Test: Father to Son- 2 - Class 11 MCQ

The poem 'Father to Son' is written by Elizabeth Jennings. The poem is about the anguish of a father who doesn't have a good relationship with his son. His son is now grown up and is busy in his life. The father is bitter about the generation gap between them and the feeling of separation.

The father finds the son’s interests quite different. He is home bound, whereas the son is on the look out for fresh avenues. He aspires for a world of his own. The father wants him to return home even if he undergoes losses by his extravagant ventures. He is willing to make up with him if he agrees to live with him.

The father is unhappy with his son as there is no interaction between the two. They don't understand each other and are like strangers. Though they live under the same roof, yet they have nothing common between them.

The son resembles his father physically, yet he had his own vision, dreams and aspiration. He is not home bound and is not afraid to venture forth. The protective father is willing to forgive him for incurring loss of material wealth provided he returns home. The painful experience of lack of communication fills the father with utter helplessness, anger and grief. His efforts to restore the relationship fail as there is no response from the other side.

Father loves his son a lot and is ready to forgive him. He wants him to return back as a prodigal son in the bible who went away from the home, spent all his money and realized his mistake and asked his father for forgiveness and in return father also forgiven him.

The father finds the son’s interests quite different. He is home bound, whereas the son is on the look out for fresh avenues. He aspires for a world of his own. The father wants him to return home even if he undergoes losses by his extravagant ventures. He is willing to make up with him if he agrees to live with him.

The poem depicts a father-son relationship which exists in name only. The two have been living together in the same house for years. Even then the father does not understand his son. He confesses that he knows nothing of his son. The bond of affection between them lie broken. They have become formal just like strangers. Although the son resembles his father physically, yet he had his own vision, dreams and aspiration. He is not home bound and is not afraid to venture forth. The protective father is willing to forgive him for incurring loss of material wealth provided he returns home. The painful experience of lack of communication fills the father with utter helplessness, anger and grief. His efforts to restore the relationship fail as there is no response from the other side.

It seems that the knowledge of great distance between the father and the son, and the differences between them create such a sad and troubled situation that it gives way to anger. Thus, anger can be seen as sprouting from the frustration regarding the troubled relationship.

Father and son both put out an empty hand because they seek to reach out to each other devoid of previous baggage. They come to each other without their own preconceived notions or conditions, they have chosen to forgive and forget. They have nothing common between each other anymore, nothing that can be shared.

The speaker i.e., the father recounts his own experience. He talks about the non-functional father-son relationship. He neither understands his son nor knows anything about him. In spite of living in the same house, the distance between father and son has increased. There is a lack of communication between them. They either talk like strangers or silence surrounds them. The father is unable to share what the son prefers to do. The distance has reached a sorrowful limit. Even then the father is willing to shape a new love and build up a fresh relationship. His grief takes the form of anger and they fail to reach any compromise. This maladjustment or growing break-up of relationships is typical of the modern materialistic age.