The Drunkard
By: Frank O'Connor

I found this short story to be very unique.  I have never even heard of a story about a young child being drunk.  In the story, Larry, the young boy, goes to the pub with his father.  His father is an alcoholic and can never stop drinking once he starts.  Larry gets very thirsty and drinks his father's beer while he is not paying attention.  His father has no idea how to regain control of the situation, and he definitely has no clue how to help his child sober up.  I think that a theme of this short story is that children are products of their environment.  They see and learn things from their parents, and they often imitate these things.  Larry's father was an alcoholic.  His son didn't really comprehend his father's issue, but he seemed to be aware that something was wrong with his dad's behavior.  The father is careless and should not have even brought his son into the bar.  Furthermore, he should have at least watched his child while there.  Larry saw his dad enjoy beer, and he was curious to see what it tasted like.  "...and the idea occurred to me that it would be interesting to know what the contents were like" (347).  His father basically allowed the situation to happen by taking him into a bar in the first place.