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
On the bus on his way to the hospital, Claude Robichaux looks at the morning paper and feels sorry for Irene. Ignatius is such a worry for her, Claude thinks, and should be locked away. Claude will pay Ignatius’s hospital fee, which is $20, but he thinks next time it may be more. The worst part, Claude thinks, is the disgrace Ignatius brings on Irene.
Claude is a conventional character who believes in conformity and keeping up appearances. For him, there is nothing worse than public disgrace, which suggests that Claude has strict ideas about what is and is not acceptable in society—even in a society like America, which is supposed to be tolerant and free.
Themes
