Thomas Paige '24
Titled A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kenedy Toole’s “Commedia” essentially does as the title suggests: narrates a group of idiots. Set in the vibrant city and culture of New Orleans, the entertainment consists of John Kenndy Toole’s “experiments” in which he throws predictable, one-dimensional characters into disaster. Yet, the book does a bit more than just produce a laugh. A Confederacy of Dunces, as with any humor, casually but firmly gifts insightful critiques and commentary. However, out of all the subtle jokes, one piece of irony truly stands out, begging for further thought and consideration. This paradox is the protagonist and comedic centerpiece of Ignatius J. Reilly and the subsequent critique on mindful, self-centering philosophies (big names like Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.).
As believed in the mind of Ignatius Reilly, the Medieval Era, otherwise known as the literal Dark Ages, was the intellectual prime of the West. In making this claim, Ignatius is able to overlook the multitude of horrific ideologies and cults that frequently garnered support in the Medieval Era due to the existence and rise of one cherished intellectual influence: Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. In it, due to his illegitimate fall from statesmanship to prison, Beothius’ felt compelled to remind humans that their destiny was largely in the hands of chance. He further preached that, as a result of their minimal control over their own fate, humans must emotionally detach themselves from the conventional pillars of happiness (i.e. family, career, reputation) for they could be taken at any moment. Instead, one should focus on what he could control; his thoughts and ensuing actions, hence echoing Stoic and Buddhist beliefs. In order to emphasize the power of luck and human’s subsequent lack of control, Boethius constantly references the Roman Goddess Fortuna, the personification of fortune, and her wheel of fortune. In moments of crisis, Ignatius, being the anachronist he is, will comedically submit himself to Fortuna in a ritual for mercy, showing his philosophical commitment by acknowledging the existence of luck and his own puny control over his fate.
However, although Ignatius is a self-acclaimed philosopher loyal in practice and belief, his character is ironically infested with apathy and selfishness. He detaches himself from conventional paths to success and happiness such as the workforce or a romantic relationship and prefers to sit at home mistreating his mother and self-loathing in his bathtub all under the justification of his philosophy. Notably, his mistreatment of others is really just extreme neglect for their happiness or well-being in general, which stems from his radical self priority and focus. He contributes nothing to no one.
Desperately wanting the reader to consider this drastic irony of Ignatius being the most educated and obedient philosopher yet an apathetic and selfish being, Toole makes it the central joke of the book to the point of overuse. By incentivizing further thought, this central irony is actually discovered to also be a cause and effect; as the result of his emotional detachment from others induced by his mindful, self-centering Beothian philosophy, Ignatius Reilly becomes the most self-indulgent, self-obsessed, self-absorbed, self-serving human being to ever exist. His Beothesian beliefs allow him to justify his unhealthy and apathetic way of life; lack of employment, lack of peers, and lack of significant other. Since all forms of prosperity could be taken at any second, Ignatius Reilly detaches himself from these conventional forms of happiness, inadvertently losing all motivation. Instead, he focuses on his own thoughts and actions, leading him to prioritize himself and, in Toole’s effort to emphasize this radical self-glorification and focus, he develops a superiority complex. Within his philosophical induced worldview, Ignatius Reilly is divine and perfect, while all others are limited, disillusioned beings not worthy of his attention. Through the casual irony and satire of Ignatius Reilly, Toole firmly and validity critiques mindful-based, self-centering philosophies like orthodox Stoicism and Buddhism for glorifying the happiness of the self in the sacrifice of the happiness of others, also showing, yet again, there is more to a joke than the laugh.
For a modern-day citizen, it would be difficult to maintain a healthy social life while being an orthodox, absolute Stoicism or Buddhist due to their extreme focus on the self. This is not to discredit these philosophies in any way, for in moderation, they can allow improvement in the well-being of the self while not taking away attention and focus towards others. Overall, when considering potential religions, philosophies, ideologies, etc. with an intent to shape a worldview and identity, it is important to not only know the benefits but the possible drawbacks in order to be a responsible human.
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