A Confederacy of Dunces starts off with its main character, Ignatius J Reilly, awaiting his mother outside of a department store, studying the crowds for any clothing “new..and expensive enough to be...considered offenses against taste and decency. He has a vested hatred for anything new or modern, preferring the simple philosophies present during the Middle Ages. Amusingly enough, Reilly’s hatred of pop culture leads to an obsession with it, watching TV and movies with an almost religious fervor, so that he can properly denounce the subject matter in one of the many Big Chief writing tablets he has scattered about his room, where he is forever revising his “masterpiece”.
The novel’s plot pays homage to the picaresque story, as the plot is really more a series of loosely connected vignettes that flow from one to another. I found the stories to be hilarious, with such standouts as “Ignatius’ first day at the pants factory”, “Ignatius refuses to sell hot dogs”, and the moment that had me convinced I was going to enjoy this book “Ignatius orgasms while thinking about his dead dog.” As you can see from the descriptive titles, Ignatius’ behavior flirts with the norms of society, driving his widowed mother to despair. Eventually she has him committed to an insane asylum, but Ignatius instead leaves the city of New Orleans to be with his equally offbeat, but opposite-thinking love, Myrna Minkoff in New York.
The novel has many interesting links to the time it was written/set, seeing as the plot takes place in the South in 1963. Seeing as it’s a post-WWII novel, a few hilarious moments occur from characters being labeled as a “comuniss” and the ensuing outrage/debacles that occur. The mood of Cold War America means that calling anyone a Communist is a sure ticket to end a fight, since no good American would want to be seen supporting a supposed Communist. Additionally, Myrna Minkoff is a beatnik with left leaning tendencies, at a time in our history when the political counterculture was just beginning to take shape.Amusingly, she is just as deluded about how her ideologies come off to those around her as Ignatius, as seen in this excerpt from a letter she writes, about an African-American friend of hers: “She is such a real,vital person that i have made her my very closest friend. I discuss her racial problems with her constantly, drawing her out even when she doesn’t feel like discussing them...I can tell how fervently she appreciates these dialogues…” In a novel set during a time when racial tensions are coming to a head, Myrna comes off as condescending. Socially speaking, people still go to the cinema, at a time when the “variety” screenings still occur, with a newsreel, cartoon, and feature. Ignatius screams invectives at the kids on American Bandstand, yet another cultural touchstone.
The book is still popular today for several reasons: Firstly, the writing is incredibly funny. I have never laughed this hard at a book. The characters and situations are so outlandish that they can’t help but inspire hilarity. Secondly, the novel provides an excellent snapshot of a culture at work in a particular time and place. The Creole slang, social mores of SOuthern culture, and racial politics of the story give a unique flavor that lingers in the mind long after reading. Dunces is a book that is well worth the time, and unlike anything else in the canon of Modern American Classics.
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