The Drunkard- Irony

In the short story The Drunkard by Frank O'Conner, there is a great deal of irony. The irony occurs concerning the son's drinking. The mother thinks that the son is a guardian angel for drinking the alcohol.  The mother states, "My brave little man... You were his guardian angel" (O'Conner, 351). She thinks that the son drank the alcohol in order to keep it away from his alcoholic father. But as a reader, we know that the son only drank the alcohol because of his curiosity. He was not even considering saving his father from he alcohol. All that he cared about was himself. Another use of irony is used when the Mom applauds her child for underage drinking. One would think that a mother would be upset at her kid for underage drinking, but instead, she approved of it. She even goes on to talk about how he is angelic like for breaking the law and underage drinking.