In the introduction to A Confederacy of Dunces, Ignatius J. Reilly is described as some combination of characters I've heard of, but am unfamiliar with (Don Quixote for example). It worried me that this whole "branching out" as a result of bookgroup might be leading me books whose inter-textual references go unnoticed - resulting in the reception "it was good but i'm sure there's something i'm missing...".
Indeed, there's probably a lot in this book that might have got passed me, however Ignatius J. Reilly, however his character could perhaps be placed alongside those of Kafka, Vonnegut, Beckett. I was unable quite to locate him until the end, whereupon I decided that whereas Kafka's characters are in confrontation with an absurd world, Reilly seems to be an absurd character confronted by a normal world. At least, it is something like this. There is a comic absurdity in the depiction of a man sitting in his room reading a letter, "she must be lashed until she drops" overheard by his mother; or Ignatius' retaliation to an insurance claim against his mother, "A thousand dollars? He will not get a cent. We shall have him prosecuted immediately. Contact our attorneys, Mother."
There is certainly a disparity between what Reilly believes to be at his command, and his reality: an unemployed and obese white man, uncomfortable with the cultural "abortions" rampant in New Orleans - however at times you feel that his obliviousness is a front, protecting him from the disappointments in his life. His indictments against popular and modern habits are reminiscent of teenage/indi manifestos - so perhaps I'm laughing at myself as much as him.
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after thinking on this somewhat I noticed that Ignatius perhaps has the same demeanor as Stewie from Family Guy... who i also find funny
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