GSEB Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 5 Father to Son Solutions

Think It Out

Question 1. Does the poem talk of an exclusively personal experience or is it fairly universal?
Answer: The poem does discuss a deeply personal experience. However, we can also consider it quite universal because this type of conflict is very common in many homes. It is often recognized as a generation gap.
In simple words: The poem shows one family's problem. But many families face similar problems, which is called a generation gap.

Exam Tip: When analyzing poems, consider both the specific details and the broader themes that resonate with common human experiences.

Question 2. How is the father's helplessness brought out in the poem?
Answer: The father's feeling of helplessness is shown through the portrayal of the emotional struggle he goes through. He understands the issue and wishes to fix it, but he is unable to do so. He regrets the absence of a strong emotional connection and good communication with his son, who is also physically separate from him.
In simple words: The poem shows the father feels helpless because he knows there's a problem but can't fix it. He wants a closer bond with his son but can't achieve it.

Exam Tip: Look for descriptive words and actions in the poem that reveal the characters' emotions and inner conflicts.

Question 3. Identify the phrases and lines that indicate distance between father and son.
Answer: Phrases or lines that show distance between the father and the son include:

• I do not understand this child.
• I know / Nothing of him.
• We speak like strangers.
• There's no sign / Of understanding in the air.
• Silence surrounds us.

Exam Tip: When asked to identify specific phrases, quote them accurately from the text. This demonstrates close reading skills.

Question 4. Does the poem have a consistent rhyme scheme?
Answer: No, the poem does not follow a consistent rhyme pattern.
In simple words: The poem does not use a regular rhyming pattern.

Exam Tip: Be able to identify common poetic devices like rhyme scheme, alliteration, and metaphor. Note when they are absent or irregular.

Gseb Class 11 English Father To Son Additional Important Questions And Answers

Answer In Three To Four Sentences Each:

Question 1. Why is the father unhappy with his son?
Answer: The father feels sad with his son because there is no real talk between them. They do not get each other and act like strangers. Even though they live in the same house, they just have nothing in common. Their ways of thinking and general outlook are completely different. So they stay apart from each other, which makes the father so deeply troubled.
In simple words: The father is sad because he and his son don't talk much or understand each other. They live together but feel like strangers, with very different thoughts and views.

Exam Tip: Focus on the reasons for the father's unhappiness, linking them to themes of communication and generational differences.

Question 2. What does the father long for?
Answer: The father is much more stressed and sad. He cannot see where he made an error. He wishes to make peace with his son and keep him in the same house. He is willing to forget and forgive the boy. He is simply waiting for an excuse.
In simple words: The father wants to solve the problem and have a good relationship with his son. He is ready to forgive his son and wants him to stay at home, just waiting for a reason to mend things.

Exam Tip: Identify the father's emotional state and his ultimate desires or hopes for his relationship with his son.

Question 3. Can you suggest a solution to the widening gap between father and son?
Answer: The conflict between older people and younger people is very old and happens everywhere. Elders often view young ones as their belongings and try to force their decisions on them. As a result, the son rebels. The father must try to understand and respect what the son wants. Not strictness, but the language of love can close the gap and stop the disagreement.
In simple words: To fix the gap, fathers should understand and respect their sons' wishes, not just demand things. Love, not strictness, can help them connect and avoid fights.

Exam Tip: When asked for a solution, provide practical and empathetic advice based on the themes presented in the poem.

Question 4. Who do you sympathize with the father or the son?
Answer: As a young person, I often disagree with the controlling attitude of older people. They have pride issues. They demand complete obedience from young ones. I understand that the connection between a father and son is strong but also sensitive. I would gently advise adults to be a bit more flexible and open in their views. By being willing to compromise, both will achieve a positive outcome.
In simple words: I feel for the son because older people often try to control youngsters. I think parents should be more flexible and open-minded. If both compromise, they can both win.

Exam Tip: Express your sympathy clearly, justifying your choice with reasons derived from the poem's portrayal of the characters' perspectives.

Question 5. How is the father's helplessness brought out in the poem?
Answer: The father is not just sad but also angry. However, he feels completely helpless. He is ready to make up with the son, forgive him, and bring him back home no matter the cost. He wonders why they have now become strangers. He is willing to ignore his son's wasteful ways. He is extending his empty hand to find a reason to welcome the boy back into his old home. But the son appears stubborn. The ego issue continues.
In simple words: The father feels helpless, both sad and angry. He wants to fix things, forgive his son, and bring him home, even ignoring his bad habits. He reaches out, but his son seems unwilling, showing an ongoing problem with pride.

