The Drunkard

Frank O'Connor's The Drunkard is full of both humor and irony. Larry's perspective of adult life is honest and unbiased, leading to completely unique,true, and hilarious statements. For example, after tasting some of his father's beer, the boy stated "It looked like he had never tried lemonade" (O'Connor, 347). Later, the boy's drunkand antics, like cursing and yelling at his neighbors, give the reader much to laugh about. Despite the abundance of humor, the story also offers great irony. Mother assigned Larry the task of Guarding his pratically-alcoholic father. The reader assumes she wishes Larry to distract his father or annoy him Into not drinking. When these approaches failed, Larry invented his own approach, downing a beer first. By the reactions of neighbors and his father, Mother was not going to be happy her son was drunk. However, Mother was delighted her son sacraficed to keep his family from suffering through his dad's binge. This questionable sorting of motherly priorities is the story's greatest source of irony.