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Mr. Clyde
Mr. Gonzalez is an employee of Mr. Levy’s at Levy Pants and runs the office which is attached to the factory. Mr. Gonzalez is also Miss Trixie’s boss and temporarily employs Ignatius. Mr. Gonzalez sincerely loves his job at Levy Pants, does his best to make the office run smoothly, and is long-suffering and patient when it comes to his (mostly useless) employees. He is desperate to retire Miss Trixie, who is ancient and spends much of her time asleep, but is prevented from doing so by Mrs. Levy, who wrongly believes that Miss Trixie’s job at Levy Pants is all the old woman has. Mr. Gonzalez is a meek man who does not like to be dictatorial with his staff. It is extremely ironic, therefore, when Ignatius organizes a race riot among the factory workers with the explicit purpose of getting rid of Mr. Gonzalez, who he claims is a tyrant.
Mr. Gonzalez Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces
The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Gonzalez or refer to Mr. Gonzalez. 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:
).
Chapter 5, Part 4
Quotes
The original sweatshop has been preserved for posterity at Levy Pants. If only the Smithsonian Institution, that grab bag of our nation’s refuse, could somehow vacuum-seal the Levy Pants factory and transport it to the capital of the United States of America, each worker frozen in an attitude of labor, the visitors to that questionable museum would defecate into their garish tourist outfits. It is a scene which combines the worst of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis; it is mechanized Negro slavery; it represents the progress which the Negro has made from picking cotton to tailoring it.
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In a sense, I have always felt something of a kinship with the colored race because its position is the same as mine; we both exist outside the inner realm of American society. Of course, my exile is voluntary. However, it is apparent that many of the Negroes wish to become active members of the American middle class. I cannot imagine why. I must admit that this desire on their part leads me to question their value judgments.
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Mr. Gonzalez Quotes in A Confederacy of Dunces
The A Confederacy of Dunces quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Gonzalez or refer to Mr. Gonzalez. 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:
).
Chapter 5, Part 4
Quotes
The original sweatshop has been preserved for posterity at Levy Pants. If only the Smithsonian Institution, that grab bag of our nation’s refuse, could somehow vacuum-seal the Levy Pants factory and transport it to the capital of the United States of America, each worker frozen in an attitude of labor, the visitors to that questionable museum would defecate into their garish tourist outfits. It is a scene which combines the worst of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis; it is mechanized Negro slavery; it represents the progress which the Negro has made from picking cotton to tailoring it.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
In a sense, I have always felt something of a kinship with the colored race because its position is the same as mine; we both exist outside the inner realm of American society. Of course, my exile is voluntary. However, it is apparent that many of the Negroes wish to become active members of the American middle class. I cannot imagine why. I must admit that this desire on their part leads me to question their value judgments.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
