Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in A Confederacy of Dunces, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate
The Legacy of Slavery
Sexuality, Attraction, and Repulsion
Freedom
Appearance, Identity, and Disguise
Hypocrisy and Self-Interest
Summary
Analysis
In Mattie’s Ramble Inn, Jones shows the newspaper article to Mr. Watson and tells him about the chaos of the night before. Mr. Watson asks Jones what he will do for a job now, and Jones replies that he deserves a holiday after working for Lana Lee. Mr. Watson asks how Jones will evade the police. Jones says that he has asked Patrolman Mancuso to get the department to leave him alone for a while, since Jones led them to the pornography. Overall, Jones admits, he is in much the same position as he was before his job in the Night of Joy. Still, he says, things could be worse.
Jones finally gets a reprieve from the persecution he faces from the police merely for existing as a black man in a racist society. Because of his involvement in Lana’s arrest, Jones briefly gets the respect he deserves. He is realistic about this transformation, however, and expects that it will not last forever. Unlike the other characters in the novel, who do not face systemic oppression because of their race, Jones knows that he cannot simply transform his circumstances with a change of job or attitude because he is discriminated against for his appearance—something he cannot change.
Themes
