The Intoxicated - Ridiculously Detailed Analysis

Let's follow Thomas Foster's guidelines and look at Shirley Jackson's "The Intoxicated" like an amateur professor:

Quests

First, is this story a quest? Sort of. The man is going to the kitchen to sober up. The man is on the quest, not the girl, because the story is about him going to the kitchen. The girl is already there. By the way, the man is nameless, but the girl is Eileen.

The girl is the closest thing the man encounters as a challenge or a trial. His real reason to go there [this is easy] is to learn something about himself, because self knowledge is always the real reason. But what does he learn? That's the hard part. Most reviewers would say the man learned from the girl that he and his generation are irresponsible and bringing the world to the brink of destruction. I, on the other hand, think the man might have learned that he and his generation used to think like Eileen and her generation and took things too seriously and overreacted to events and trends, but eventually matured and learned to accept the world as it is, that life goes on, so make the best of it while you can.

Communion

Eileen gives him coffee, which makes him feel better, and they have an interesting conversation. This is where they exchange ideas and where the man learns about himself (whether you believe his point of view or Eileen's on the future of the world)

Vampirism

We have an older man who could represent outworn values, and a young, virginal woman, but there's no stripping away of energy or life force. So there's no vampirism in "The Intoxicated".

Intertextuality (Prior text)

I am reminded of Aesop's "Ants and the Grasshopper" and the Biblical flood. The girl thinks more people should be preparing, like responsible ants, either to prevent the world's destruction or for life afterward, rather than party on like irresponsible grasshoppers. In the Bible, the flood erased all that was bad in the world and gave it a fresh new start for Noah. Total destruction, as the girl describes, would have the same effect and give the survivors a chance to live in the utopia she envisions.

Both cases of prior text tend to support Eileen's point of view, that the man's generation is wrong and things will be corrected by Eileen's generation after the current ways are destroyed, but didn't God tell Noah he wasn't going to destroy the world again?

Weather and Seasons

Regarding atmospherics: it's hot. That's about it. No rain or fog. Nothing murky. It's probably summer.

Does summer mean anything? Maybe. If spring is the season of youth, then that would be Eileen's season. Summer would be the season of adulthood, so that would be the man's season. Eileen came downstairs because it was hot and when she did, she came into the adult world--and didn't like what she saw.

Other Symbols and Metaphors

There is no flight, geography, or obvious Christ figure.

Regarding politics, there's an obvious generation gap. Eileen feels the younger generation is more responsible than the older generation and blames the older generation's irresponsibility for the world's imminent destruction.

Regarding sex: There's nothing overt. The guy mentions teen girls should be thinking about "necking" rather than the end of the world. Foster explains sex is often hidden under symbols or metaphors because of cultural taboos. I still can't find anything that might indicate sex.

Violence? Eileen's predicts the end of the world will be very violent.

Symbols? Eileen represents her generation and the man represents his generation. In Eileen's eyes, her generation is serious and studious and the man's generation is intoxicated and irresponsible.

Illness

Markings, blindness, or illness? The man is intoxicated. Foster says illness is never just an illness, so neither would be intoxication. The man's intoxication would mean he and his generation are impaired, which again tends to support Eileen's point of view.

Irony

Many Jackson short stories end with a kind of morbid irony. This one isn't as poignant as usual. The man talks to Eileen's father on the way out. They agree she is an extraordinary girl and appear to tacitly accept that she's overreacting to life and current events. Her father even looks around quickly as if he's afraid she's going to spread more gloom among the party goers.

If you're not sure how to read literature like a professor, I highly recommend Foster's book. It makes reading a lot more fun--no matter what you figure out, right or wrong!

References:
Shirley Jackson. The Lottery and Other Stories. 1948, 2005. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
Thomas C. Foster. How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Harper. 2003.