
People with antisocial personality disorder are characterized by a high degree of arrogance, which is associated with antisocial behavior (Stanton and Zimmerman 439). Being arrogant is closely related to indulging oneself as arrogant people find themselves superior to others, which justifies, in their opinion, their focus on their needs. Other common symptoms of antisocial personality disorder are arrogance and deceitfulness.

Clearly, being such a self-centered person suggests that the man has symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. He pays no attention to other people’s needs but concentrates on his personal comfort, be it good food or proper clothes. The man believes that “the lack of food… channels all of one’s better impulses” (Toole 132). His attitude towards food and drinks also shows that he has few or no limits. He cares little about his mother’s struggles and the fact that she supports him financially, although he is already a middle-aged man. He prefers reading his medieval texts, writing letters and reflections, as well as daydreaming and watching movies (Leighton 211). Ignatius compares the need to make money and get a job with being “thrown out again into the abyss” (Toole 86). This trait is displayed in Ignatius in many ways, including his eating disorder and unwillingness to earn his living. People with this diagnosis believe their needs have to be satisfied while other things do not matter. Such persons try to ensure that they have everything they need (money, food, and other people’s attention), and they attain this goal even if it happens at the expense of others.

Individuals diagnosed with this health condition tend to indulge themselves and try to have a hedonist way of life as they pay little attention to other people’s feelings or needs (Maass 9). Indulging oneself is one of the most conspicuous traits of Ignatius, which is also one of the major symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. Ignatius and His Antisocial Personality at Home and in the Community Indulging Oneself as a Sign of the Disorder Reilly can be seen as a good illustration of the behaviors and choices of people with antisocial personality disorder who are doing their best to find a place in their communities.

At that, while the writer committed suicide, unable to fit in, he gives Ignatius a chance to succeed (Henninger 782). It has been widely discussed that Ignatius shares many traits in common with the author of the book as John Kennedy Toole also failed to become a successful member of his community and American society (MacLauchlin).
