Running head: HOW IGNATIUS OVERCOMES SOCIAL DISABILITY 1

How Ignatius Overcomes Social Disability

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John Kennedy Toole’s Confederacy of Dunces contains a memorable cast of characters,

though none more memorable than the protagonist Ignatious J. Reilly, who lives with his mother,

Irene, in a dilapidated city house. There he often stays confined to his room, where he writes

memoirs and philosophy. Various scraps of paper contain his thoughts on subjects that reflect his

experiences in life. At the start of the story, Ignatius is found comfortably settled under the

dominion of his mother. He can eat, drink, write, watch television, masturbate in his room, and

otherwise do as he pleases. The only requirement is that he keeps his mother company and helps

her run an occasional errand. When his mother’s car accident incurs a debt that forces Ignatius

into the working world, he clumsily develops skills to survive, though these skills are not

mastered by the end of the novel. Ignatius demonstrates early in the text that he is a (NEET), an

acronym meaning Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) while coping with social

anxiety disorder (SAD). To clarify Ignatius’ particular case, he is highly educated but has

graduated, so is not currently engaged in education. Yet as the story progresses, Ignatius

awkwardly deals with being forced to work and shows signs of early growth with his budding

awakening to social interactions.

SAD is quite common. A recent survey by Nagata, Suzuki, and Teo found that almost

one in ten individuals suffer from it at some point in their life. This disorder usually starts in

childhood and persists throughout the sufferer’s life. This disorder affects ones ability to attain

education, look for employment, gain financial independence, and develop interpersonal

relationships. Depression is a frequent result, as well as alcohol related problems that could be

considered a form of substance abuse (Nagata, Suzuki, & Teo, 2015, p. 724).
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Toole provides evidence of Ignatius’ extreme SAD in a monologue on page eleven. What

Ignatius describes here is the effect of a trip to Baton Rouge to pursue employment relative to his

Master’s degree in medieval studies. Ignatius describes the bus trip with details that elevate the

conception of his own personal nightmare. While possibly comical to the reader, Ignatius

describes an experience of anxiety driven panic attacks that cause physical illness which results

in vomiting.

Ignatius recognizes that his anxiety is frowned upon, but disguises it by making

assumptions about other people, or dismissing them, “The other passengers were rather angry.

They must have had stomachs of iron to ride in that awful machine. Leaving New Orleans also

frightened me considerably.” (Toole, 1980, p.11). In this portion of monologue Ignatius is

verifying his extreme SAD. Leaving familiar surroundings is a terrifying experience for him, to

such an extent that it pushes him to sickness. He recognizes that the passengers on the bus were

angry because of his sickness, especially at having to stop so Ignatius could vomit. He

rationalizes this by making assumptions about them, or conferring blame upon them for his

predicament. Further evidence of SAD is found in the text when Ignatius describes his job

interview, “When I saw the chairman of the Medieval Culture Department, my hands began

breaking out in small white bumps. He was totally a soulless man. Then he made a comment

about my not wearing a tie and made some smirky remark about the lumber jacket.” (Toole,

1980, p. 11-12). While Ignatius’ account of the situation and how he was treated may be a

product of justifying his social anxiety, the situation was quite real to him. Any perceived slight

at his being is heightened by his SAD, while increased anxiety heightens the perception that

people don’t approve of him. This SAD feedback loop reaches critical mass for Ignatius, and

ends with him becoming physically sick and rushing for a restroom.
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Ignatius functions poorly because he can stay at home and be safe. There is no need to

work past his extreme anxiety, so he simply doesn’t. He remains at home, comfortable and safe,

without having to confront the scary world. When speaking with his mother about the trip to

Baton Rouge for employment, she mentions that he was quite sick when he finally got home.

Ignatius sets the reader straight with a simple line, “I felt better then,” (Toole, 1980, p.11). The

author italicizes the word ‘then’ to make the statement about Ignatius’ comfort outside of public

pressure. Home is his safe space. While not stating directly that Ignatius is a victim of SAD, it is

clear from the characters own words that he suffers extensively.

SAD is the disorder that drives Ignatius into becoming a NEET. Young people between

the ages of eighteen and thirty who are Not engaged in Education, Employment, or Training to

contribute constructively to society are often classified with this acronym (O’Dea, 2016, p.

