A Confederacy of Dunces

A Confederacy of Dunces

by

John Kennedy Toole

Lana Lee is the owner of the Night of Joy strip club and is a thoroughly unpleasant and mercenary character. Lana openly exploits her employees, Burma Jones and Darlene, and blatantly rips off her customers by watering down the drinks that she serves in the bar. Rather than pay Darlene a salary, Lana makes her work on commission selling drinks. She pays Jones less than minimum wage because she knows that she can get away with it, since Jones is black and is desperate for a job so that he will not be arrested for vagrancy. Lana knows this and openly threatens to call the police on Jones whenever he tries to quit because of the poor wage or refuses to do a task which is not in his job description. Lana also runs a highly successful pornography ring and uses her accomplice, George, to sell pornographic photos of herself to high school students. The idea that Lana sells pornography to children suggests that she has no moral compass and will do anything, no matter how corrupt, to make money. Lana is extremely proud of her body and it is insinuated that she has used it to make money in the past (and in the present with the pornographic photos she takes). However, despite this, Lana is extremely judgmental and hypocritical—she thinks that women like Darlene, who wants to be an exotic dancer, are promiscuous and immoral. Lana wants to be a successful businesswoman, but her ownership of the Night of Joy suggests that she is not cut out for it and is too cheap to satisfy her customers, who feel cheated because of the low level of service that Lana is willing to pay for and provide. Lana is punished for her corrupt and ruthless behavior at the novel’s end, when Jones leads Patrolman Mancuso to her pornography stash and Patrolman Mancuso arrests her.

Lana Lee Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces

The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Lana Lee or refer to Lana Lee. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5, Part 1 Quotes

“Now look here, Darlene, don’t tell that Jones we suddenly got the whole force in here at night. You know how colored people feel about cops. He might get scared and quit. I mean, I’m trying to help the boy out and keep him off the streets.”

Related Characters: Lana Lee (speaker), Burma Jones, Darlene
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6, Part 1 Quotes

“I’m workin in modern slavery. If I quit, I get report for bein vagran. If I stay. I’m gainfully employ on a salary ain even startin to be a minimal wage.”

Related Characters: Burma Jones (speaker), Lana Lee, Mr. Watson
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9, Part 2 Quotes

“I know this business. Stripping’s an insult to a woman. The kinda creeps come in here don’t wanna see a tramp get insulted […] Anybody can insult a tramp. These jerks wanna see a sweet, clean virgin get insulted and stripped. You gotta use your head for Chrissake, Darlene. You gotta be pure. I want you to be like a nice, refined girl who’s surprised when the bird starts grabbing at your clothes.”

Related Characters: Lana Lee (speaker), Darlene
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 220-221
Explanation and Analysis:

Like a note in a bottle, the address might bring some reply, perhaps from a legitimate and professional saboteur. An address on a package wrapped in plain brown paper was as damaging as a fingerprint on a gun, Jones thought. It was something that shouldn’t be there.

Related Characters: Lana Lee, Burma Jones, Darlene, George
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10, Part 2 Quotes

“Color peoples cain fin no job, but they sure can fin a openin in jail. Coin in jail the bes way you get you somethin to eat regular. But I rather starve outside. I rather mop a whore floor than go to jail and be makin plenny license plate and rug and leather belt and shit. I jus was stupor enough to get my ass snatch up in a trap at that Night of Joy. I gotta figure this thing out myself.”

Related Characters: Burma Jones (speaker), Lana Lee, Mr. Watson
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lana Lee Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces

The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Lana Lee or refer to Lana Lee. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Medievalism, Modernity, and Fate Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5, Part 1 Quotes

“Now look here, Darlene, don’t tell that Jones we suddenly got the whole force in here at night. You know how colored people feel about cops. He might get scared and quit. I mean, I’m trying to help the boy out and keep him off the streets.”

Related Characters: Lana Lee (speaker), Burma Jones, Darlene
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6, Part 1 Quotes

“I’m workin in modern slavery. If I quit, I get report for bein vagran. If I stay. I’m gainfully employ on a salary ain even startin to be a minimal wage.”

Related Characters: Burma Jones (speaker), Lana Lee, Mr. Watson
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 131
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9, Part 2 Quotes

“I know this business. Stripping’s an insult to a woman. The kinda creeps come in here don’t wanna see a tramp get insulted […] Anybody can insult a tramp. These jerks wanna see a sweet, clean virgin get insulted and stripped. You gotta use your head for Chrissake, Darlene. You gotta be pure. I want you to be like a nice, refined girl who’s surprised when the bird starts grabbing at your clothes.”

Related Characters: Lana Lee (speaker), Darlene
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 220-221
Explanation and Analysis:

Like a note in a bottle, the address might bring some reply, perhaps from a legitimate and professional saboteur. An address on a package wrapped in plain brown paper was as damaging as a fingerprint on a gun, Jones thought. It was something that shouldn’t be there.

Related Characters: Lana Lee, Burma Jones, Darlene, George
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 224
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10, Part 2 Quotes

“Color peoples cain fin no job, but they sure can fin a openin in jail. Coin in jail the bes way you get you somethin to eat regular. But I rather starve outside. I rather mop a whore floor than go to jail and be makin plenny license plate and rug and leather belt and shit. I jus was stupor enough to get my ass snatch up in a trap at that Night of Joy. I gotta figure this thing out myself.”

Related Characters: Burma Jones (speaker), Lana Lee, Mr. Watson
Related Symbols: The Night of Joy
Page Number: 240
Explanation and Analysis: