Chapter 1 Summary

In a green hunting cap, tweed trousers, plaid shirt, muffler, and desert boots, Ignatius J. Reilly stands out in the crowd in front of D. H. Holmes. His hauntingly large eyes, one yellow and one blue show scorn for a world void of theology and geometry and a Rich Inner Life. Ignatius' mother has again been keeping him waiting after he has completed his shopping. A police officer demands to see Ignatius' identification, and is met with a diatribe about harassment. A crowd forms. Irene Reilly is inside, shopping for pastries and complaining about arthritis to the clerk. She would soak her elbow in hot water, but Ignatius is always in the tub. He has no prospects. In the mob, an old man, Claude Robichaux, defends Ignatius, screaming, "Communist!" The officer turns to Claude, whom Ignatius blames for the uproar. In frustration, the...