1396). Ignatius falls slightly outside the age range of this category because he is 32, yet still

manifests all the signs and symptoms while being outside the age range. A social psychology

study based its findings on the assumption that youth who are not engaged with the working

world demonstrate poor social skills throughout life and are more likely function poorly. They

demonstrate a higher risk for chronic unemployment and social disadvantages for their entire

life. NEETs are reclusive, often possessing debilitating social phobias, and because of this

NEETs often tend to prefer solitary leisurely activities. A study on the transition from school to

adulthood recognizes disturbing outcomes for this group. NEETs are fifty percent more likely to

have poor health, twenty percent more likely to commit crime, sixty percent more likely to use

drugs, and suffer a reduced life expectancy of ten years (Arnold & Baker, 2012, p.68). Ignatius

does not display all the risk factors, but all the risk factors are not required. Ignatius has

undiagnosed social anxiety disorder. His addiction to food demonstrates a lack of self-control,
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contributing to his obesity and lowering his life expectancy. He also has trouble with the law,

marking another risk factor of his lifestyle.

While Ignatius does not fit into many predetermined categories, if age was not a factor he

could be categorized as a NEET, as he is at the edge of the older age line for the disease. He fits

many characteristics that define the class. One redeeming exception is the acquirement of an

education and the completion of his master’s degree; however, his college education was forced

upon him and paid for by his mother. If Ignatius could have avoided going to college, he most

likely would have. After achieving his degree, he refuses to look for work because his mother

provides for him. Living with parents is a core characteristic of young NEETs. It affords them

the ability to survive without contributing to society. In the case of Ignatius, it stunts emotional,

social, and intellectual development so that he is introduced as essentially a teenager in an adult

body. The only services he must perform are minimal and primarily involve keeping his enabling

parent happy. The lifestyle he lives is childlike and absorbed into recreational activities.

Occasional bouts of creativity create a mess of papers in Ignatius’ room, but with no survival

requirement, Ignatius remains unmotivated to develop his thoughts into a coherent pattern of

writing.

The protagonist exhibits many risk factors common to NEETs, as well as behaviors that

those who are NEETs tend to exhibit in greater percentage than the population later in life. The

risk factors Ignatius was exposed to include being raised by a single parent and not being

prepared to travel (Arnold & Baker, 2012, p.71). As told earlier by Ignatius himself, when

confronted with the prospect of traveling to Baton Rouge for a job prospect, he was stricken with

nerves, illness, and a severe anxiety that produced nausea and vomiting.
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Modern NEETs with SAD have the added temptation of computers and massive

multiplayer online words that can immerse them. Ignatius had no such benefit, but demonstrates

his love for solitude by reading and writing. Like other solitary geeks, Ignatius loves comic

books, particularly Batman comics, “I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend

the abysmal society in which he’s found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather

respect Batman.” (Toole 255). The focus on Batman is telling because it ties Ignatius to geeks

and geek culture. Living at home allows for a greater devotion to recreational hobbies. Comics

and books are a way to engage society without interacting directly with people. The reading of

comic books is a solitary activity that engages tendencies to fantasize about other realities.

Ignatius ties his educational background into his reading and applies philosophies he learned to

pop culture, something he does naturally that could be classified as an undervalued skill.

Irene Reilly serves as an enabler for her son. She provides for him financially even

though the education she paid for is not being utilized. Irene allows her son to live at home for

the company, and due to possible separation anxiety. She treats him to food, and encourages a

massive appetite which effectively keeps him obese and immobile. There are points in the novel

that indicate she spoils her son, but the situation that allows Ignatius to fester at home is not

allowed to remain. Toole begins the novel at the catharsis, the point at which everything that

allows Ignatius to live a socially isolated life begins to unravel.

