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Quote by John Kennedy Toole

Work

A Confederacy of Dunces

Hilarious and poignant, the book explores themes of class, culture, and the human condition through the eyes of its endearing yet troubled protagonist. more

Author

John Kennedy Toole
John Kennedy Toole

John Kennedy Toole was an American novelist best known for his unfinished work, 'Caddie Woodlawn.' Born on December 17, 1937, Toole's life was cut short on March 26, 1969. His unique writing style and the posthumous success of 'Caddie Woodlawn' have made him a beloved figure in American literature. more

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“So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?' Mr. Okamoto: 'That's an interesting question?' Mr. Chiba: 'The story with animals.' Mr. Okamoto: 'Yes. The story with animals is the better story.' Pi Patel: 'Thank you. And so it goes with God.”

“Other people, so I have read, treasure memorable moments in their lives: the time one climbed the Parthenon at sunrise, the summer night one met a lonely girl in Central Park and achieved with her a sweet and natural relationship, as they say in books. I too once met a girl in Central Park, but it is not much to remember. What I remember is the time John Wayne killed three men with a carbine as he was falling to the dusty street in Stagecoach, and the time the kitten found Orson Welles in the doorway in The Third Man.”

“But how much better, in any case, to wonder than not to wonder, to dance with astonishment and go spinning in praise, than not to know enough to dance or praise at all; to be blessed with more imagination than you might know at the given moment what to do with than to be cursed with too little to give you -- and other people -- any trouble.”