Levy Pants

Ignatius and his mother reside in an impoverished part of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Their house on Constantinople Street is small and decrepit and "except for the Plymouth and the weathered cross and the mummified banana tree, the[ir] tiny yard was completely bare."


After he and his mother are in a car accident (as a result of Irene's drunken driving) Ignatius has no choice but to grudgingly go job-hunting in order to pay for the damages. In the past, because of his inability to interact socially (Ignatius is terribly outspoken- this trait more than often gets him in a great deal of trouble) Ignatius has had trouble finding work, despite his evident genius.

Ignatius' attempt at finding a job (post-car wreck) does not go well- he is declined by an insurance company after he attempted "to explain the inadequencies of the place to the personnel manager" which included "those flourescent tubes baking [peoples'] brains out and blinding them" and the improper heating of the office. It is not unusual for Ignatius to show this poor sense judgement. There are a countless number of words, ostenatious and simple, in Ignatius' massive lexicon, but "tact" is certainly not among them.

Just when it seems all hope is lost, Irene finds a want ad for a desk job at the Levy Pants factory. The second Ignatius arrives for the interview, he becomes infatuated with the office's "stained ceiling [that] cast a weak yellow light upon the warped floorboards...a desk painted with a peculiar orange varnish...[and the] grey view of the Poland Avenue wharf." Luckily for him the manager, Mr. Gonzalez is in desperate need of new employees seeing as most others typically quit within a few months (some don't even bother to make note of their resignation, but rather don't ever show up again.) When Ignatius is told by Mr. Gonzalez that Mr. Levy plans to soon sell the business, he takes it upon himself to change Mr. Levy's mind and completely rejuvenate Levy Pants.


(http://chiffy80.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/p151987-new_orleans-french_quarter.jpg)
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1093/978400770_f6264ddbb5.jpg?v=0)