Ignatius’s hunting cap, which he always wears and refuses to take off, symbolizes his individuality, neurosis, and inability to fit into conventional society. Much like Holden Caulfield’s infamous red hunting cap in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Ignatius’s hat is usually unnecessary—it is a very warm, fur-lined hat which is impractical for New Orleans’s year-round warm climate. The hat thus makes Ignatius look strange when he wears it indoors and makes him stand out in a crowd. The hat symbolizes Ignatius’s failure to comply to modern fashion or conventionality, and nearly leads to his arrest when he is seen wearing it in town by Patrolman Mancuso, a policeman who is on the hunt for a suspicious character.
The cap also represents Ignatius’s inability to blend into a professional environment—such as an office—and signifies his antagonism to the world of work and modern capitalism. Ignatius refuses to fully integrate into a workplace by wearing a uniform (although he does wear the pirate costume while he works as a hot dog vendor), and he refuses to remove his cap. This refusal to conform is a symbolic act of protest, as it shows Ignatius will not compromise his individuality or personal freedoms to blend into a professional role. The hat is also a symbol of safety and security to Ignatius, and suggests that he does not feel comfortable in society without it. As Ignatius is a large, conspicuous man with an odd personality, his refusal to remove his hat suggests that it serves as a protective talisman of sorts. He can blame the hat for making him stand out, it thus prevents him from having to think about his social alienation, which at its core may have nothing to do with his style of dress.
Ignatius’s Hunting Cap Symbol Timeline in A Confederacy of Dunces
