The Drunkard - Irony

"My brave little man!" she said with her eyes shining. "It was God did it you were there. You were his guardian angel." - Frank O'Connor

The ironic situations that happen in this story all surround the strange incident of a 12 year old boy being drunk. First, there's a total role reversal. The father is embarrassed for having to drag his drunk, 12 year old son home from the bar. People would not think it extremely abnormal if it were the other way around. Then, his mother praises him. She calls him a guardian angel?! That's not normal! She does so because she thinks her son drank in order to stop his father from drinking. His father, the real drunkard, was forced to stay sober and watch over his son at the bar that night. Although that was not the son's intention at all, his mother viewed it that way and praised him for it. The title itself is the final irony. Calling a curious boy who drank his dad's alcohol one time a drunkard is a bit drastic. His father on the other hand, is a drunkard. This 12 year old boy has been a little victimized by the title of the story. Granted, it's Ireland so pretty much anything goes.