A Confederacy of Dunces

Ignatius shuffles home after failing to get a job at an insurance company. Mrs. Reilly tells him to “look up,” a phrase she has taken from Mancuso (54). Ignatius is enraged and complains about trying to find work. He insists that he cannot wake up too early and that perhaps “a newspaper route would be rather agreeable” (56). Ignatius envisions being driven along the route by his mother in her Plymouth. Mrs. Reilly demands that he visit Levy Pants to inquire about a job advertised in the newspaper.

Mancuso is investigating the Night of Joy after Ignatius complained about how the owner treated him and his mother. He wants to impress his sergeant by bringing in a “suspicious character” (58). He dresses as a soldier, the latest in his string of unfortunate costumes. The sergeant hears reports of a strangely dressed man molesting people on a bus and assumes it was Mancuso.

Mr. Gonzalez has worked for Levy Pants for 20 years and is always the first to arrive at work. Mr. Levy is a somewhat absent though undemanding owner; most of the other staff are interchangeable. Miss Trixie, the “octogenarian assistant accountant,” has a desk next to Mr. Gonzalez (59). While his is immaculate, hers is a mess.