A common theme that shows up throughout the novel is something we have seen before in The Roman de Fauvel. The main character, Ignatius Reilly, consistently brings up the idea of the wheel of fortune and Fortuna. While he never truly believes that his wheel is up, especially in the beginning of the book, he never tries to bring his fortune around. One example of this in the novel is on page 55 when he thinks to himself “When Fortuna spins you downward, go out to a movie and get more out of life. Ignatius was about to say this to himself; then he remembered that he went to the movies almost every night, no matter which way Fortuna was spinning.” We as readers can see his refusal to change this fortune with his jobs as well. Instead of working hard he ends up manipulating his co-workers in the Levy Factory and lying to his boss at Paradise Vendors. He even says at one point in the book that he has no control over his fortune and refuses to attempt to change. It is also interesting how he brings in the idea of a smaller wheel within the wheel saying “So we see that even when Fortuna spins us downward, the wheel sometimes halts for a moment and we find ourselves in a good, small cycle within the larger bad cycle” (76). He even goes further to say that it is possible to have smaller circles within that small cycle.
What do you think this says about his character that he refuses to change his fortune?
If it is true that one has no control over their own fortune, do you think there is any way to change fortune?
4 Comments
Ignatius Reilly is the definition of stubborn. His refusal to change is his biggest weakness, but also the most humorous part about him. He doesn’t want to adapt or work hard, and his referrals to the wheel of fortune are simply excuses for him to continue on with his stubborn lifestyle. He uses it as a way to explain his misfortunes, but also knows that he is not doing anything to change it. That leads him to a more complex excuse that maybe there is another wheel within the wheel of fortune that is right side up for Ignatius. I think the wheel of fortune is related to karma in that if we do something good, something good will happen to us. That’s the only way I can imagine us being able to control our wheels of fortune.
I think Ignatius uses his refusal to change as comfort mechanism. He’s gotten to used to using his wit and lack of handwork, that it is so hard to change his habits. We see this so much in the educational system. So many kids grow up in broken homes an receive poor education, which handicaps them to show there true potential. When they are placed in the real world it’s so hard for them to be successful, and they revert to what they know due to the lack of education. I do believe that you can change your fortune. Although when you born in a system that can only do harm, it is not easy to change your behavior.
The main character, Ignatius Reilly’s ability to come up with excuses for everything was so ridiculous that it became humorous. I really loved his idea of having a wheel within the wheel of fortune. This really showed how you can never really change your fortune. As I’ve said in previous blogs, I believe in fate; I think that even if you are able to change your fortune, you will ultimately end up where you are supposed to be. I think that Ignatius is amazing in how he chooses to deny his fortune. He doesn’t try to get higher, he just wants to keep his fortune at the same pace. This shows how stubborn he really is.
Ignatius thinks Fortuna has control over the fate of his life and whether things will be going upward or downwards. I think uses Fortuna as an excuse to remain immature and not take responsibility for his life (example: not taking jobs seriously). I think it is interesting that he puts so much emphasis on Fortuna determining the fortune of his life, yet he makes an effort to change the fortune of other people’s lives. For example, he tries to make things better for the African Americans working in poor conditions at Levy Pant factory by rallying them to fight for increased pay.