Shortly after Ignatius is introduced, in a representation demonstrating Toole’s opinion of

the professionalism in southern police departments, he is harassed by an officer while waiting for

his mother to finish getting items at a store. The police harassment results in Ignatius having an

anxiety attack in which he transfers stress to his mother. This sets off a chain of events that leads

to his mother crashing their car into a neighbor’s porch, which puts her financial security in
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jeopardy. Only this threat can motivate her to force Ignatius to search for employment,

demonstrating the influence his mother has over his life. Ignatius laments the struggle to adapt to

the working world, “…my mother’s cataclysmic intemperance has thrust me into the world in the

most cavalier manner; my system is still in a state of flux. Therefore, I am still in the state of

adapting myself to the tension of the working world.” (Toole, 1980, p. 100). There is some truth

in the criticism, though it may be backwards. Irene could have forced him to apply himself

earlier, and in being less tolerant of his protests could have forced him to adapt to the working

world for his own benefit. An earlier introduction to the workforce, encouraged by less coddling

from his parent, would have likely forced Ignatius to employ his language abilities in the creation

of working level social skills instead of using language as a barrier between himself and others, a

barrier that helped to alleviate his SAD symptoms while aggravating the causes.

There are signs that Ignatius suffered from depression because of his SAD and his NEET

situation. Before his contact with the working world, Ignatius watched television for no other

purpose but to exercise his anger against the performers on talent shows. He often isolated

himself in a room. Yet Ignatius fought these bouts of depression by maintaining an attitude of

superiority. His situation is applicable to the study conducted by O’Dea, et al., which shows that

depression among NEETs caused self-rated functioning to decrease by thirty percent. Young

adults who are classified as NEETs report a level of functional disability that is in the ninetieth

percentile of their age matched peers. (O’Dea et al., 2016, p. 1397)

This situation, probably existing since childhood, hampers Ignatius’ ability to socialize

properly and remain motivated for constructive labor. His first job, a clerkship at a pants factory,

is obtained because of three factors. Ignatius seems intelligent during the interview, he has a

master’s degree, and the office manager of Levi pants desperately needs help in the office. While
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at Levi pants, Ignatius employs a variety of strategies to make the office a home away from

home. Firstly, Ignatius does no work and hides this fact by disposing files that need sorted in the

garbage. Ignatius shows the effects of his isolated lifestyle as he attempts to make his

employment an extension of his recreational life. He grows bean plants in the office, befriends a

senile office worker who the owners refuse to retire, and makes colorful signs and streamers for

the office. To impress his college girlfriend, he attempts to organize a strike of the black factory

workers. This strike is an attempt to rid himself of his supervisor, as Ignatius realizes that the

supervisor will eventually realize no work is getting done and ruin the secondary domain he has

created at work.

Benton Jay Komins reveals that the march of factory workers is a mere foil, a show, and

a game to Ignatius. Miss Trixie, the ancient clerk who is refused retirement, describes it as

minstrel show and incurs a rare instance of aggravation from Ignatius, who generally favors her.

According to Komins, Trixie was not actually misreading the situation but seeing through

Ignatius’ intentions (Komins, 1999, pg 64). Still, this development in Ignatius cannot be entirely

dismissed. While Komin’s maintains that, “The march on management is no more about racial

justice than Ignatius' journal is about professional success.” (Komins, 1999, p. 64). There is

evidence of a growing, if befuddled, social awareness within the main character. While

everything Ignatius does is still held to the standard of ancient medieval philosophy or comic

books, he is shows a certain reconciliation with modern issues even through the farce of his

‘Crusade for Moorish dignity.’

Ultimately, these realizations are far too late and underdeveloped to make Ignatius Reilly

into a genuine labor leader. His strike is poorly planned, executed, and motivated. It is a

disastrous spectacle that shows the immaturity cultured by his isolated lifestyle. If Ignatius could
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have seen beyond his motives of making Levi Pants a chamber of isolation like his home, he

might have applied himself in a more functional way and have sought social justice for the

workers of Levi pants. Despite the disaster of his employment, Ignatius shows growth and social

awareness, even if this growth is painfully slow and comically awkward.

The loss of respectable employment at Levi pants proves socially disastrous to Ignatius.

This causes his once doting mother to turn on him. She forces him to search for work to pay for

the liability costs of her car accident, which could cause the loss of her home. But the work

Ignatius manages to find proves a downgrade in both pay and status. As a street hotdog vender

Ignatius ends up eating most of his pay check due to his underdeveloped self-control and coping

skills from years of living in pampered isolation. And as his take home pay decreases his

relationship with his mother deteriorates. This deterioration of relations affects Ignatius

negatively, but he uses his journals as an outlet for his frustrations with his mother’s budding

social life, which renders him of less use to her,

Social note: My truant mother is gone again, which is really

rather fortunate. Her vigorous assaults and blistering attack against

my being are negatively affecting my valve. She said that she was

going out to attend to attend the crowning of the May Queen at

some church, but since it isn’t May, I tend to doubt her veracity.

