Goodreads Choice Awards 2025
Bob Berry asked this question about A Confederacy of Dunces:
Do you think that Toole "pulls off" a the major black character without cartoonish stereotyping ?
Patrick O'Hannigan Jones is my favorite character in the book, and once you get past his verbal tics, you'll see that that Toole wrote him with a fierce and humorous int…moreJones is my favorite character in the book, and once you get past his verbal tics, you'll see that that Toole wrote him with a fierce and humorous intelligence. The dignity that Jones has is camouflaged by his dialect in just the same way that his smoking and sunglasses help him keep a low public profile. Ignatius thinks he's smart, but Jones is arguably smarter, and wise beyond his years (think "Phones down at the precinct be hummin,' " and his puzzlement at the unusual predicament of an obviously educated white man like Ignatius: "How come a white cat like you, talkin' so good, sellin' weenies?")(less)
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A Confederacy of Dunces
by John Kennedy Toole
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