John Kennedy Toole (December 17, 1937 – March 26, 1969) was an American novelist from New Orleans, Louisiana, whose posthumously published novel A Confederacy of Dunces won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He also wrote The Neon Bible. Although several people in the literary world felt his writing skills were praiseworthy, Toole's novels were rejected during his lifetime. After suffering from paranoia and depression due in part to these failures, he died by suicide at the age of 31.
Toole was born to a middle-class family in New Orleans. From a young age, his mother, Thelma, taught him an appreciation of culture. She was thoroughly involved in his affairs for most of his life, and at times they had a difficult relationship. With his mother's encouragement, Toole became a stage performer at the age of 10 doing comic impressions and acting. At 16 he wrote his first novel, The Neon Bible, which he later dismissed as "adolescent".Toole received an academic scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans. After graduating from Tulane, he studied English at Columbia University in New York while teaching simultaneously at Hunter College. He also taught at various Louisiana colleges, and during his early career as an academic he was valued on the faculty party circuit for his wit and gift for mimicry. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the army, where he taught English to Spanish-speaking recruits in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After receiving a promotion, he used his private office to begin writing A Confederacy of Dunces, which he finished at his parents' home after his discharge.
Dunces is a picaresque novel featuring the misadventures of protagonist Ignatius J. Reilly, a lazy, obese, misanthropic, self-styled scholar who lives at home with his mother. It is hailed for its accurate depictions of New Orleans dialects. Toole based Reilly in part on his college professor friend Bob Byrne. Byrne's slovenly, eccentric behavior was anything but professorial, and Reilly mirrored him in these respects. The character was also based on Toole himself, and several personal experiences served as inspiration for passages in the novel. While at Tulane, Toole filled in for a friend at a job as a hot tamale cart vendor, and worked at a family owned and operated clothing factory. Both of these experiences were later adopted into his fiction.
Toole submitted Dunces to publisher Simon & Schuster, where it reached editor Robert Gottlieb. Gottlieb considered Toole talented but felt his comic novel was essentially pointless. Despite several revisions, Gottlieb remained unsatisfied, and after the book was rejected by another literary figure, Hodding Carter Jr., Toole shelved the novel. Suffering from depression and feelings of persecution, Toole left home on a journey around the country. He stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi, to end his life by running a garden hose in from the exhaust of his car to the cabin. Some years later, his mother brought the manuscript of Dunces to the attention of novelist Walker Percy, who ushered the book into print. In 1981, Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
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Some of their strengths
John Kennedy Toole has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Caring, Adventurous, Independent, Imaginative, Creative, and Generous.
Adventurous and Independent
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, John Kennedy Toole is someone who is an adventurous, independent, and energetic person, who is insightful, imaginative, generous, and honest. A person who seems to identify with family, heritage and ancestry.
Constant and Serious
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know John Kennedy Toole well know them as someone who can be determined, unmoving, and firm, like a rock or a high mountain.
Independent and Organized
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe John Kennedy Toole as someone who is independent, organized, inventive, and generous.
A person who is curious and a loves learning, who seems to always know what to say, who has an optimism that can overcome any difficult situation, and who seems to be able to master almost any skill.
Communicative and Intelligent
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, John Kennedy Toole is someone who tends to have a desire to communicate with others, either verbally, through written form, or otherwise, and to have a knack for understanding art, beauty, and aesthetics.
They are also someone who is creative, expressive, and insightful, and who has a pioneering spirit with self-determination and natural artistic expression.
Optimistic and Quick-witted
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, John Kennedy Toole tends to be someone who is optimistic and spontaneous, and who has a clear and analytical mind. Who can be witty, with a happy-go-lucky- nature that makes others cheerful, and who possesses an adventurous zest for life.
Some of John Kennedy Toole's challenges
While John Kennedy Toole has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, John Kennedy Toole can be Emotional, Impulsive, Careless, Standoffish, Difficult, Perfectionist, and Domineering.
Impulsive and Careless
One of John Kennedy Toole's key challenges is that they are someone who can be impulsive and careless.
John Kennedy Toole must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs, and can have difficulty dealing with responsibility, authority, or criticism.
Domineering and Impatient
John Kennedy Toole is someone who can be demanding, egotistical, and controlling, can have a lack of judgment regarding personal finances, be argumentative and stubborn, and who can have a tendency to be withdrawn and spend time in self-imposed isolation.
Irritable and Callous
Finally, John Kennedy Toole also can be short-tempered, childish, insensitive, and careless at times.
