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
Mr. Levy and Mrs. Levy relax in their lakeside home. Everything in the house is designed to be comfortable and luxurious. Mr. and Mrs. Levy see each other as the worst things about the house. Mrs. Levy nags Mr. Levy about his role in Levy Pants, and Mr. Levy irritably tells Mrs. Levy to go on her exercise machine. Mrs. Levy snaps that she cannot because she has just had her hair styled, and Mr. Levy tells her that he went to the factory that day and that nothing is happening there.
Although externally Mr. and Mrs. Levy live an extremely privileged life of material comfort, internally their life is a trap from which both are desperate to escape. Their relationship is a source of constant conflict which demonstrates that money cannot buy happiness and that, often, material wealth comes with its own barriers and restrictions.
Themes
Mrs. Levy says that nothing happens at the factory because Mr. Levy, unlike his father who started the company, has no drive. She laments that Mr. Levy has let his father’s work go to waste, but Mr. Levy counters that his father destroyed the business himself because he was too dictatorial and wouldn’t allow anything to change.
Mr. Levy has lost his passion for work because he has not been allowed any creative input in the factory. This, combined with his implication that his father was a dictator, suggests that people are often better and more creative when they are free to have ideas themselves, rather than under the control of a tyrannical force.
Themes
Mrs. Levy cries that it is no wonder their daughters have turned out the way they have given Mr. Levy’s example. Mr. Levy says the girls are alright and suggests that they sell the factory and move to Miami. Mrs. Levy seems horrified by this, but Mr. Levy tells her not to make a big drama out of it. Mrs. Levy then asks about Miss Trixie and wants to know if she still works at the factory. Mr. Levy says she does, but that this is a miracle because she is so aged.
Mr. Levy constantly wants to escape his circumstances and run away from the factory, which he feels metaphorically holds him captive. Mrs. Levy is frustrated by her husband’s lack of ambition, but her controlling and dictatorial attitude likely remind Mr. Levy of his father and only makes the problem worse. Mrs. Levy does not realize her behavior is controlling and justifies her unreasonable demands by pretending that her husband is the tyrant rather than herself.
Themes
Mrs. Levy rebukes Mr. Levy for his cruelty. She claims that Miss Trixie needs her job to feel valued and says that she would like to bring Miss Trixie to the house so that she can work on her physical and psychological rejuvenation. Mr. Levy says that he does not want Miss Trixie in the house and Mrs. Levy sulks. Mr. Levy says that the new employee is a strange man.
Mrs. Levy is extremely controlling and infringes upon people’s freedom. Although she claims that she wants to help Miss Trixie, she ignores Miss Trixie’s actual desire to retire because it does not suit her version of events.
Themes
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Ignatius does not go to the cinema that night because he thinks the film that is on sounds philosophical and dull. He stays home to write, instead, and looks through a stack of old articles that he failed to send off. He has a new idea for a project: a piece about his experiences as a “working boy.” He settles down to begin and writes that he has grown used to the “hectic pace of office life.”
Although Ignatius claims to be an intellectual, he rejects the idea of going to see an intellectual film. This stands in contrast with the fact that Ignatius actively looks for reasons to despise modernity and that one of his major complaints about it is that there is no serious media produced. However, when he is given the opportunity to view a philosophical piece of modern work, he turns up his nose because it does not fit in with his preconceived idea that all modern films are shallow. Ignatius chooses to believe he is unappreciated because he is too intelligent but, really, no one has read his work because he either too lazy or too intimidated to send any of it out.
Themes
Ignatius describes his “work saving methods,” such as coming in an hour late every day, and his top-secret filing method. He writes about Miss Trixie and says that he has tried to befriend her. She seems to hate Levy Pants, and Ignatius intends to get her a present to win her around. Ignatius also writes that he plans to visit the factory. So far, he has only seen the factory workers when they come into the office to complain that the foreman is drunk. Ignatius plans to organize some type of social action to help the workers.
It is ironic that Ignatius describes himself as a “working boy” when he spends all his time avoiding work. Ignatius condescendingly assumes that, as an educated person, he knows what is best for the workers. In fact, Ignatius only wants to organize social action to annoy his girlfriend, Myrna, but (like Myrna herself) he only pretends that he is genuinely interested in social justice to make himself look better.
Themes
Ignatius signs off on the piece and is very pleased with his work. The idea of organizing something for the workers is especially satisfying to him because he thinks it will show Myrna Minkoff that he is progressive and revolutionary. He believes the piece could be published somewhere modern and radical and thinks about writing a letter to Myrna. He decides to play his lute and relax instead.
Although he does not write it in his journal, Ignatius’s desire to take social action is not to help the workers at all, but to show Myrna that she is wrong and that he is progressive after all. He does not write this in the article because he wishes to disguise his true motives and create a public persona of a “working boy” who is deeply concerned about the plight of black workers.
Themes
Just as Ignatius begins to play, Miss Annie screams at him to be quiet. Ignatius responds furiously and rushes to the kitchen to get a pot of water, which he plans to throw through the old lady’s window. As he gets back to his room, he sees Patrolman Mancuso and Irene sneak past his window through the alley. He hears Patrolman Mancuso say that Ignatius is not home.
Ignatius tries to use aggression against Annie to prevent her complaints about him. This suggests that Ignatius’s worldview is actually a fascistic one and that he will do anything to silence voices of dissent and to stop those who want to infringe on any of his freedoms.
Themes
Curious, Ignatius slips out the front door and walks around the house to the kitchen, where Irene and Patrolman Mancuso have entered. Ignatius peeps in through the back door and sees his mother laughing happily as she and Patrolman Mancuso watch Santa Battaglia dance. Patrolman Mancuso begs Santa to stop and worries that Ignatius will come back, but Santa tells Mancuso to forget him. Ignatius watches through the door in horror as his mother laughs.
Ignatius dislikes this situation because it represents the idea that Irene is slipping from his control while he wants to continue dominating his mother and preventing her from living an independent life. This supports the idea that Ignatius is a controlling, authoritative person despite wanting to appear progressive.
Themes
