Beta M: Anarchopedia:Wikipedia datadump (original research)

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The '''town drunk''' is a [[stock character]], almost always [[male]], who is [[drunk]] more often than [[sobriety|sober]].

The town drunk typically dwells in small enough town that he is the only conspicuous [[alcoholism|alcoholic]]. Larger cities may have more than one, but this term appears to come from around the [[17th century]]; in the [[stereotype]], when a city grows large enough to house a sufficient mass of town drunks, the area where they congregate becomes known as ''[[Skid Row]]''.

== Uses in fiction ==

In fiction, the town drunk character serves a number of functions.

* The town drunk may serve merely as a [[moral]] example on the evils of [[drunkenness]]. This approach to the character is associated with the "[[prohibition|temperance]]" movement, and peaked at the start of the [[twentieth century]]. The notorious Prohibition play ''[[Ten Nights in a Barroom]]'' portrays the inevitable fall into destitute drunkenness of a person who dared to take that "''[[Fatal Glass of Beer]]''", the title of another period [[drama]] working this vein. A town drunk who appears in ''[[Our Town]]'' by [[Thornton Wilder]] is perhaps the most often seen example of this version of the character.
* In modern fiction, which tends to reflect the contemporary influences of the sobriety movement, the town drunk may get sober and set about revitalizing his life.
* The town drunk may play the role of the [[fool]], and his antics serve as the engine for [[comedy]]. "Otis" from ''[[The Andy Griffith Show]]'' is this type of town drunk, as are many of the denizens of [[Moe's Tavern]] such as [[Barney Gumble]] from ''[[The Simpsons]]''.
* In a similar vein, the town drunk may serve as a semi-comic proxy for the [[Wise Old Man]]. He may disrupt public meetings, either for comic effect, or by dispensing what proves to be wisdom in a garbled and comic form. Or, in this incarnation, the character may introduce the [[hero]] to some of the worldlier sorts of wisdom, as well as forming a contrast to his truly heroic character. One prototype for this version of the town drunk is supplied by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] [[Falstaff]], who appears in both parts of ''[[Henry IV, part 1|Henry IV]]'' and in ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]''. When "Prince Hal" matures into a truly heroic figure, the death of Falstaff is reported in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''.

== Antecedents ==
Because the town drunk is famous only for drinking heavily, there are relatively few historical figures who inform the stereotype of the town drunk. However, [[John Mytton|Mad Jack Mytton]] and his antics would appear to be a historical example. Mytton is an example of one variation on the character, the drunken [[aristocrat]]; another example, more frequently found in [[United Kingdom|British]] [[humour]] than [[United States|American]], is the drunken [[clergy]]man. American humor, by contrast, is likely to produce a drunken [[politician]], from a local [[mayor]] to a [[United States Senate|Senator]] --- as in, for example, the ending of ''[[National Lampoon's Animal House]]'', revealing the future "Senator and Mrs. [[John Belushi|Blutarksi]]". A number of writers and artists have gained some notoriety from eccentric public performances while intoxicated; [[Brendan Behan]] and [[Dylan Thomas]] are particularly notorious in this respect. The comedian [[W. C. Fields]] and his [[motion picture|movie]] performances are often classic examples of the character.

The ''[[Rake (character)|rake]]'' is another stock character associated with heavy drinking. However, the rake is invariably much younger than the town drunk, and the designation casts attention on sexual excess and spending money more than on strong drink.

== References ==
<references />

{{wikipedia|Town drunk}}

[[Category:Stock characters]]
[[Category:Drinking culture]]

town drunk - Revision history

Beta M: Anarchopedia:Wikipedia datadump (original research)