Father to Son

I. Read the extract and answer the following questions.

“Father and son, we both must live
on the same globe and the same land,
he speaks: I cannot understand
myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive.”
a. What must the two persons in the text do?
The father and the son must live together in the same house because they are a
family.
b. Identify the poetic device in the fourth line.
Personification: “anger grows from grief”.
Description: The father intends to say that differences of opinion with the son
lead him into sadness. Further, this sadness becomes the cause of his anger which
leads to spat between them.
c. Why does the speaker say “I cannot understand why...”?
The speaker is in a state of doubt. He is unable to understand and resolve the
cause of strangeness between him and the son.
d. What, according to you, should the father and son do in order to resolve the
crisis in their relationship?
The father and son should try to assess the cause of their differences. They
should forgive each other and try to move on.
e. What does the father seem to long for in the last line?
The father longs that both of them should forgive each other’s mistakes.
f. Explain “we each put out an empty hand”.
The poet intends to say that both the father and son half-heartedly attempt to
resolve their differences.

II. Answer the following in 40-50 words.

1) How is the father’s helplessness brought out in the poem?
The father’s helplessness is clearly brought about by the difference of opinion
and perception of the father and the son. Usually, a father is the best friend and
advisor of his son. However, there is no bond or relationship between the two. It
seems that the two are not on speaking terms even while living under the same roof.
The father feels helpless that he can’t share what his son loves.
2) What do you think is responsible for the distance between father and son?
Answer: The lack of understanding on the part of the older generation (here, father) is
the root of the problem. The father wants the young man to stick to home turf. The
son, now a young man, seeks fresh avenues and lives in a world of his own. The
father finds it hard to adjust to the growing changes.
3) The father is ready to have his prodigal son return. What inference can you
draw from this?
Answer: Prodigal means wastefully extravagant. Here the reference is to the story in
the Bible in which a father gives his inheritance to his sons. The younger brother
leaves, wastes his fortune and returns to his father’s home. Still the father is ready to
take him back and forgive him. In the poem, the father also wants to forgive him so
that they live peacefully together again.
4) The root cause of the generation gap presented in the poem lies in the fact that
it is only the father talking to his son rather than hearing or understanding him.
Explain.
Answer: One of the reasons of the generation gap is absence of understanding and
communication. Here in this poem, we hear only the father’s point of view. We do not
hear anything from the son’s side. The root cause of the generation gap has been
lacking of sharing of interests or not paying attention to the child’s, emotional needs,
when he is growing up. The child should be allowed to express his opinions freely
and adults should not behave like dictators.

III. Answer the following in 150-200 words.

Discuss how a Father’s Helplessness is brought forward in the Poem. [OR]
Elizabeth Jennings' poem poignantly portrays a father grappling with a sense of
helplessness in his relationship with his son. How does the poem convey this
paternal struggle? Analyse the specific poetic devices and expressions employed
to illustrate the father's emotional state.
In Elizabeth Jennings' poem "Father to Son," the father's helplessness is a
central theme, conveyed through several poignant expressions. He recognizes the
growing distance between himself and his son, symbolized by the "silence" that fills
the space between them. Despite his desire for connection, he feels powerless to
bridge the gap, lamenting his failed attempts to understand his son's world.
The father acknowledges his own role in this estrangement, admitting to past
mistakes that may have contributed to their current predicament. He yearns for a
renewed relationship, expressing a desire to "start again," but feels frustrated by his
inability to do so. He is left with a sense of loss and longing, watching his son
become a stranger to him within their own home.
The poem's use of metaphors, like the "lost" map and the "foreign land,"
emphasizes the father's feeling of being adrift in his son's life. He is unable to
navigate this new territory, leading to a sense of helplessness and isolation.
Despite his deep love for his son, he cannot find a way to express it or to rekindle the
bond they once shared.