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The Night of Joy
Ignatius’s hunting cap, which he always wears and refuses to take off, symbolizes his individuality, neurosis, and inability to fit into conventional society. Much like Holden Caulfield’s infamous red hunting cap in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Ignatius’s hat is usually unnecessary—it is a very warm, fur-lined hat which is impractical for New Orleans’s year-round warm climate. The hat thus makes Ignatius look strange when he wears it indoors and makes him stand out in a crowd. The hat symbolizes Ignatius’s failure to comply to modern fashion or conventionality, and nearly leads to his arrest when he is seen wearing it in town by Patrolman Mancuso, a policeman who is on the hunt for a suspicious character.
The cap also represents Ignatius’s inability to blend into a professional environment—such as an office—and signifies his antagonism to the world of work and modern capitalism. Ignatius refuses to fully integrate into a workplace by wearing a uniform (although he does wear the pirate costume while he works as a hot dog vendor), and he refuses to remove his cap. This refusal to conform is a symbolic act of protest, as it shows Ignatius will not compromise his individuality or personal freedoms to blend into a professional role. The hat is also a symbol of safety and security to Ignatius, and suggests that he does not feel comfortable in society without it. As Ignatius is a large, conspicuous man with an odd personality, his refusal to remove his hat suggests that it serves as a protective talisman of sorts. He can blame the hat for making him stand out, it thus prevents him from having to think about his social alienation, which at its core may have nothing to do with his style of dress.
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Ignatius’s Hunting Cap Symbol Timeline in A Confederacy of Dunces
The timeline below shows where the symbol Ignatius’s Hunting Cap appears in A Confederacy of Dunces. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1, Part 1
...spiritual bankruptcy. He himself is dressed comfortably—in a flannel jacket, baggy pants, and large hunting cap with ear flaps—and regards this as the ideal outfit for a sensible and intellectual person.
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...and the bartender grudgingly serves them. He asks Ignatius is he will take off his cap and Ignatius furiously replies that he will not.
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Chapter 2, Part 2
...far worse people in the Night of Joy. Darlene thinks the sight of Ignatius’s strange cap annoyed Lana. She tells Jones not to worry about getting the bar too clean; it...
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Chapter 3, Part 1
...job. Ignatius says that he did not, and Irene asks if he wore his hunting cap in the interview. Ignatius replies indignantly that he did because the office was cold. The...
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Chapter 6, Part 1
...at Levy Pants. He tells Jones that a fat, white man who wears a hunting cap has organized the demonstration and wants to drop a “nuclear bomb” on the office to...
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Chapter 7, Part 1
...hot dog trade. He gives Ignatius a Paradise Vendors uniform—although Ignatius refuses to remove his cap—and a cart to push. Ignatius pushes the cart along for a short while, and then...
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