A woman in New Orleans in the book A Confederacy of Dunces By John Kennedy Toole - Essay Example

Literary analysis Introduction The novel, A confederacy of Dunes, is a fictional story yet gives the of New Orleansone of the most realistic descriptions. For a work of fiction, the storyline relates to the physical features of the city often giving vivid descriptions of the intriguing features of the city. Through the lives of the imaginary characters, the author describes the social setting of the early New Orleans society giving a factual description of some of the features of the city most of which make the story more realistic in the audience familiar with the city. The author uses a number of female characters in the story to depict the life of women in the great city in the early times. Just as any other city in the early American society, New Orleans is fast developing and the economic structure presents a number of challenges to its citizens. The society is liberal and there are no biases against either race or gender thereby implying that anybody has an equal opportunity to earn a formal employment (Simmons 33). However, the plight of women comes out clearly, as they struggle to maintain a life in the highly competitive society. Every society apportions every gender specific roles; key among these is the care for the children and families. Women look after their children often providing them with their basic needs; they spend more time with their children than their male counterparts do. The situation becomes more difficult for single mothers in the city. The theme of relationship and marriage as is viewed by women comes out in the conversation involving Miss Inez together with Mrs.Reilly. Mrs. Reilly, “ My boy’s floating around in our tub all day long. I can’t hardly get in my own bathroom no more.” Her friend quips, “I thought he was married, precious.” Mrs Reilly then interjects in a sad tone, “Ignatius? Eh, la la ” (Toole 4). Mrs. Irene Reilly is one conspicuous female character in the novel who presents the plight of women in the fast growing economy. Widowed for the last twenty-one years, the elderly woman takes custody of her son. Ignatius, the son, does not appreciate his mother’s hard work and keeps referring to his mother as a raving and abusive drunk. He fails to realize that he has stayed with his mother until he is now thirty years of age. This case scenario depicts the social problems that women face in the liberal American society. Raising children is increasingly becoming more difficult as they begin demanding for their space at an earlier age. The elderly woman gave her son the best education she could afford, she gave her son the freedom the children living in the society demanded but still the son demanded more. In the guise of a job search, Ignatius lives with the mother until at an advanced age. The woman, though widowed, needs some male attention but because of the persistent presence of her son, she cannot possibly settle down with the men she meets. The society demands that women raise their children effectively; Mrs. Reilly’s status compounds her predicaments as she becomes both the breadwinner and the role model for her late maturing son. To earn the space she has often wanted, she decides to send her son to a hospital following her suspicion that Ignatius is mentally retarded. Her inability to notice some uniqueness with her son’s life portrays a possible lack of concern in the woman. However, the society dictates that children, especially male children earn their space from an early stage in life. This therefore breaks down the communication between mothers and their sons thereby validating her inability to notice the anomalies in her son’s growth. Despite Mrs. Reilly’s problems with the son, she eventually decides to marry Claude, one of the men she had tried seeing after her husband’s demise. This explains that the society is liberal enough and grants women the freedom to remarry or to organize their social lives as they deem necessary. The liberal society makes lifestyles relative as everyone determines the organization of her family. Mrs. Reilly shows much respect to her son, she tries not to remarry or to engage with any man for as long as she still lives with her son. She does this until she realizes that the son is not willing to settle out on his own and therefore recommends a mental hospital in an attempt to help her create space for herself and her new husband. Another integral female character in the novel is Myrna Minkoff who is a liberal minded young woman in her early youth. Through her, the author portrays the challenges that the female youth face in the society (McNeil 34). The author introduces her for the first time through the key character of the novel, Ignatius in collage. She is a Jew and is from New York. They both create an equal impression on each other thereby sparking of a relationship. Through her, the author portrays the ability of Ignatius to love as he shows great affection to the young woman. The society is liberal enough to offer both the female and the male child equal educational opportunities. In college, she faces her challenges confidently thereby portraying a strong personality. Is such a liberal society in which every service is accessible by every citizen, competition often thrives as people scramble for the meager resources. The young woman shows a dedicated personality and manages both her social and academic life successfully completing her course. She performs equally well and therefore graduates from the collage and travels to other parts of the world in search of a living. Her travels separates her from Ignatius resulting in a conflict. They both love one another but do not admit it thereby complicating the nature of their relationship. They however share a number of factors which makes them bond. The author depicts her sexuality so conspicuously thereby portraying a sexually perverted society. At a collage going age, the young people discover sex thereby making an integral part of their relationship. However, the author does not depict sex as a negating act, the ability of the students to choose and take care of their social lives as they deem fit depicts a liberal social structure in which freedom is not only a privilege but a fundamental human right. The basic among the freedom is the freedom of choice. Through Myrna, it becomes evident that most of the students enjoy their freedom too but often portray a lack of sexual responsiveness. The liberal nature of the society and the manner of social stratification set the youth apart in their own segment in which they exist oblivious of the realities of the in the society. Myrna is a Jew and therefore shares a different political, social and cultural views; they often disagree with Ignatius in most of their discussions. Ignatius presents a domineering personality but through her beliefs, she manages to resist his persuasions and emerges as strong woman. This implies that despite the liberal society, the city still experience some male chauvinistic viewpoints through the different social discourses among the people. However, the chauvinistic structure is not conspicuous as everyone tries