A Confederacy of Dunces

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Summary: Book Review for Confederacy of Dunces
Review: Confederacy of Dunces written by John Kennedy Toole is by far the most bizarre book I have ever read. John Kennedy Toole is a unique author to say the least. He displayed this ability to write a unique book when he when he wrote Confederacy of Dunces.
This 400page book takes place in New Orleans, which is a port city with many immigrants who come to America. All the different cultures that the immigrants come from represent uniqueness which is a big part of Ignatius's personality. It is very fitting that Toole chose New Orleans as the setting for the book. The diversity of the city can be related to the diversity or uniqueness of Ignatius.
Confederacy's main theme is how Ignatius is different from the rest of society but that he does not realize this. He does not realize in the book that if he lived anywhere else in the world he would not be able to complain or critique anything about the government like he does in the United States. Not only is Ignatius a little different than most people in society but all the characters who surround Ignatius day to day are also a bit "different".
The book shows how Ignatius "who is not all their" functions in day to day society. I should say tries to function in day to day society. The book also reveals as time passes
how Ignatius and his mother do not get along. Once his mother meets the cop who almost arrested her son Ignatius because he looked suspicious, she slowly becomes friends with him. Before Ignatius realizes, Mancuso, who is the cop ,is at his house quite a bit and Ignatius is completely against him hanging out with his mom and being in his house. Ignatius slowly develops grudges against people and it is not just Mancuso.
Ignatius begins to become enemy's with other characters such as Lana Lee who is the owner of the Night of Joy bar which is not a place where Ignatius is necessarily liked. He is not liked by Lana because of the behavior he displayed when he went in her establishment after he almost got arrested by Mancuso. He told his mother on their walk back to the house from the store where he almost got arrested that he was very hungry and he could not wait till they got home to eat. So Irene took him to eat at Night of Joy but after they ate because of the hard day they had they both decided to get very drunk. Once they were drunk Ignatius started fights with the other customers and that is why Lana has been upset with him ever since. It is events like these that become a trend in the way Ignatius behaves as the book goes on.
One of the reasons I disliked the book was because their was no moral to the story. The character never showed maturity as the book progressed. I think that if someone is going to write a book they need to have a reason or a plot to base it on. I feel as if Toole just wrote this book for the hell of it instead of writing to prove a theory or a point or to teach a lesson. Why would anyone want to read a book that has no point? To me this question is still unanswered and this is why I did not like Confederacy of Dunces.

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Summary: Bombarded with the Cretins
Review: Bombarded with the cretins and sheer foolishness, Ignatius J. Reilly stumbles through life leaving an unrecognizable trail of folly. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, is the story of Ignatius J. Reilly. His trials and tribulations, as well as comical interactions with individuals provide for an amusing story line. His escapades lead him to obtain different jobs throughout the story, which is the basis for the majority of his predicaments. Despite not being the most favorable employee, he is able to find work at a number of different locations. One job, at a trousers factory, ends up being a monumental mistake in his career.
The author's use of language adds immensely to the wittiness of the story. Toole injects an immaculate vocabulary into Ignatius, which can be seen in his ability to make fun of situations that occur in his presence. One experience Ignatius has rather periodically is conversations with a fellow friend, Myrna Minkoff. They confer through a series of letters, debating on opinions about differing social and political beliefs; "Do you seriously think that I am interested in your tawdry encounters with such sub-humans as folksingers? In every letter of yours I seem to find some references to the sleaziness of your personal life."
Toole adds many characters that add to the effects of Ignatius's absurdity. From his disbelieving mother to an honest hot dog vendor, Ignatius seems to blight everyone's lives he comes in contact with. He habitually relates the capricious wavering of events in his life to Fortuna, a sort of good or bad luck decision maker. This provides many comical encounters within his mind. Whether it be relating this downward spin of Fortuna to getting fired from one of his jobs, or his constantly deteriorating health, Ignatius transmits these episodes to the world around him, and this is usually rather negative; "A firm rule must be imposed upon our nation before it destroys itself. The United States needs some theology and geometry, some taste and decency. I suspect that we arte teetering on the edge of abyss." Upon finishing this book, I have a greater appreciation of the simp0le story. Toole uses a mastery of language, comic relief, and interesting philosophies in his characters, and they fuse together to make an entertaining narrative.

