A Confederacy of Dunces Lesson Plan

How does Toole use specific word choices to create a singular first impression of Ignatius J. Reilly for the reader?

From a third-person limited point of view, using personification, objectification, and simile, Toole begins his characterization by describing Ignatius from the outside, head-to-toe like an art object; then, slowly, Toole incorporates interpretations of Ignatius' distinguishing features and we move from observing Ignatius from the outside to the somewhat deeper vantage of learning his justifications and motivations. He begins by describing how his green cap "squeezed" the "fleshy balloon of his head" and the cap's ear flaps projected like opposing "turn...