The Drunkard- Frank O'Connor

"The Drunkard"
Frank O'Connor

This was by far my favorite piece that we read in this unit because it was the funniest and most entertaining overall.  The second question from the book asks what undertones of pathos are included in the story.  Larry's father has a difficult job and is not paid as much as he wishes.  Like many others, he turns to drinking because he is not very pleased with what life has handed him.  He begins to love funerals because they offer excuses for him to drink heavily, and I think it's hilarious that Larry recall's his father's wanting to skip out on a half day of work just to go to the funeral of someone he hardly knew.  I also enjoyed the heavy irony in the story when Larry, just a child, drinks the entire pint and Father drank nothing during the night at the pub.  Larry was the "drunkard" for the night, which actually caused his father to stop indulging in alcohol after he got a first-hand glance of what it did to a person.  I liked when the ladies laughed at him because it further demonstrated to Father what he must look like stumbling home drunk.  However, my favorite part was the irony at the very end of the story when Larry's mother tells him "It was God did it you were there.  You were his guardian angel" (O'Connor, page 351).  What mother appreciates her child's getting drunk?  At first, this seemed completely irrational, but then I realized that he really did stop his father from drinking more which was more definitely worth one night of drunkenness.  This really stood out to me because it explained the solution to Father's drinking problem; after he saw his son drunk, he realized how terrible he must appear and promised to swear off drinking.