A Confederacy of Dunces: Chapter 11, Part 4 Summary & Analysis

George hopes to flatter Ignatius so that he can get his own way. George is not a naturally charitable person and only helps Ignatius with the cart to get something for himself later. This suggests that, in this instance, George is able to hide his selfish interests behind a veneer of helpfulness, similar to characters like Mrs. Levy and Ignatius himself.

Ignatius feels that modern society is corrupt and that he is superior to it. He believes that the medieval period, which he studied, was a far superior age because ordinary people knew their place within strict, class-based hierarchies and criminals, like George, were punished.

Although Ignatius dislikes sex and displays of sexuality, he is attracted to the woman in the photo because she poses with his favorite book. Ignatius assumes, therefore, that the woman is a medieval scholar like himself and that she, too, must be morally pure and see the failings of modern society. This suggests that, while Ignatius shuns human contact, underneath he secretly longs for companionship and someone who understands and accepts his unconventional worldview. Although he is repulsed by sex, he romanticizes emotional connection.

It is pure chance that Ignatius brings up Patrolman Mancuso, with whom George has had an earlier run-in. Although Ignatius does not know about this, his words have the unintended consequence of frightening George because George believes Mancuso is specifically on his case. This suggests that, although people may not always acknowledge or understand the consequences of their actions, these consequences still exist and can manifest in fateful ways.

Ignatius’s reaction to sex seems excessive and suggests that, although he outwardly rejects sex, inwardly he desires it and resents this about himself. He associates sexuality with impurity and vulgarity because he believes in a medieval worldview, in which sex was considered sinful. It is ironic that Ignatius has this reaction to a love scene, but then sets off in search of a pornographic model. However, Ignatius differentiates between lust and spiritual connection, which he feels he might achieve with a woman who shares his intellectual perspective.

It is ironic that Lana, who runs a strip club (something Ignatius views as the height of modern vulgarity) sees Ignatius as someone vulgar and inferior. This suggests that morality is partially subjective and that, while American society claims to be free, people are still often judged based on their looks or career. Lana also judges Jones based on his appearance as a black man, and continues to exploit him in his role knowing that he will stay in order to avoid being arrested for vagrancy.

Ignatius looks down on Jones because Jones wants to improve his situation in life. Ignatius believes that aspiring to a life of material comfort is shallow and stupid—this is hypocritical, however, since Ignatius lives a life of extreme comfort and laziness. He is oblivious to his privilege as a white man, which has up until recently allowed him to remain unemployed despite vagrancy laws. Jones, in comparison, is forced to work for less than minimum wage because he is black and will surely be imprisoned if he does not, since vagrancy laws applied more strictly to black people than to white. Jones views Ignatius’s choice to be a hot dog vendor as a waste of his privilege.

Jones wants to use Ignatius to achieve his own goals. He knows that Ignatius will cause chaos in the club and upset Lana and plans to use this to shut the club down and free himself from service there.

Ignatius does not realize that he is privileged and that, if he were black, he could not spend all day wondering the streets as a vendor because he would be treated as a criminal and hassled by the police. Racism and discriminatory vagrancy laws meant that, while it was illegal for anyone to be unemployed in New Orleans, these laws were applied more strictly to black people than to white.

Ignatius feels that his fortune is decided by the medieval goddess Fortuna, and that he therefore has no control over his luck. Ignatius suspects that Santa and Irene want to have him locked up because he does not fit into conventional society. Ignatius is right to think this, and the novel suggests that those who do not fit in are persecuted by mainstream society, even though America claims to be a free country that values individualism.

Although Ignatius believes that modern society is overly liberal about sex, Irene’s reaction shows that this is not the case and that pornography was still considered shameful in 1960s America. Although Ignatius does not believe that he can control the consequences of his actions, his behavior at Levy Pants—when he wrote a rude letter to a client—now comes back to haunt him.

Ignatius clearly feels, on some level, that he is likely to be put in a mental institution. Although Ignatius does not believe he is insane, he understands that American society views those who do not conform as insane, and is aware that his own behavior is atypical and could be considered mad.