Pretty Much Pathos

In The Drunkard by Frank O'Connor, the story is not purely humorous. While this aspect is the main focus, there are certainly aspects of pathos intertwined. The pathos can be seen when the narrator tells of why the boy's mother did not want the father drinking. A family going through financial problems and cannot afford to have the working parent miss one day of work pulls at the heartstrings. Then, if one considers that the father misses work on a rare occassion because he has a drinking problem in which he can't stop drinking until he is completely drunk, one can see the pathos clearly here. While the humor of th story is in the forefront, it is not the only important aspect of the story.