s smock are creaking ominously.”

All of these images are employed to the eccentricity, if I may, of the characters. They point out the flaws in ways that only a third person point of view may note, seeing as they come from the eyes of many of the other characters.

Character Study

CHARACTER STUDY:

I'm over the half-way point in the book, so all main characters have been introduced. All the more dynamic lead-roles in the novel have quotes.

Ignatius J. Reilly

The story's protagonist, he is a labyrinth of issues and flatulence. A medieval man at heart, Ignatius loathes everything modern or commercial. He is a constant observer, recording his own peculiar version of history on Big Chief tablets. Ignatius is also quite lazy, and he would prefer to spend most of his time at home in bed or in front of the television. Yet, when his mother crashes her Plymouth into a building, Ignatius is forced to enter the working world in order to help pay off the debt. He also has a special “valve” that is always acting up, preventing him from doing any work.

This is a excerpt from Ignatius' journal, keep in mind that this is the FIRST time he's written in the journal (87).

"I find, dear reader, I have grown accustomed to the hectic pace of office life, an adjustment I doubted I could make... I brought to his attention the sign (Yes, reader, it has finally been painted and posted...) As I have told you in earlier installments... I cannot abide those who would act cowardly in the face of social injustice. I believe in bold and shattering commitment to the problems of our times..."

Mrs. Reilly

Ignatius's mother. She loves her son but frequently complains that after all the money she spent on his education, he has not made anything of himself. She’s an alcoholic.

This passage is on 149 where Mrs. Reilly is telling Santa that Ignatius is going to be a hotdog vendor.

"So he says, very insolent, 'Guess again. You ain't even close.' I keep guessing for about 5 minutes until I can't think of no more jobs where you'd be wearing one of those white uniforms. Then he finally says, 'Wrong every time. I got me a job selling weenies.' I almost passed out, Santa, right on the kitchen floor. Wouldn't thata been fine, me with my head broke open on the linoleum?"

Patrolman Mancuso

An inept, yet hardworking, police officer who suspects Ignatius of being a pervert and who attempts to arrest him. His sergeant, frustrated with his incompetence, punishes him by forcing him to wear a new costume each day. If he does not apprehend a suspicious character soon, he will be thrown off the force.

Santa Battaglia

Patrolman Mancuso's aunt, she becomes Mrs. Reilly's friend and bowling partner. She decides to play matchmaker in setting up Mrs. Reilly with a man whose name is still unknown.

Honestly, the best quote to help interpret the character of Santa is found on page 89 where she is dancing in the kitchen and says very candidly to Mrs. Reilly "F*** Ignatius!"

Lana Lee

The owner of the Night of Joy, she rules the club with an iron fist. Ignatius refers to her as the "Nazi Proprietress." She is also the mastermind behind the largest high school pornography ring in the city.

Mr. Jones

An African American porter at the Night of Joy, his face is constantly hidden behind sunglasses and a cloud of smoke. Working for well below the minimum wage, he remains at the Night of Joy only because he fears he will be arrested for vagrancy if he is unemployed.

Darlene

B-Girl (someone who basically prostitutes the bar’s awful drinks) at the Night of Joy, she dreams of becoming an exotic dancer. She has a pet cockatoo that plays a prominent role in her stripper routine, since it has been trained to rip her clothes off of her.

Claude Robichaux

A grandfather of six, he is convinced that communists are taking over the country. He is the man in the very beginning of the novel that stands up for Ignatius when Patrolman Mancuso attempts to arrest him, thus getting himself arrested.

Dorian Greene

An elegant homosexual who runs a vintage clothes shop in the French Quarter. He buys Mrs. Reilly's hat early in the first chapter. Later, we learn that he throws extravagant parties.

George

A young teen with oiled hair and flamenco boots, he serves as a delivery boy for Lana Lee's “orphanage charity”.

Gus Levy

Owner of Levy Pants. He tries to dissociate himself from the business as much as possible, spending most of his time at race tracks, sporting events, and spring training camps. He and his wife have a terrible relationship, but they serve as humor.

