Essay on “A Confederacy of Dunces”

Posted: August 27th, 2021

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Essay on “A Confederacy of Dunces”

The Novel’s Antihero, Ignatius Reilly, is an Unsympathetic Figure 

The novel presents the antihero, Ignatius Reilly, as an unsympathetic personality through his self-centeredness. According to the novel, everything about this character revolves around his self-interests and overbearing personality. For example, he does not sympathize with the medical condition of his mother, Irene. When Irene asks him for a massage to lessen the arthritis-associated pain, Ignatius refuses. Moreover, after he caused Irene to crash the car, he does not feel sympathetic to pay for his complaints blunder (Toole 45). Thus, he cares less whether Irene would face a jail term or not

Ignatius’ Mother is a Sympathetic Figure

Ignatius’ mother, Irene, is so sympathetic about the lives of other characters in the novel. When the car crashes, for instance, she looks back to establish the extent to which the accident has impacted the son. She cares to ask him if he is all right (Toole 67). Moreover, she sympathizes with the livelihood of Darlene in the club. Hence, she specifically feels sorry that Darlene gets low payments in her dance performances.

How the Relationship between Mother and Son Evolves During the Novel

With Ignatius being unsympathetic towards his mother, the relationship evolves into a parasitic kind of association in that the son seems so self-centered. However, since the mother is sympathetic, she is always willing to give support for the son and even the outsiders. Subsequently, Ignatius is overbearing, as demonstrated in the way he controls all the affairs of his mother. Ignatius only wants the mother to show him care and love, but he does not intend to reciprocate the same for the mother(Toole 323). At the end of the novel, the mother’s personality also evolves into carefree. She stops extending care and love to his son instead of sending Ignatius to a mental health facility (Toole 323). Thus, the relationship seems short of love and care as the mother gets married to avoid the responsibility to watch over her son’s affairs.

Ignatius’ Essential Life Dilemma is as He Sees it

Ignatius is conservative of his medieval ideals; however, he lives in such a time that modernity influences New Orleans society’s lives and livelihoods. As much as he holds firmly on to his medieval ideals by criticizing modern life features, he inadvertently longs to enjoy such a life. For example, Ignatius enjoys watching various revelry TV programs but refuses to admit how much TV programs influence modern life (Toole 121). Consequently, he longs to enjoy everything concerning modern life’s features but does not intend to start practicing capitalism’s ideals. Therefore, he is indeed in a dilemma about whether to stop his medieval conservatism and embrace capitalism.

Significance of Ignatius’ Corpulence and Gargantuan Appetite 

Ignatius’ corpulence and gargantuan appetite signify his state of health condition. He views himself as medically healthy in case he eats and drinks well. Moreover, his gargantuan appetite implies that god Fortuna favors his gargantuan appetite and does not control it. 

What is the significance of Ignatius’ long-distance relationship with Myrna Minkoff?

Ignatius’ long-distance relationship with Myrna Minkoff signifies his inability to handle a healthy, close romantic life. He is alienated from the human needs of conventional sex life. Also, it represents his failures to hold a caring and loving relationship with Myrna when she is around. Therefore, his long-distance relationship with Myrna is impractical.  

How Ignatius’ Intellectual Leanings Conflict with His Place in the Contemporary World 

Ignatius’ intellectual leanings on medieval concepts occlude him from understanding the working dynamics of the contemporary world. For example, he believes in theology and geometry’s ideals by faulting capitalism’s requirement that a person needs to have a job before considered economically productive (Toole 231). Moreover, he refrains from dressing like the modern people, believing that the liking for smart dressings is materially-centeredness and morally wrong. He also considers other individuals’ sexual life different, but his sexual orientation is quite queer in the way he dreams about his dog while indulging in masturbating.

How John Kennedy Toole Evokes the Novel’s Self-Contained world 

The author applies the atmosphere of New Orleans to help evoke the novel’s notion of a self-contained world. Indeed, it is an analogy of the weird livelihood in New Orleans, different from other US cities(Toole 103). For example, the author brings such a notion by talking about the “Night of Joy” club and the revelry sex and rave activities inside the club (Toole 101). Moreover, the author evokes an analogy of all the crime-related activities at most nights in New Orleans.

How the Novel Uses Humor and Satire to Address the Social Concerns of the 1960s

The author uses the colored character Burma Jones’ sunglasses to signify his intention to avoid the social challenges that the black community underwent during the 1960s, ranging from vagrancy law to unlawful arrests by police by Patrolman Mancuso (Toole 12). The police could arrest the black people for idly walking across streets. Moreover, they could be discriminated against by employers based on their color. For example, the “Night of Joy” owner decides to pay him below the minimum wage rate. It implies that the black suffered social injustices, but no one would come to their aid. 

What Walker Percy Means by the Comment “is also sad” in the Novel’s Foreword.

As I see it, the sad part of the novel revolves around the character of Ignatius Reilly. It is so unfortunate that Ignatius sees himself as superior to all other characters wherever he goes. He conserves his medieval ideas by holding on to his impractical principles that are not realistic in the modern world. It is absurd how the character intends to bring peace to the world by encouraging homosexuality among the fighting men. Consequently, it is sad to imagine Ignatius’s silly ways of resolving modernity’s social evils. 

How the Text Relate to Current Issues of My Generation

The sad comment by Walker Percy is evident today in the modern world. Capitalism controls the freedom of modernity because a person is perceived not to have control when they do not have material power. In this regard, many people aspire to be productive to attain the freedom associated with capitalism’s ability to dictate their livelihoods. However, a few individuals intend to have better livelihoods, but they do not demonstrate hard work. Therefore, it is sad to imagine how much people desire to have a luxurious life when they do not practice hard work toward capitalist productivity to have luxurious life when they do not practice hard work towards capitalist productivity. 

Works Cited

Toole, John, K. A Confederacy of Dunces. Grove Weidenfeld, 1980.