to appear more copious through his or her reasoning. As the novel ends, the author introduces Santa Battglia. She is a good friend of Mrs. Reilly’s. They share ideas and hold social talks often through which they advise one another on the prevailing social circumstances. She encourages Mrs. Reilly to marry Claude arguing that the elderly woman had done enough trying to raise a good man in Ignatius. She argues that Ignatius deliberately refused to become a man and therefore not worth sacrificing for any further (Dunne 35). Additionally, she harbors a great dislike for Ignatius who she argues is outrightly lazy and has refused to try to forge his own destiny in life. She dislikes the fact that Ignatius at thirty still lives with his mother and continues to criticize her for smoking or drinking occasionally. She later convinces Mrs. Reilly that Ignatius is mentally retarded thus should seek medical attention. This way she strategizes to ensure that her friend establishes a social life for herself twenty-one years after the death of her husband. Through Santa, the author espouses on the essence of social relationships key among which is friendship. Through her friendship, Mrs. Reilly finds strength to face some of her worst fears. Friends encourage one another just as she does to the elderly woman who had despaired and sacrificed her happiness for her son’s happiness. In a society, social groupings occur naturally as people with common features coalesce. Santa is equally aged and therefore shares the experiences of her friend. Her pieces of advice therefore become more legitimate as they prove realistic. It is natural that people possess different abilities. She appears more observant and does not miss the fact that Ignatius has mental problems thereby prescribing the admission into a mental institution. Lana Lee is an unorthodox woman who runs a strip club. The economic factors of the city are more challenging but equally enabling. After trying a number of businesses, the woman invested in the nightclub which surprisingly became a success. The nightlife of the city of New Orleans is more engaging with the increasing number of married and single men who spend most of their time in bars and strip clubs. The society enables Lee just as any other investor to set up and run a successful business (Toole 10). Despite the unconventional nature of the business, it is legitimate and she remits her taxes periodically in accordance to the dictates of the laws of the city. This portrays the level of the liberal nature of the economic system of the society as the economy sustains any form of business with an amount of creativity in it. Through her business, Lee portrays her effective management skills as she steers her business into success thereby developing a name for herself. From a small drinks outlet, her club evolves into one of the biggest strip clubs in the southeastern New Orleans, a factor that portrays her as an effective manager just as any other corporate investor. This implies that the economy supports creativity and effective management regardless of the investors. However, everyone must work hard regardless of his or her gender in order to make a living. Through this business, the author reveals of an intense competition with other similar businesses as they seek to satisfy the ever-increasing clientele in the city. She therefore tries as much as she can to make a living through her business despite her gender which does influence both her business and her management skills in any way. Darleen is one of the stripers in the night club. She is a good-hearted woman and equally beautiful. However, she is not bright enough to make a legitimate lifestyle for herself. The economy is competitive and everyone tries to earn a living. The author does not describe her before she secures the job but from the nature of the job she does and the constant complaints, it is evident that she does not take pride in her job which does not pay much either. This way, she represents the average female citizen of the thriving city of New Orleans. The city has great economic potential, which the author depicts through the constant increasing real estates and skyscrapers that house international offices and businesses. The city therefore requires a learned population who will find jobs in the offices and therefore make respectable lifestyles. The less educated such as Darleen must therefore survive against all odds. She therefore uses her beauty to earn a living by dancing at the strip club (Clark 269). Despite the nature of her job and her lack of knowledge, Darleen is a social and a well nurtured woman. The author describes her as good-hearted implying that she is empathetic and tries to help whenever she can. The social features in the character among other characters reveals an upright social structure, one in which the young show respect for the old and often help their peers. She keeps her job professional and does not let it interfere with her social life. This reveals the fact that the New Orleans society is supportive and the liberal upbringing that most parents give their children nurtures strict personalities that enable the children to survive despite the obvious economic challenges some of which must have prevented Darleen from accessing quality education thereby securing a better job. The fact that she does not complain implies that she is satisfied with the job despite its mundane and unpredictable nature. The story makes use of other female characters who depict stronger personalities thereby depicting different aspects of the New Orleans society. Such include Mrs. Levi an elderly woman married to Gus Levi the owner of a family business (Palumbo 72). The husband suffers from myriad complications compelling the wife to offer her husband psychoanalysis. Apparently, the husband depicts an unstable personality associated with mental breakdowns. The woman therefore offers her husband such services while taking over the management of the business. The society requires versatile women who can fearless face the daily challenges. The women in the story are strong and perform as effectively as their male counterparts perform. Mrs. Levi takes over the control of the business while offering the medical services to both her husband and other members of the society with similar complications such as Miss Trixie who also exhibits similar traits. Works cited Clark, William. Bedford. "All Toole's children: A reading of ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’", Essays in Literature 14: 269–80, 1987. Dunne, Sara. "Movie going in the Modern Novel: Holden, Binx, Ignatius", Studies in Popular Culture 28 (1): 37–47, 2005. McNeil, David. "A Confederacy of Dunces as Reverse Satire: The American Subgenre", Mississippi Quarterly 38: 33–47, 1984. Palumbo, Charles. "John Kennedy Toole and His Confederacy of Dunces", Louisiana Folklore Miscellany 10: 59–77, 1995. Simmons, Jonathan. "Ignatius Reilly and the Concept of the Grotesque in John Kennedy Toole's ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’", Mississippi Quarterly 43 (1): 33–43, 1989. Toole, John. Kenney. A Confederacy of Dunces. New York: LSU Press, 1980. Print. Read More