Fortuna’s wheel must have been spinning up when I first learned of Ignatius J. Reilly’s antics and life in John Kennedy Toole’s Novel, A Confederacy of Dunces. From the sprawling avenue of Canal Street to the raunchy bars of Bourbon Street and the Port of New Orleans, the troubles of the Reilly Family take root in the Historic city of New Orleans. Like the ocean in a hurricane, Ignatius Reilly is pulled from maelstrom to maelstrom which all starts from a simple car accident in which his drunk mother, Mrs. Reilly, strikes a building and has to find a way to pay of the large “note” for which her actions caused. Along the way, many interesting characters arise such as a misunderstood policeman, flamboyant hat connoisseur, devious bar owner, and above all the bleeding heart liberal, Myrna Minkoff. …show more content…
The artful way in which Toole composes the setting and uses vernacular associated with it allows for a stark comparison between the city of New Orleans, and the pompous Ignatius Reilly who inhabits it. These contradictions often lead to hilarity such as when Reilly is employed by Paradise Vendors and becomes a hotdog salesman and describes his day, “A vagrant petitioned for a hot dog. I waved him away and strode forth” (230). Once the reader realizes the hypocrisy of the statement, being that Ignatius is heading towards vagrancy himself, the utter ridiculousness of Ignatius’ statements are hilarious simply for the fact that they are extremely