Exam Tip: Identify the specific emotions and actions of the father that reveal his feeling of powerlessness despite his strong desire to reconcile.

Question 6. Why is the father unable to understand his son in 'Father to Son'?
Answer: The father cannot understand his son because of the generation gap. This is a psychological and emotional divide between parents or older individuals and the younger ones. This difference creates misunderstandings and a lack of connection between parents and children. Success in relationships often depends on how well parents can overcome this generation gap or accept differences with their children.
In simple words: The father struggles to understand his son due to a generation gap, which is a common emotional difference between old and young people. This causes them to misunderstand each other and feel less connected.

Exam Tip: Define the "generation gap" in your answer and explain how it leads to a lack of understanding and connection between the father and son.

Question 7. 'I would have him prodigal'. What does the father mean by this?
Answer: Prodigal means carelessly wasteful. In the Bible, there is a story where a father gives his property to his sons. The younger son wastes a lot but later returns to his father's house. His father forgives him and welcomes him back home. Here in the poem, the father is ready to accept his extravagant son, and he might start living with him under the same roof.
In simple words: The father wants his son back, even if he has been wasteful and reckless. He wishes for his son to return home and live with him again, just like in the biblical story of the prodigal son.

Exam Tip: When a specific term like 'prodigal' is mentioned, explain its meaning and its relevance to the context of the poem, including any allusions.

Question 8. What does the poet mean by 'silence surrounds us'?
Answer: The father feels troubled because there is no conversation between them. Even though they have been living under the same roof for many years, they do not understand each other and exist like strangers. Their viewpoints and dispositions are different. They have a communication barrier along with a generation gap. So, both feel unhappy and want to get closer, but they cannot achieve it.
In simple words: "Silence surrounds us" means the father and son don't talk, even living together. They feel like strangers due to different views and a communication gap, making them both sad and unable to connect.

Exam Tip: Explain how silence symbolizes the lack of communication, understanding, and emotional connection between the father and son in the poem.

Question 9. Explain the message of the poem 'Father to Son'.
Answer: The poem offers a message that children turn to friends for help when parents neglect them. This leads to a huge emptiness. By the time parents realize this, a void has already formed. Parents need to understand children's views with love and understanding, without being too critical. The bond of understanding must be constantly nurtured.
In simple words: The poem teaches that if parents ignore their children, they will seek support elsewhere, creating a huge gap. Parents should understand their children with love to maintain a strong bond.

Exam Tip: When asked for the message, summarize the core lesson or theme the poem conveys about relationships and communication.

Figures Of Speech

Select The Correct Figures Of Speech From The Options Given Below:

Question 1. 'I do not understand this child'
(a) Alliteration
(b) Antithesis
(c) Litotes
(d) Repetition
Answer: (c) Litotes
In simple words: Litotes uses a negative to express an affirmative, like saying "not understand" instead of "misunderstand."

Exam Tip: Litotes often involves understatement, expressing an affirmative idea by denying its opposite, to emphasize a point.

Question 2. 'Nothing of him, so try to build'
(a) Personification
(b) Litotes
(c) Oxymoron
(d) Alliteration
Answer: (b) Litotes
In simple words: This phrase uses an understatement ("nothing of him") to emphasize a complete lack of knowledge, which is an example of litotes.

Exam Tip: Recognize litotes when a negative expression is used to imply a strong positive, or in this case, a strong negative lack of something.

Question 3. 'The seed I spent or sown it where'
(a) Metaphor
(b) Alliteration
(c) Synecdoche
(d) Both 'A' and 'B'
Answer: (d) Both 'A' and 'B'
In simple words: "Seed" is a metaphor for the father's efforts and hopes, and the repeating "s" sound in "spent or sown" is alliteration.

Exam Tip: Look for multiple figures of speech in a single line. Metaphor involves comparison, and alliteration involves repeated initial consonant sounds.

Question 4. 'The land is his and none of mine?
(a) Metaphor
(b) Litotes
(c) Interrogation
(d) All of these three
Answer: (d) All of these three
In simple words: "Land" is a metaphor for life/possessions, "none of mine" is litotes, and it's a question, so it's also interrogation.

Exam Tip: A rhetorical question that implies a statement is an interrogation. Metaphor and litotes can also be present within such a question.