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Summary: A Dunce of a Book
Review: A Confederacy of Dunces, written by John Kennedy Toole, is a novel that sheds light on those normally unseen in a novel. In other words, the main characters in this novel would normally take a backseat to personalities that are easier to relate to, in other books. Ignatius Reilly, the main focus of the novel, is an overweight, middle-aged, lethargic man, whose experiences land him in many different and absurd situations.
Other characters, such as Ignatius' mother, are also, if not more, eccentric than Ignatius. Irene Reilly has been living with her son his whole life and cannot seem to get him to shape up to be an upstanding citizen that makes contributions to society instead of lying in bed writing absolute nonsense on tablets of paper. She seldom leaves the house, due to Iganatius' constant need for care, and therefore has no social life until she meets detective Mancuso. Having recently run into Mancuso, due to a scene made by her son, he eventually befriends her and Mrs. Reilly slowly gains the courage to leave Ignatius at home at night and on weekends. Their friendship introduces Mancuso's Aunt who tries to get Mrs. Reilly to commit Ignatius to an asylum. This to Mrs. Reilly is a horrible thought.
This novel has an interesting idea behind it, that the main characters are the most unlikely personalities in a novel to be the main focus. However the book's chapters seem to drag on and, at times, ramble without any significance without relating to anything in the chapter. The main character is the most annoying personality someone can read about, and the book had no real plot and jump from one subject to another. If you enjoy reading senseless plots and irritating characters this book is for you; if not than this book is not recommended to you.

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Summary: This is a novel of great humor.
Review: A Confederacy of Dunces written by John Kennedy Toole won the Pulitzer Prize and sold more than 1.5 million copies through more than 20 languages (Dunce). This book was published eleven years after the author's death by his mother and was the author's first book (Dunce). There is more than a humor in A Confederacy of Dunces. This book is typical American modern literature and contains many elements to be a good literature. Ignatius J. Reilly, a hero of this book, is a fool, but he thinks that other peoples except him are fools. As the title infers, it is the confederacy of dunces. Who's right? There is no answer. It is the way it is; an answer follows the numbers in modern society.
Ignatius J. Reilly lives with his mamma even though he's already in his age of thirty. He spends most of the day writing a book locked in his room. Ignatius is a fool in this book. Even though he has doctor's degree and graduated from college, he is a fool. What is the standard of stupid and genius? If one is not fit in the society, he can be regarded as a fool like Ignatius. The people who is unique or fools as people say, are the brave people who start something different before the ordinary men. The man who first asserted that the earth was spinning was called a fool. The man who first walked by two legs was considered to a fool. One who quitted one's business, who left school, who started a new business were all called fools and pointed with scorn. The author titled his book A Confederacy of Dunces not A Dunce of Confederacy. Who are the dunces? What if this book is read few decades later? Is Ignatius going to be still regarded as a fool? The author approaches to the readers with a very deep subject. A Confederacy of Dunces is a great novel. Even though there is not much happenings and exciting in it, it has humor and makes readers keep think.Ignatius is a unique character. He is a hero of this book, but he has too many handicaps to be a hero. He doesn't have any good side in a word. This book is a satire of this world. According to the introduction of this book in the backside, Ignatius is a later-day Don Quixote. My uncle has invited to read the Don Quixote to me, saying whenever he spent hard times and when he failed something, he read the Don Quixote and was encouraged by reading it. That is now understandable.

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Summary: A confederacy of Dunces review
Review: Many people have experiences in life where they find themselves in a situation where their opinion does not follow what a larger group may think. In the book A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy O'Toole, the main character Ignatius finds himself in this situation through out the whole story. The book does a great job displaying a situation where the reader can relate to certain sitations that the main character is in. At the same time, the author does a great job creating a character that evokes powerful emotions from the reader.

The book is about a man, Ignatius, who finds himself to be living in a world where he is surrounded by people who are ignorant about what really matters in the world. His subliminal goal is to help people realize this and set them in a direction where they can continue living their life in a way that is more real and fulfilling. Ignatius seems also to be caught between his mother and her dimentia of thinking that the world, including her son, are against her. Ignatius ends up being forced through different jobs and he burns a scandalous past through every place that he becomes apart of. In the end, Ignatius loses his last job as hot dog vendor, sparks a 500 thousand dollar law suit, retires a woman who has wanted to have been retired for years, but someone was convinced that she wanted to work where she was, is sent to a mental hospital by his confused and mentally blocked mother, and elopes with his ex girlfriend who he keeps in touch with through mail through out the story.

