The Drunkard

"My brave little man! she said with her eyes shining. "It was God did it you were there. You were his guardian angel." pg 351
The Drunkard
Frank O'Connor


Larry would like to act as a "brake" for his father's drinking problem, but he never really can bring himself to do so. When Larry's father was left in charge of watching over Larry, Larry got bored and tried a drink of his father's drink while he was not paying attention. He began to keep drinking the drink although "it was a terrible disappointment." Larry then began to publicly embarrass his own father by being dragged home drunk at such a young age. Though Larry's father was a drinker before this instance, Larry unknowingly saved his father by embarrassing him and basically giving him a taste of his own medicine. This story was ironic because of the different reactions that the mother has: On one hand she is extremely angry towards her husband for allowing their son to get drunk; on the other hand, she believes that Larry purposely got drunk to save his own father from his drinking problem. Though Larry did not actually intend to teach his father a lesson, his curiosity and boredom led him to drink his father's drink which then led his mother to believe that Larry truly was his guardian angel, looking out for the good of their family. It is funny and ironic that the mother believed Larry fully meant to get drunk to convince his father that drinking was a bad habit when Larry did not actually do it with that intention.