Funerals and Drunk Children; What More Could You Want?

Frank O'Connor's "The Drunkard" is aptly named, yet not in the way that the reader initially expects. In the beginning of the story, it seems obvious that the title refers to the speaker's father. As soon as the speaker mentions that "drink...was [his] Father's greatest weakness," (p 344), the audience assumes that the title refers to this weakness. Yet as the plot thickens, the audience is suddenly treated to a surprising reversal of meaning when the speaker himself becomes drunk from one glass of porter. This unexpected action causes the majority of the humor within the story to transpire, as the speaker suddenly begins to curse like a sailor and shouting at his father and a few older women. Yet perhaps the detail that causes the greatest feeling of irony and humor in this situation is that it is the father who, being sober, must escort his drunken son home. Just as his son often dealt with his drunken outbursts and tirades, so, too, must the father now handle his drunken son's antics.

In a way, O'Connor's title of "The Drunkard" refers to both father and son. Superficially, the title refers to the speaker, the actual drunkard in the story; yet the title still applies to the speaker's father, the customary drunkard and the man who, by brining his son into a bar and not paying attention to him, caused his son to become a drunkard as well.

Getting By

“ ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘Those dumb jokes—I didn’t mean anything.’
“ ‘We all say things.’
“ ‘Yeah, but when I saw the guy, it made me feel—I don’t know—like he was listening.’
“ ‘He wasn’t.’
“ ‘I guess not. But I felt sort of guilty almost, like if I’d kept my mouth shut none of it would’ve ever happened. Like it was my fault.’
“Norman Bowker looked out across the wet field. ‘Nobody’s fault,’ he said. ‘Everybody’s.’ ”

-The Things They Carried, p 168

It is interesting to observe the different coping mechanisms that each member of Alpha Company utilizes when faced with harsh realities of war. Some, such as Lt. Cross, feel immense guilt and resolve to become tougher to the cruelties of battle. Some, such as Rat Kiley, release their emotions violently and cathartically. Some, such as Henry Dobbins and Norman Bowker, keep their emotions within—in the case of Bowker, too much within.

Still others, such as Azar, employ perhaps the strangest coping mechanism: they turn traumatic experiences into humor. Instead of displaying grief and bitterness, Azar simply laughs and jokes death off. While most of the company view Azar as cold and unemotional because of this, in truth Azar could be viewed as the most affected by these events. He is so affected that is unable to bear it and is driven to create distractions through humor. Yet even Azar reaches a point where his humor is unable to distract him from the terror of war. In the end, few can escape the trauma of war.