Question 5. 'This child is built to my design Yet what he loves I cannot share'.
(a) Metaphor
(b) Litotes
(c) Interrogation
(d) Both 'A' and 'B'
Answer: (d) Both 'A' and 'B'
In simple words: "Built to my design" is a metaphor for the father's influence and hopes, while "cannot share" is an understatement (litotes) for a deep disconnection.

Exam Tip: Metaphor creates an implicit comparison, and litotes uses a negative expression to affirm something, often for emphasis or irony.

Question 6. 'Silence surrounds us.
(a) Repetition
(b) Metaphor
(c) Alliteration
(d) Antithesis
Answer: (c) Alliteration
In simple words: The repeating "s" sound at the start of "silence surrounds us" makes it an example of alliteration.

Exam Tip: Alliteration is easily identified by the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely connected words.

Question 7. 'His world. I would forgive him too'
(a) Metaphor
(b) Alliteration
(c) Synecdoche
(d) Metonymy
Answer: (a) Metaphor
In simple words: "His world" is a metaphor representing his life, choices, and independent existence.

Exam Tip: A metaphor directly compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as," giving deeper meaning to one of them.

Question 8. 'On the same globe and the same land'
(a) Tautology
(b) Exclamation
(c) Alliteration
(d) Antithesis
Answer: (a) Tautology
In simple words: This phrase repeats the same idea ("globe" and "land") using different words, which is tautology.

Exam Tip: Tautology is the use of different words to express the same idea, often for emphasis, though sometimes seen as redundant.

Reading Comprehension (Textual)

Read The Following Verses (Stanzas) And Answer The Questions Given Below Them :

Question 1. I do not understand this child Though we have lived together now In the same house for years. I know Nothing of him, so try to build up a relationship from how He was when small.
(i) Who have lived in the same house? How long?
(ii) Why does the father say that he knows nothing of him?
Answer:
(i) The father and the son have resided in the same home for many years.
(ii) They exist like strangers in their house. Complete quietness surrounds them even when they are present together. That is why the father states he knows nothing about his son.
In simple words: (i) The father and son have lived together for many years. (ii) They feel like strangers and there's no communication, so the father feels he doesn't know his son.

Exam Tip: When answering comprehension questions based on a passage, ensure your answers directly address the question using information from the given text.

Question 2. Yet have I killed The seed I spent or sown it where The land is his and none of mine? We speak like strangers, there's no sign Of understanding in the air.
(i) What does the word 'seed' signify?
(ii) What 'land' does the speaker speak of?
Answer:
(i) The word 'seed' here refers to all the effort the father made to raise the child.
(ii) The child's mind is the land into which the father had tried to plant the seeds of his thoughts.
In simple words: (i) 'Seed' means all the hard work the father put into raising his child. (ii) The 'land' is the child's mind, where the father tried to share his ideas.

Exam Tip: Interpret metaphorical language by connecting it to the literal context and overall themes of the poem.

Question 3. This child is built to my design Yet what he loves I cannot share Silence surrounds us.
(i) What kind of child had he desired to design?
(ii) Why does the speaker say 'this child' not 'my child?
Answer:
(i) He had wished to create a child who shared his preferences and dislikes.
(ii) Because the child has nothing similar with him.
In simple words: (i) He wanted a child who liked the same things he did. (ii) He calls him 'this child' because they have nothing in common.

Exam Tip: Pay attention to subtle word choices, like "this child" instead of "my child," as they often reveal deeper meanings or emotional distance.

Question 4. I would have him prodigal, returning to His father's house, the home he knew, Rather than see him make and move His world, I would forgive him too, Shaping from sorrow a new love.
(i) What is the father prepared to accept?
(ii) What does the father not want his son to do?
Answer:
(i) The father is prepared to accept his son with all his wasteful extravagance.
(ii) The father does not want his son to establish a new life of his own and enter it.
In simple words: (i) The father is ready to accept his son even with his reckless spending. (ii) He doesn't want his son to go out and create a completely new life for himself.

Exam Tip: Distinguish between what the father is willing to tolerate (prodigality) and what he fundamentally does not desire (his son's complete independence).

Question 5. 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,
(i) How does the poet feel when his relationship with his son comes under strain?
(ii) What could be the cause for their distancing from each other?
Answer:
(i) The poet is eager to preserve the family connection with his son. He wants the son to come back to his old home.
(ii) The reason for the increasing distance between the father and his son is a lack of understanding. