Talk:A Confederacy of Dunces

message: Why is this book tragic (i.e. tragicomedy)?  I think this book is the classic comedy, with everything working out for the good guys, and Ignatius escaping before Charity comes to get him.  Mauvila 11:00, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Tragicomedy?

message: I agree with Mauvila that this book is certainly very close to the Aristotelian definition of comedy. That is people who are beneath the audience are placed in a weird situation that is eventually brought back to something resembling normality. As for the alternate reality theories, the true beauty of this book comes from the self delusional reality that Ignatious lives in. Though he is often used as a narrator(through his writings), he proves himself to be a very unreliable one. Even the third person narration sometimes uses Ignatius-like phrasing. Perhaps, this accounts for the lack of realistic description of the locales. I feel it was certainly intended and that it would also only be picked up on by locals or someone very familiar with New Orleans. I believe it adds to the surrealism that exists throughout all facets of the book and perhaps even helps with suspension of disbelief. It would certainly be hard to swallow that all these dysfuntional characters could exist in one molten pot of hilarity outside of fiction. Therefore, avoiding real places through key points in the book prevent the reader from grounding themselves back in reality. -User:Wrwelch15
:My edition of the book makes that exact point about Confederacy being a comedy in the classical sence in its introduction (written by Walter Percy himself). -℘yrop (talk) 04:46, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)
::Would everybody agree that we should change "tragicomedy" to comedy? Mauvila 08:25, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: "Tragicomedy" was put in by an early editor of the article. I've always been ambivilent about that myself. Changing it is fine by me. Cheers, -- Infrogmation 20:01, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Classic comedy 

message: Hello, while rereading one of James Joyce's short stories called "A Little Cloud" in the short story collection Dubliners (published in 1914), I wondered if this short story would have inspired John Kennedy Toole in the choice of his characters' names. In this short story, Joyce introduces a character named Little Chandler who meets up with a friend he hasn't seen for a long time: Ignatius Gallager. The two men come to discuss a mutual acquaintance named "O'Hara" who seems to have problems with alcoholism. Ignatius' first name is common to the main character name in Toole's novel (Ignatius J. Reilly) and O'Hara's is identical to the stage name Darlene chooses for her show at the "Night of Joy": Harlett O'Hara. 
This similarity could be coincidental, but it is written in Joyce's short story that Ignatius "emerges from a thick cloud of smoke" just as J.K. Toole frequently describes the character of Burma Jones. 
It is mentioned in the "Article policies" section of this page that "Original researches" are not accepted. Is it still possible to mention the possibility of a reference to Joyce, in the conditional, on this page? In the "Major characters" section for example? Noé Faure (talk) 15:15, 29 March 2023 (UTC)
replies: text: It's an interesting hypothesis, but as you correctly point out, it is original research, and can't be added to the article unless you can find some mention in a reliable source, preferably a scholarly source. Station1 (talk) 18:01, 29 March 2023 (UTC)
thread_title:  Names of characters inspired by a James Joyce's short story : A little cloud ?