"Last time Sandra was home, she opened her purse to get cigarettes and a pack of rubbers falls on the floor right at my feet." (pg 84)

Miss Annie

The nosy neighbor of the Reillys, she constantly complains about the noise coming from the Reilly residence.

Miss Trixie

The old, senile assistant accountant at Levy Pants, she has only two desires in life: an Easter ham (since she was never given the Thanksgiving turkey her employer promised her) and retirement. Mrs. Levy will not let her retire, however, believing that Miss Trixie needs to feel that she is wanted.

Mr. Gonzalez

The loyal and hardworking office manager at Levy Pants. Despite the fact that he is quite impressed with Ignatius as an employee, Ignatius decides to lead the factory workers in a revolt against him.

Mrs. Levy

Gus Levy's wife. She took (but failed) a correspondence course on psychology. She insists that Miss Trixie be kept employed (despite Miss Trixie's repeated requests for retirement), believing that Miss Trixie needs to feel wanted. Her favorite activities are making her husband miserable and writing to her two daughters, Susan and Sandra, to tell them of all the terrible things their father has done.

Myrna Minkoff

Ignatius refers to her as the "minx." She is a Jewish from New York, whom Ignatius met in college. She believes that sex is the answer to many of life's problems, and she often accuses Ignatius of having homosexual tendencies.

Sergeant

Patrolman Mancuso's boss who, out of frustration with Mancuso's ineptitude, forces him to wear ridiculous costumes and to spend long days sitting in the bus station bathroom. He threatens to kick Mancuso off the force if he does not shape up.

Rhetoric Study

Rhetoric Study in the evolution of Ignatius, excerpt from page 103.

This is Ignatius' second journal entry about his new "career" and his life as a self-proclaimed martyr for the factory workers of the Levy Pants plant. Toole uses the journal as a tool (no pun intended) that allows the reader to be in Ignatius' head and speak through Ignatius in first person. But the thing about the journals is that Ignatius is still trying to 'impress' the world, for he believes that these journals may be published one day. By making Ignatius portray himself as some sort of 9 to 5 hero, Toole creates an ironic contrast between reality and Ignatius' world view. Throughout the passage I will be commenting on what Toole is doing, and why he is doing it.

*my comments are in bold

"Another working day is ended, gentle reader. *Although he's an unpublished author with unfinished editorials and manuscripts strewn all about his messy bedroom floor, Ignatius talks to his imaginary readers in a superior way. This is Toole showing Ignatius' inflated ego* As I told you before, I have succeeded in laying a patina, as it were, over the turbulence and mania of our office. *"Turbulence and mania are literally the last to words anyone would use to describe the Levy Pants office. There are 3 workers in a silent room, one worker being Ignatius, one is a woman on the brink of death and she's usually asleep, and then there is Mr. Gonzales who actually does all his work and never speaks unless spoken to. It is the calmest, least active "office" in existence; Toole shows the reader how skewed Ignatius' views are when Ignatius sees the polar opposite of what the reader sees*All non-essential activities*technically everything they do is unessential according to their boss Mr. Levy, ironic*in the office are slowly being curtailed. At the moment I am busily decorating our throbbing *again with a ridiculous view of reality considering the office is anything BUT 'throbbing'* hive of white-collared bees (three). The analogy of the three bees brings to mind the three b’s which describe most aptly my actions as an office worker: banish, benefit, beautify. There are also three b’s which most aptly describe the actions of our buffoon of an office manager: bait, beg, blight, blunder, bore, boss, bother, bungle, burden, buzz. (In this case, I am afraid that the list gets somewhat out of hand.) I have come to the conclusion that our office manager serves no purpose other than one of obfuscations and hindrance *HA! Toole shows how Ignatius sees everyone as a problem to society, even though Ignatius himself is extremely inefficient and a huge hindrance (literally and figuratively)*. Were it not for him, the other clerical worker (La Dama del Comercio) *the queen of eating* and I would be quite peaceful and content, attending to our duties in an atmosphere of mutual consideration. I am certain that his dictatorial methods are, in part, responsible for Miss T.’s desire to retire… *Miss. T is so old, Mr. Gonzales "dictorial methods" are the LAST thing that would be effecting Mrs. Trixie, especially since Mr.Gonzales is the most soft spoken man and never forces her to do anything*”

Toole uses rhetoric to create a disconnect between Ignatius and reality, he does so using irony and humor. The impact of the section leaves the reader thinking, or more so knowing, that Ignatius is indeed as outlandish and egotistical as previously assumed.

