Friday, October 9, 2009
Costumes and Disguises
During Ignatius's conversation with Dorian Greene about Timmy's costumes, I realized many of the main characters in the book wear some sort of costume or disguise. Ignatius dresses like a pirate; Mancuso wears a disguise; Jones is going to dress up like a slave; Darlene is going to dress up like a southern belle; and Lana Lee dresses up like a school teacher. Why do you think this motif of costumes and disguises has become so prevalent?
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Maybe this has something to do with the setting of the novel being New Orleans. New Orleans is one of the most diverse cities in the world, so maybe Toole is trying to stress this by having each character act as somebody else. Also, when I think of New Orleans, I think of lots of entertainment and parties such as Mardi Gras. Ignatius being a pirate, Jones being a slave, Darlene being a southern belle, and Lana Lee being a school teacher are all for entertainment purposes.
ReplyDeleteI think the motif of costumes is an extension of each character's impriosnment. For example, the manager forces Ignatius to wear both the hotdog costume and the pirate costume. Additionally, the police sergeant forces Mancuso to wear the ridiculous outfits as a punishment for not bringing in legitimate suspects. Furthermore, Lana Lee forces Jones to don a plantation costume and Darlene to dress up as a southern belle because she hopes to attract more people to her buisness with these cleverly themed costumes. I strongly believe that each costume accentuates the owner's imprisonment.
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