(Toole, 1980, p. 271)

This social note is not the first mentioning of his valve; in several points of the novel

Ignatius goes into detail about his valve, a topic of interest to Ignatius. Whenever he suffers

depression or difficulty coping with existence, Ignatius experiences this valve most powerfully.

The pyloric valve controls the flow of food from the stomach into the small intestines, so when
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the valve slams shut Ignatius experience gas, indigestion, and possibly acid reflux. Without his

mother doting on him, Ignatius is forced to survive on his own and manages to keep his job as a

vender of hotdogs despite buffoonery and even a demotion to the worst possible route. Through

all of this, Ignatius experiences the most painful fluctuation of his valve, which serves as a

metaphor for the pains of being forced out of isolation.

As a hot dog vender, Ignatius shows signs of SAD related depression when he tries to

wrangle a cat into his hot dog cart. While the scene has comedic value, there is a desperate

longing for companion ship which Ignatius is attempting to fulfil by the attempted ‘rescue’ of the

stray cat. Denied his mother’s dotage, Ignatius seeks a new social outlet by attempting to

wrangle a new pet for himself. When questioned about sanitary practices because of the

attempted rescue, Ignatius rushes to the defense of the cat, “That inspector must have some

prejudice against cats. This cat hasn’t been given a chance.” (Toole, 1980, p. 209). His words

reveal a certain sympathy. Ignatius sees himself within the cat, alone, unwanted, rejected by

society, and wishes to save the cat. He even comments that cats are notoriously clean, a defense

of his own hygienic habits. Ignatius makes use of the bathtub regularly, but is often regarded as

unclean because of his dress, his gas, and his obesity. When confronted with the incident of

trying to take a cat home in his hot dog cart, Ignatius addresses his SAD with self-justifications.

While he still acts childish whenever the opportunity presents itself, he is content so long

as he has enough money to eat plenty of hot dogs and divert his attention towards movies. He

entertains himself by harassing, conversing, and interacting with tourists and the people of the

New Orleans. Ignatius grows in an awkward way, learning to socialize and earn for himself.

There is no shortage of humorous growing pains. It is a growth of the most painful kind but has

implications for the future of Ignatius’ social and fiscal development.

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One such development that improves is Ignatius’ philosophy. While his approaches to

human rights, racial relations, and issues of sexual orientation are self-serving, he mixes an

unorthodox liberalism in his theology. His work as a hot dog vender afforded him the

opportunity to speak to homosexuals and by default advocate for their cause. In the process he

was able to covertly explore his own sexuality. And while his doing this led him to be kicked out

of a party, it served as a social experience for an otherwise awkward and unsocial person.

Through all of this, Ignatius strove to impress Myrna with his sense of philosophy, geometry,

and theology, a motivated factor that encouraged awkward growth.

NEETs do not live in a vacuum; hobbies fill time that would otherwise be spent in social

behavior. Often the hobby is difficult, but possible to monetize. Wealthier NEETs with a source

of income are often collectors of expensive objects. This is not the case with Ignatius, whose

mother is a pensioner and of only modest means. In the case of Ignatius the one productive and

valued portion of his life is the writing of philosophy, often derived from his love of Boethius.

According to Leighton, the devotion of Ignatius to Boethius is one sided and primarily devoted

to Fortuna’s wheel. Throughout the novel Ignatius often laments the downward spin of Fortuna’s

wheel, which is a fancy way of saying he has bad luck. His understanding of Boethius appears to

be a limited one gained from a hastily acquired education on the subject. References to this

wheel of fortune are constantly on his mind. He recommends Boethius to everyone (Leighton,

2014, p. 9). It is hard to tell if Ignatius is promoting the philosophy of Boethius or using parts of

the book to form his own philosophy based on some of the concepts. His room is filled with big

chief writing tablets filled with his notes and ramblings relating his struggle with grasping

Boethius to everyday life. Myrna calls these writings gems of Nihilism.

