John Kennedy Toole

John Kennedy Toole can be, in my opinion, described as one of the most brilliant- and tragic- authors of the 20th century. He is most famous for the novel A Confederacy of Dunces, which won a posthumous Pulitzer. The story of how The Neon Bible came to be published is complex, but The Neon Bible begins at the end of the story, with the main character on a dark train, headed to a place even he doesn't know. We know the resolution before we even know who our protagonist is, or why he is running away. Quickly, however, he reflects on his life and we learn about him, how he got there, and how he grew up. David, the protagonist, is a boy in the early-mid 20th century rural South. His life is ordinary until his Aunt Mae comes to live with him,…

seemingly ever changing times then, proving them to be consistent with issues we recognize today. This is strongly displayed in the novel A Confederacy of Dunces written in the 60s by author John Kennedy Toole. In the novel, a middle aged man named Ignatius living at home with his mother goes on a quest of finding a job due to his mother’s nagging. Having obtained a master’s degree in college, he…

A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, is a novel that describes the adventures of Ignatius J. Reilly, a peculiar young man who lives in 1960’s New Orleans. To please his overbearing mother, Ignatius embarks on a seemingly everlasting quest to find a suitable job that he can sustain. Throughout the story, Ignatius exhibits many different characteristics while getting himself into sticky situations. Although he is a character of many qualities, Ignatius’s two main qualities are gluttony…

decay. The city even tried to make it harder by enforcing their own rules and restrictions. But neither of those really changed anything. Reporters from around the world came to record the events (Annual Bourbon Street Awards). Another important event for the gay community during Mardi Gras is the Fat Monday Luncheon. Starting in 1949 and still going on today (Campanella). It started out small just one man, Bob Demmons, wanting to entertain his friends. He surprised them by crowning a queen and…

not a one time event rather it was a culmination of events ranging from illegal acts of espionage to futile attempts at covering the crimes up building up to Nixon 's ultimate doom. Nixon Background Before the concept of Watergate and Nixon 's tenure in office. Nixon had a very promising political career as he rose from the House of Representatives to becoming a very innovative United States Senator of California who later went on to become Dwight D. Eisenhower 's running mate in nineteen…

sparking not only his interest in reading but also his interest in journalism. Even though they were not journalists themselves, Charles and Blanche displayed a respect for good reporting as they discussed current events and figures like John Gunther and Harrison Salisbury. By the time he was eight years old, David had started a family newspaper, reporting on his father’s letters from overseas and recent fishing trips with his brother (2). Although his family moved to many places as a result of…

change the whole interpretation of a certain event. The challenge becomes allowing an interpretation or understanding to be changed. Adding more pieces to a puzzle that someone thought was already finished can be tricky. When looking at the Cuban Missile Crisis to find the truth and facts, one has to look at all the sources from all three sides, decipher the evidence and find the middle ground which is where the truth finally lies. If understanding seems to be the truth and is defended, then…

The 1960s, or simple known, as the 60s were a revolutionary time of history They were a time when people lived free, loved free, burned their draft cards, protested the war and enjoyed meaningful music. Bob Dylan in 1963 wrote the Song the “The Times They Are a Changin.” Bob Dylan was right the times were a changing in the 1960s. Many large events occurred during the 60s, including the hippie movement, civil rights movement, anti-war movement and the space race to name a few. It was during this…

During the 1960’s fear and paranoia had reached an all time high. The nations leader President Kennedy managed the issues regarding the idea of communism spreading and the possibility of nuclear warfare. The Cold War and The Cuban Missile Crisis became the center of the political issues that captured America’s fears. The focus of these two ideals became adapted, in two separate films: Three Presidents Go To War, and the satire black comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I stopped Worrying and Loved the…

The Price of Vietnam The Vietnam war was a very controversial war, and many debate on whether or not the participation of the United States in the war was necessary. The war lasted a grueling twenty years, 1955 to 1975. However, in the year of 1968 there was much going on at home, from civil rights movements lead my Dr. Martin Luther King Jr to the presidential election of Richard Nixon and the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Tension was high in the U.S. With over 2.7 million Americans that…