A Twist of Drunken Irony!

In Frank O'Connor's The Drunkard, there is a bout of irony within the unfolding events of the plot. The father, having abstained from alcohol for a couple of months, has an itching desire to drink after the funeral of his friend. Throughout the story, the narrator hints that his father has a history of excessive drinking, though the father was reluctant to face such facts: "By the time he had taken the first he already realized that he had made a fool of himself, took a second to forget it and a third to forget that he couldn't forget, and at last came home reeling drunk" (344). Simultaenous with his desire to drink is his desire to escape reality for just a little while; while drunk, he did not have to face his problems. However, when his son drinks his alcohol, he is ironically forced to face his problems; his son's behavior opens his eyes to his own problem. The father is able to see how embarassing it is to be drunk in public. Thus, after dealing with his drunken son throwing up, inability to walk, and shouting of obscenities to the neighbors, the father exclaims, "Never again, never again, not if I live to be a thousand!" The father is swearing that he will never drink again for the rest of his life. His eyes are opened to the inconvenience and problems facilitated by alcohol. Thus, instead of escaping his problems, he is forced to face them, ultimately doing him more good than his own consumption of the alochol could have done.