The book does a great job displaying the theme of ignorance through a variety of characters who the reader can watch lie and cheat their way into the hopeful dream of achieving the American Dream of being happy and making money easily. Although the book is written in a way that can be tiring and sluggish at times, once the reader completes the book, looking back on it leaves one with a feeling of accomplishment and a new knowledge and view on life and the people in it.

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Summary: things i believe in
Review: A Confederacy of Dunces, written by John Kennedy Toole is the only published work he created in his life. Unfortunately Toole did not live to see his work released or win a Pulitzer Prize. Toole writes a story which takes place in New Orleans during the nineteen sixties; the main character is an incompetent man named Ignatius Reilly. Ignatius is an unemployed man in his thirties who has a college education and due to a severe lack of motivation and extreme laziness he still lives with his mother who collects welfare checks. Eventually Ignatius strings together some small low paying jobs, which includes a janitor at a pants factory and a hot dog vendor. Ignatius never blames himself for his problems; he always looks at other people's problems to feel better about himself. Ignatius ends up in a tailspin of misery, embarrassment, and failure while he angers his mother and worsens his mental condition. Toole's humorous novel is full of laughs and surprises; it tells the on-going story about man's struggle with life.

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Summary: Confederacy of Dunces Review
Review: A Confederacy of Dunces. John Kennedy Toole. New York: Grove Press, 1980. 394 pages.

It's unfortunate that John Kennedy Toole took his life before this Pulitzer Prized book was published. His unique perspectives could have been useful to better the mentality of contemporary culture. This fictional novel, valuable to any reader, focuses on the ridiculous tragedies of a hedonist society. Taking place in New Orleans, the focal point of the story is Ignatius J. Reilly, an absurdly irrational man. Throughout the whole book, Toole emphasizes the ironic connection between Ignatius' rash disgruntlement and his lack of productivity. Even though it's arduous to read at times, John Kennedy Toole's book, A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, is of immense value.
Ignatius Reilly is a 33 year-old porcine slob who still lives with his mother. He is educated and has potential, but does little to better his withering life. When forced, Ignatius holds menial jobs, but ruins the continuance of the companies and coworkers. Mrs. Reilly, his mother, explains her son's damaging assessment as, "It's a good thing his poor poppas dead. He'd be breaking his poor father's heart with that weenie wagon."(p 202) Throughout the book, Ignatius' legendary presence is even enough to perturb the paltry existence of all the supporting characters: his mother, his employers, and several other random acquaintances. Virtually all of Ignatius' mishaps stem from his dissatisfaction with a society that won't tend to his every desire.
A parallel can be drawn with Toole's ultimate frustration with society and Ignatius' actions. The novel encompasses a vast irony that displays a pleasure seeking society that blames everything else, but neglects to mend internally. Ignatius, who is only one example of the bigger whole, lashes out and dissects every imperfection of others but refuses to work on his own varied faults. Ignatius and America are seemingly comparable: massive, manipulative, parochial, and reluctant to take negative responsibility. Toole illustrates this metaphor possibly to provoke some sort of realization, but ultimately it overwhelms him. He was a genius and Jonathan Swift in 'Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting' describes that burden best, "When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."
John Kennedy Toole's fictional novel, A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES, is one of merit. The 394 pages seem to drag on at times, but only to completely portray a valuable lesson; the need to focus inwardly, personally and entirely, is urgent. I recommend this book to anyone, for this kind of enlightenment must be spread in order for a revitalization of American way. I'm only sorry that Toole's perspective now only carries on through Ignatius, because it is vivid, original, and practical. A friend of Toole's, David Kubach, describes Toole's noble trouble in an autobiography, "He did not suffer fools gladly, and I think he was afraid of becoming one. He couldn't live with that."

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Summary: A Confederacy of Dunces : review
Review: Book Review: A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces is a story about a thirty year old guy (Ignatius Reilly) who lives with his mother in New Orleans. Ignatius is an over weight, unsanitary, selfish, couch potato, who increasingly clash's with his mother throughout the book.
Ignatius went to college and he also has a master's degree. But for some reason he is thirty and still lives with his mother. He either sits at home watching and criticizing the T. V., goes to the movies and criticizes the film out loud, eats, or locks himself in his room writing on scattered pieces of paper. He had been pampered by his mother which contributed to the way he is, but then their financial situation goes south and Ignatius has to get a job. He tries to weasel his way out of it but he ends up at a job at Levy Pant Company as a filer, but he just throws the files away because he is to lazy to actually file. He gets fired when he tries to get the factory workers to have an uprising, and then ends up as a hot dog vendor. As a vendor he just eats hot dogs al day and doesn't really try to sell the hot dogs. As the book caries on more tension grows between Ignatius and his mother because she can't bare how selfish and lazy he is, and she starts to think about having him committed. Ignatius then try's to start a gay political party and it just completely fails. Then his mother finally commits him but he escapes and the book comes to an abrupt ends. Ignatius finally ends leaving his mother but it is do to his lethargy.

