The Drunkard

     I found "The Drunkard" written by Frank O'Connor to be very humorous. Worrying it was not supposed to be funny, I read the questions at the end of the story to see what direction they were going with the story. The first question, reading "what are the sources of humor in this story" assured me that the story was simply written for comedic value.
    Answering that first question, I found many parts of the story funny. Mainly, I thought the boys thoughts while he was both sober and drunk were hilarious. After his first sip of the liquor, he says "It was a terrible disappointment. I was astonished that he could even drink such stuff. It looked as if he had never tried lemonade" (347). This sounds like such a little-boy thing to say. It must be like coffee, an acquired taste. The boy also says "I was not grand! Grand was the last thing I was" (348) in response to a man telling him he'll be "grand" soon. He then proceeds to say "I never met two men who knew less about the effects of drink" (349). I found these comments to be so funny because the boy, clearly having far less experience being intoxicated than the adults, thinks they have no idea what they are talking about since he clearly does not see himself feeling better in the near future. I love how the boy personifies innocence and naivete.
     Because of the comedic story line, I enjoyed this story. However I would hope this never happens to my children!