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
Down at the police station, Patrolman Mancuso poses for a series of photos that recreate his arrests from the previous night. His co-worker takes the pictures for him and Mancuso tells her they are for his relatives. The sergeant comes in and congratulates Mancuso. Not only has he broken up a notorious pornography ring, he has also arrested Betty, Frieda, and Liz, three characters the police have been looking for. Mancuso is so proud he can hardly speak.
Patrolman Mancuso always believed that, one day, his hard work would pay off. However, while this is a happy ending for Mancuso, it shows that his personality has not fundamentally changed—he still desires the approval of his superiors at work more than anything else. This demonstrates that the time Mancuso spent in costume may have empowered him to achieve his arrest, but has not changed him as a person.
Themes