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Summary: Being Overweight and Lazy Isn't Half Bad
Review: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is a book with a type of humor not found in many other books and it will make you laugh unlike any other type of humor. The book is about the fashionably plump, main character Ignatius who creates problems for others because of his unusual view of the world and his dedication to change it to fit his views. Ignatius still lives with his mother even though he has graduated from college with a master's degree. His mother, Mrs. Reilly, forces him to get a job after an accident involving a building and her car, which both need to be repaired. Given they are a poor family with no father, the mother tells Ignatius to get a job. Ignatius first gets a job filing at a pant manufacturing company called Levy pants. Mr. Levy decides it is not a good idea to hire Ignatius after he forges a letter and sends it to a client of Levy pants who responds with a $500 thousand lawsuit. Once Ignatius is fired, he gets a second job as a hot dog street vendor in New Orleans where the book takes place. He eats most of his merchandise and becomes even heavier. Ignatius is fired from this job when he appears in the newspaper passed out from shock in front of The Night of Joy on Bourbon Street. This is a book that will keep you laughing given the dark humor with which it is written. Additionally, it will make you thankful that you are not as lazy as Ignatius Reilly.

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Summary: A Sloth of A Sophisticate
Review: Intelligence doesn't always provide you with a money making job. People have to be willing to work with their colleagues to get things done. John Kennedy Toole creates for us in his book A Confederacy of Dunces a character named Ignatius J. Reilly who has the opportunity to work but doesn't. The reason he doesn't is because he can't seem to get along with the people he works with. People come to dislike him because of his behavior and his physical attributes. As a person he belittles his friends and his colleagues, he will not listen to any one who challenges his word, and he is just down right lazy: a sloth of a sophisticate.
Ignatius J. Reilly distinguishes himself as a philosopher, a bourgeoisie, and a genius. He is none of the above. In reality he is just an overweight man who lives with his mother, and gets carried away in his imagination. As a person though, he believes that he is a figure of much importance. When he is let loose on the streets of New Orleans people ignore him and laugh at his ideas. Those who he comes to know, though, hate him because of his overly conservative view on life. He creates trouble for himself when he writes an obnoxious letter of complaint, gets fired for leading a mock strike, tries to create a political party, and upsets his mother.
He loves to express his own opinions much like this one, "I refuse to 'look up.' Optimism nauseates me. It is perverse. Since man's fall, his proper position in the universe has been one of misery" (59). It is because of these opinions he is disliked by people in general. In one passage of the book he compares himself with African Americans. "In a sense I have always felt something of a kinship with the colored race because its position is the same as mine: we both exist outside the inner realm of the American society" (122). They are both outcasts. African Americans are disliked because of their skin color, and he is disliked because of his radical opinions.
There are not many people who like him and want to help him. His mother and a friend from University are the only ones who seem to care for him. His friend from University had this to say to him in a letter she wrote: "Realize that life is surging around you. The valve closes because it thinks it is living in a dead organism. Open your heart Ignatius and you will open your valve" (215). Ignatius doesn't listen to most advice except for this piece given from an old friend. He decides to accomplish something for himself out in the big bad world, and this is when he tries to create a political party. Countless times Ignatius has tried to succeed at something and has failed miserably. His mother wishes he would seek out psychological help for his faults. Ignatius however, accepts his faults and lives with them, and having somebody try to change him as a person would kill his character. This is why he feels angered by his mother's solution to all his problems. "...Striving is ultimately meaningless...we must learn to accept" (298). Ignatius wants his mother to accept him as the person he already is. His mother is unwilling to accept the son that she gave birth to.
As an early twentieth century book A Confederacy of Dunces illustrates how people acted after the World Wars. People were beginning to criticize each other about their personal lives, religion and political view. African Americans were just starting to be accepted in society. One of the major out-lying themes in the book and the time period for that matter is acceptance. How did people accept each person's problem? John Kennedy Toole shows us with the characters of this book how each person dealt with another person's problem. The book itself may be heavy reading and somewhat confusing but it is well worth reading. It reminds us of how life has changed since the post World War Era, and it covers many themes of today that people in general can relate too.