Brainless Work Ethic (theme study)

John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces shows through its dysfunctional society two major American Themes: everyone is ignorant and brainless and the American work ethic is at a minimum. The main way that he shows that everyone is dim is through his main character, Ignatius. His actions and thoughts exemplify those of your typical ignorant American. Toole’s clever invention of Levy Pants, and more specifically its factory, shows the utter lack of concern that the American worker has with his job.

The first theme shown in the novel is simply that everyone on the face of the earth is dumb. No matter what. Ignatius Reilly is not uneducated; as a matter of fact he has a master’s degree. As opposed to having an obsessions to pop culture and a hate of historical context and knowledge, as all extraordinarily immature men who live with their mothers do, he obsesses over his hatred of pop culture (he specifically goes to movies to explore his distain of pop culture) and prefers the philosophy of the middle ages and a scholastic knowledge of everything from that time. Nevertheless, Ignatius is by far the most ignorant oaf that this novel has to offer. He feels himself superior to all saying that he “I only socialize with my equals, and since I have no equals I do not socialize.”

He is completely unaware of what is going on around him; he blurts out every comment that comes to his head without a filter. But he is not the only one: when Mrs. Reilly had a few of her new friends over, one of them – Santa is her name – started doing some outrageously kinky dance to some outrageously loud music, all outrageous enough to incite anger in a neighbor, Mrs. Reilly said, “Lord! What if Ignatius comes home and sees this,” to which she replied (to the mother of Ignatius, naturally), “fuck Ignatius.” This blatantly shows how people have no resolve for how others feel about what they say. The novel is plagued with minor characters who shoe how idiotic people really are. The police chief makes an impotent officer dress up in costumes every day until he starts acting like a real officer and brings people in as if the costumes could really help with the issue. Jones (a minor character who works in a bar for significantly less that minimum wage because the bar owner tricked him to thinking that he can be arrested for vagrancy if he does not have a job) gets himself into the parenthetically mentioned situation just because of his sheer ignorance. The moral of the story is this: everybody is dumb.

(On a completely unrelated note, Mrs. Reilly gasped in shock to Santa’s comment about Ignatius, but had a slight look of pleasure. If the reader has looked at the Mother and Son entry, this will bring him or her some additional information)

The second feature of American society that this novel exploits – or “theme” as you may call it – is the surprisingly low competency and ethic of its workers. If American labor was in the state that is presented in this novel, we may very well still all be farmers in Babylonia. The greatest example of this “ethic” in the novel is in Ignatius’s “journal” entry where he describes his visit to the factory of Levy Pants. He writes, “I saw only one pair of trousers actually completed in the time that I spent there, although the factory workers were shambling about clutching all sorts of scraps of cloth. One woman, I noticed, was pressing some baby’s clothing and another seemed to be making remarkable progress with the sections of fuscia satin which she was joining together with one of the large sewing machines.” She was making a gown. These workers represent the American working class’s low level of work ethic.

If we look up the chain, to the foreman of the factory, perhaps, we see that he is “normally only a few steps to the bottle.” During Ignatius’s visit, he was not even there; he was “probably quaffing a liquid lunch in one of the many taverns in the vicinity of our organization.” If we find it in ourselves to take a trip even farther up the symbolic chain, we can see the owner of Levy Pants, Mr. Levy, who admittedly does not want anything to do with the business and hardly ever goes by to see how things are running. He does not micro- or macro-manage. Through the Levy Pants organization Toole expresses the idea that the American worker does not care about his or her work.

Toole shapes every word and sentence and situation in the novel to show these two themes. The idea of dimwitted America is shown through Ignatius while the theme pertaining to the low work ethic is shown through Levy Pants… and of course, also Ignatius. (At Levy Pants he literally throws away his work to do what in his mind are more important projects.)