The Influence of A Confederacy of Dunces on Always Sunny

I recently read a novel called A Confederacy of Dunces that was published in 1980 and won a Pulitzer. It focuses mainly on an obese 30-year-old named Ignatius who thinks he is smarter and better than almost everyone. He truly is like Charlie, Mac, Dennis, and Frank all rolled into one. The parallels between the two are numerous and it is likely that Dunces inspired a lot of what we see in Sunny.

-He is described by others as obese and slovenly but describes his own “substantial and well-formed physique” (Fat Mac)

-He talks loudly at the movies and gets upset when people have the audacity to call him out on it. (Frank and Mac at the movies in An Erotic Life)

-He frequently burps and refers to his “valve” acting up. (Frank’s valve is acting up and Charlie tells him that he’s “gotta settle that valve down, man” in A Woman’s Right to Chop)

-He gets a job in an office and basically does no work other than taking over the office and putting his name on a sign. (Mac in the office in Sweet Dee Has a Heart Attack)

-He starts a worker’s revolt in the factory for the sole purpose of getting it on camera to prove someone wrong and then the tape ends up getting destroyed (felt very much like when Charlie forgets to put a tape in the camera in Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire)

-There is a bit where Ignatius is selling hotdogs out of a mobile cart and he just basically eats them all without selling any. This same scene has him try to catch an alley cat to keep as a pet. (Dennis getting free hotdogs and getting Agent Jack Bauer in Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City)

-Ignatius hasn’t left New Orleans ever except once to go to Baton Rouge which he repeatedly tells anyone who will listen as if it’s some great adventure. (Charlie hadn’t left Philly until the later seasons)

-Ignatius literally refers to himself as fringe-class “I have always been forced to exist on the fringes of its society” (Frank calls himself fringe-class in Mac and Charlie: White Trash)

-At one point Ignatius goes around with a scimitar (Charlie with his "Ali Baba sword" in The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby)

-There is a scene where he breaks down a door that is already slightly open just for the hell of it (They break down the door in The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis. Both even exclaimed "my door!")

TLDR: If you like reading, check out A Confederacy of Dunces. It's basically Always Sunny: The Book.