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Ignatius would not admit that he was functionally impaired, but his behavior throughout

the novel demonstrates functional impairment. Ignatius undauntedly and comically attempts to

assert his superiority and overcome his fear of society. He represents the Adlerian perspective of

a neurotic individual because he clings tenaciously to his medieval philosophy and struggles to

make it work in a modern setting. His forced introduction into the working world and then the

streets of New Orleans forces him to confront uncomfortable situations and develop courage. He

also develops the ability to accept his imperfections and better adept to them when denied the

ability to hide from the rest of the world. Ignatius maintains an optimistic outlook and never

doubts his ability succeed even though his schemes fail multiple times. Through this painful

process he develops a realization that he can’t succeed alone and that he needs help (Lombardi,

1998, p. 67).

Simmon describes the awakening of Ignatius as such, “Ignatius understands why he must

leave his room on Constantinople Street, littered with his own writings. He desires to bring the

principles of theology and geometry to the world, and Boethius is the author of books on

theology and on geometry.” (Simon, 1994, pg 109). This understanding of Ignatius recognizes

not his philosophical awakening, but his social one. Instead of remaining home and depending on

his mother for sustenance, he is taking the risk of responsibility. His escape from the asylum

reveals that Ignatius, despite all his failures, still believes he has something to offer Myrna and

the rest of the world.

The attempt to place Ignatius in a mental ward speaks to the lack of recognition and

misunderstanding of his social anxiety by the rest of the world, “The low proportion of people

seeking treatment for SAD is a key concern. Even in the USA, only about one-third of

individuals with a lifetime history of SAD reported ever receiving treatment specifically for
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SAD.” (Nagata, Suzuki, & Teo, 2015, p. 724). Considering that this novel takes place in the

sixties, there would be no recognition of Ignatius having any sort of disorder. Yet his mother

seeks to have him committed to an asylum, possibly to be rid of him and make room for the

budding growth in her own life. Ignatius never seeks treatment for his disorder, and barely

recognizes he has one. This novel could be a demonstration for how victims of SAD must push

forward through their handicap, without help nor understanding from society.

Despite these disadvantages, learning through failures proves a critical part of the human

struggle for development. While Ignatius never gets a chance to truly demonstrate if he has

learned anything, his positive reaction to the car ride away from home, in contrast to his earlier

description of the bus ride to Baton Rouge, demonstrates a display of maturity that has been

previously unseen in the protagonist. Myrna demonstrates no toleration of the old Ignatius; thus,

he has motivation to learn from his failures and attempt to be at least minimally productive.

While the question remains whether he has grown enough to hold his life together and avoid the

mental institution or let his SAD place him in a permanent NEET status, Ignatius Reilly

demonstrates a fair degree of character growth throughout the novel and matures significantly.
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Works Cited

Arnold, C., & Baker, T. (2012). Transitions from school to work: Applying psychology to
'NEET'. Educational & Child Psychology, 29(3), 67-80.

Komins, J. (1999) “Succulent Tomatoes, Extraordinary People and Intriguing Performances:

Some Literary and Cultural Encounters with New Orleans' Creoles.” Comparative
literature Studies, 36(1), 45-67 Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40247173

Leighton, H. V. (2014) Evidence of Influences on John Kennedy Toole’s “A Confederacy of

Dunces,” Including Geoffrey Chaucer. Version 2.1. 2

Lombardi, N, D, Florentino, M.C., & Lombardi, A.J. (1998) “Perfectionism and Abnormal
Behavior” The Journal of Individual Psychology, 54(1), 61-71

Nagata, T., Suzuki, F., & Teo, A. R. (2015). Generalized social anxiety disorder: A still-
neglected anxiety disorder 3 decades since Liebowitz's review. Psychiatry & Clinical
Neurosciences, 69(12), 724-740. doi:10.1111/pcn.12327

O’Dea, B, et al. (2016) “A prospective study of depression course, functional disability, and
NEET status in help-seeking young adults.” Soc Psychiatry, 51(1) 1296-1404 doi:
10.1007/s00127-016-1272-x

Simon, R.K. (1994) “John Kennedy Toole and Walker Percy: Fiction and Repetition in A
Confederacy of Dunces,” Texas Studies in literature and Language, 36(1), 99-116
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40755032

Toole, J.K. (1980) A Confederacy of Dunces. New York, NY: Grove Press.