There is a need for a 3rd Option

Well for starters I would never use Ignatius as the character for New Orleans. Ignatius is very crude, rude, and does not show his mother proper respect as just a few examples of how he does not fit the New Orleans character. During our visit I believe I have seen NOLA in its finest and its, well, not so finest. During the day and early evening, one finds everyone here so hospitable, the streets are clean and the buildings beautiful, and even in areas such as the 9^th Ward you find optimism through the rebuilding projects such as the Musicians Neighborhood and the Make it Right Foundation. The people are always willing to help and are so excited to find out people are here to help rebuild their beloved city. On our first full day here there was a commercial being made using actual working people of the city to promote tourism in New Orleans which was amazing and we were even invited to join in. From A Confederacy of Dunces I did not find the New Orleans that I have discovered here. Ignatius is so rude and lazy when the people here are working so hard to make things better for everyone, Ignatius was only looking out for himself. For example when his mom needed to pay for the damage she made during her car accident and Ignatius had to be forced into getting a job to help her out but at the same time would not allow his mother to mortgage the house to pay for it. He truly does not represent the city at all to me except for at night. Bourbon Street was quite an experience, both good and bad, the night that I went. Everyone was very happy, most likely due to a large intake of alcohol, but nevertheless in good spirits. There were, however, place blatantly offering sex shows and other obscene things that could easily fall under an Ignatius character in his habit of watching things happening but not partaking. The final point that does not make Ignatius the New Orleans character is the interview my group had with a Lucky Dog hot dog vendor. The vendor, Bruce, was very well spoken and had worked his cart for 25 years, and while he had seen some interesting things- “There was a woman walking stark naked on Sunday morning down Bourbon street” – he did not offend me at all and was very enjoyable to speak to.

            Now Binx (does anyone else think of the cat from Hocus Pocus?) is a different story all together – he seems rather boring, monotonous. However there is something there. Out of the choice between Ignatius and Binx as the character for New Orleans, I would quite frankly choose neither of the two, but Binx is the better choice. His life seems rather boring but he has lots of stories about friends and family members, takes part in Mardi Gras and is part of the Neptune krewe, and has a little bit of a ‘bad’ streak in him like Bourbon street – or New Orleans after 11 o’clock. For example, he went to college, was in a fraternity, got a respectable job, but he dates his secretaries and has an aunt who does husband swapping. He holds the relaxed southern feeling of New Orleans but knows how to hold that New York City feel you find every so often in the uptown parts of the city. He reminds of some of the people we met at St. Margaret’s, really quite and calm but once you get them talking you here stories of drinking, gambling, and possibly going to jail; or you get them playing bingo and they get real feisty just like Binx when he goes to his favorite hangouts. Like New Orleans, Binx has faced some intense tragedy like his parents dying when he was young, as well as his brother. New Orleans has gone through fires, plagues, and numerous hurricanes- but both New Orleans and Binx are making it through.

            It would be difficult to find the New Orleans character in one person. The city has so many facets that the person would have an extreme personality disorder or would just be all over the place all the time.