John Kennedy Toole quotes

John Kennedy Toole was an American novelist, best known for his posthumously published book "A Confederacy of Dunces." His novel received critical acclaim and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He became a significant literary figure whose life and work have continued to inspire readers and writers. Here are 28 of his quotes:

Apparently I lack some particular perversion which today's employer is seeking. (John Kennedy Toole)
I refuse to "look up." Optimism nauseates me. It is perverse. Since man's fall, his proper position in the universe has been one of misery. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
A firm rule must be imposed upon our nation before it destroys itself. The United States needs some theology and geometry, some taste and decency. I suspect that we are teetering on the edge of the abyss. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
You could tell by the way he talked, though, that he had gone to school a long time. That was probably what was wrong with him. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
I mingle with my peers or no one, and since I have no peers, I mingle with no one. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
The human desire for food and sex is relatively equal. If there are armed rapes, why should there not be armed hot dog thefts? View quote
John Kennedy Toole
The day before me is fraught with God knows what horrors. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Canned food is a perversion,' Ignatius said. 'I suspect that it is ultimately very damaging to the soul. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Leaving New Orleans also frightened me considerably. Outside of the city limits the heart of darkness, the true wasteland begins. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
You can always tell employees of the government by the total vacancy which occupies the space where most other people have faces. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
With the breakdown of the Medieval system, the gods of Chaos, Lunacy, and Bad Taste gained ascendancy. (John Kennedy Toole)
employers sense in me a denial of their values... they fear me. i suspect that they can see that i am forced to function in a century which i loathe. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Stop!' I cried imploringly to my god-like mind. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
I avoid that bleak first hour of the working day during which my still sluggish senses and body make every chore a penance. I find that in arriving later, the work which I do perform is of a much higher quality. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
It's not your fate to be well treated," Ignatius cried. "You're an overt masochist. Nice treatment will confuse and destroy you. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Is my paranoia getting completely out of hand, or are you mongoloids really talking about me? View quote
John Kennedy Toole
My life is a rather grim one. One day I shall perhaps describe it to you in great detail. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
My mother is currently associating with some undesirables who are attempting to transform her into an athlete of sorts, deprave specimens of mankind who regularly bowl their way to oblivion. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
The war had been on for quite a while now when Poppa got his notice from the draft. He didn't have to go, but he more or less enlisted. Mother and I and Aunt Mae went down to the train to see him off, and when he left he kissed Mother and he cried, and I'd never seen a man cry before. The train pulled away, and we stood there and watched it go, and Mother kept looking long after it had passed around the hill. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Oh, Fortuna, blind, heedless goddess, I am strapped to your wheel,' Ignatius belched, 'Do not crush me beneath your spokes. Raise me on high, divinity. (John Kennedy Toole)
When Fortuna spins you downward, go out to a movie and get more out of life. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
I suspect that I am the result of particularly weak conception on the part of my father. His sperm was probably emitted in a rather offhand manner. View quote
John Kennedy Toole
Oh, Fortuna, you capricious sprite! View quote
John Kennedy Toole
... When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occassional cheese dip. View quote
John Kennedy Toole