...Taking place in the early 1960’s, John Kennedy Toole’s famous novel A Confederacy of Dunces follows the misadventures of Ignatius G. Reilly- an obese, lethargic slob- as he interacts with the many characters that inhabit the New Orleans of that time. Many of his misadventures revolve around his working experiences and the ways he finds to avoid doing any work that doesn’t benefit his own ideologies. He possesses many interesting qualities, such as extreme obesity, a disdain for modern society, and severe laziness. These qualities come together to make Ignatius a rather comical character. Ignatius’s laziness attaches a high level of comedy to his character. Whenever he is not in a state of employment, Ignatius spends most of his time in his...
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...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....
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...The lazy slob known as Ignatius J. Reilly is a comically obese gentleman and the protagonist from John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel – set in early-1960s New Orleans – follows the comic misadventures of Ignatius as he struggles to find a job in the Big Easy. From organizing an uprising of blue-collar factory workers to forming a political party based on homosexuality, Ignatius experiences little change during the length of the story. Gluttony and patronage are two flaws in Ignatius's personality One of Ignatius's most evident qualities is his gluttony, which can be seen several times throughout the story, mostly involving food. When Officer Mancuso visits the Reilly home following Mrs. Reilly's...
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...The Man Named Ignatius J. Reilly In John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces, the reader is introduced to a man named Ignatius J. Reilly. The reader meets Ignatius under the clock of the D. H. Holmes department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the 1960’s. Readers follow Ignatius through his life and his backwards mentality, and watch as his philosophy ends up causing chaos and devastation to his surroundings. They watch as Ignatius blames all his bad fortune on others and on chance while his own actions are actually at fault. Readers discover that Ignatius has faults, but among them his egocentricity and gluttony stand out the most. When readers first meet Ignatius, Ignatius is already getting himself in trouble. Ignatius expresses...
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...Quick List of Common Literary Terms Abstract Language—Language describing ideas and qualities rather than observable or specific things, people, or places. The observable or "physical" is usually described in concrete language. Allegory—A narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one. A story, fictional or nonfictional, in which characters, things, and events represent qualities or concepts. The interaction of these characters, things, events is meant to reveal an abstraction or a truth. These characters, etc. may be symbolic of the ideas referred to. Alliteration—The repetition at close intervals of initial identical consonant sounds. Allusion—An indirect reference to something (usually a literary text) with which the reader is expected to be familiar. Allusions are usually literary, historical, Biblical, or mythological. Ambiguity—An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way. Also, the manner of expression of such an event or situation may be ambiguous. Artful language may be ambiguous. Unintentional ambiguity is usually vagueness. Anachronism—Assignment of something to a time when it was not in existence, e.g., the watch Merlyn wore in The Once and Future King. Analogy—An analogy is a comparison to a directly parallel case. When a writer uses an analogy, he or she argues that a claim reasonable for one case is reasonable for the analogous case. Anecdote—A brief recounting of a relevant episode. Anecdotes are...
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