The Drunkard - antihero

Oh how I am excited about O'Connor's The Drunkard.  I feel almost as if I have a twisted sense of humor for thinking a drunk nine year-old boy is funny. I am sure that the whole opening of Mr. Dooley is significant, but the only significance I can think of is that Mr. Dooley made an impression on Larry, just as Dooley's funeral made an impression on Larry. The quite sneaky Larry steals a drink of beer from Mick creating a ruckus in the bar and inebriating Larry. Although not so significant to the story, my favorite line was: "The intention was good but the performance was exaggerated, because I lurched right into the wall, hurting it badly, as it seemed to me. Being always very polite, I said 'Pardon' before the second bout came on me (348)." It was rather difficult to contain my laughter in the quiet classroom when I read this with my favorite part being how he apologizes to the wall. More importantly, this leads to Mick taking Larry home which prevents Mick from becoming inebriated. I also enjoyed Larry's cursing the women on the street. I believe Larry is in fact an antihero. Larry's mother practically thanks Larry for stealing his father's drink because it prevented him from getting drunk. This shows that the nine year-old boy, who should have just been a bystander to his father's drunkenness, accidentally becomes a hero to his mother for helping out his father. I enjoyed this story because it was humorous all the while it had an interesting ending.