The Drunkard

The Drunkard by Frank O'Connor

This is obviously a very humorous story. It gives its many humours in how wrong and abnormal the situation is of the young child becoming completely drunk but however, adds a comedic value as well with the child's innocent reaction to when the drink touches his virgin drink. One such way where the author adds innocent comedic truths would be when the boy comments on the taste of the drink, "I was astonished that he could even drink such stuff. It looked as if he had never tried lemonade" (O'Connor). What makes this line funny is not only the boy's naive reaction to the drink but how his innocent thoughts are intensified the the diction and vocabulary of a grown man. It gives the poem an ironic, humorous feel. However, this contradicting style of writing does not go only as far as being comedic. It plays a key role in the overall theme of the story. The childish thoughts coupled with the mature writing style, describe the young naive boy who now feels a heightened, but very false maturity after he has become drunk off his first beer. It is through this naive little boy, that he does a very mature act in saving his father from the drink during that night and thus from then on.