A Family of Drunkards

One of the themes in Frank O’Connor’s “The Drunkard” is the effects of the father’s alcoholism on his family.  Mick is not a habitual drunk; rather he alternates between periods of sobriety and alcoholism.  When sober, he looks down upon those who drink and places himself on moral high ground, but always ends up falling off the wagon.  The rest of the Delaney family know the warning signs that lead to Mick’s relapses and “The Drunkard” tells of a day where all these signs are present. 

On this day, O’Connor uses situational irony to highlight the effects of Mick’s drinking on his son, Larry.  Larry notices many of his fathers’ warning signs are there.  It’s a nice day, Peter Crowley is there, distinguished people are present, and they’re at a funeral.   Because of this, it is expected that Mick will get drunk at the pub and his son will have to walk him home “blind drunk”.  However, Larry ends up being the one to get drunk because he sneakily drinks Mick’s pint whilst he is busy talking to Crowley.  Mick is extremely embarrassed by Larry’s drunkenness as Larry is getting sick, unable to walk straight, picking fights with ladies, and embarrassing Mick in front of the neighborhood.  Ironically, this is how Larry usually feels when he has to take his father home.  Presumably, Mrs. Delaney is also embarrassed by her husband’s drinking binges and, in addition, deals with financial worries because he misses work during these times too.

Mick’s drinking periods usually begin when his “spiritual pride grew till it called for some sort of celebration.”  This happened regularly, and could be triggered by many other circumstances.  Mr. Dooley’s death affected Mick strongly as he was both close to the man personally and in age.  Funerals are also a trigger for Mick’s drinking, so his family was worried he would slip.  When Mick drinks, he drinks to the point where Mrs. Delaney “would be half crazy with anxiety,” and “running down to the pawn with the clock under her shawl,” and poor Larry “could never get over the lonesomeness of the kitchen without a clock.” 

The Delaney family is negatively affected by Mick’s alcoholism, but in “The Drunkard” Mick sees his drunkenness through his family’s eyes by being forced to take care of his drunken son, Larry, instead of the other way around.  Mrs. Delaney hopes this new insight will put an end to Mick’s alcoholic binges, as can be seen when she talked to Larry the next morning, praising her son for successfully acting as his father’s brake for the first time.  She calls Larry his father’s “guardian angel,” another piece of irony in “The Drunkard” as most young children are not called angels for succumbing to a vice or getting drunk.  However, it is unclear whether this episode will keep Mick Delaney sober or not.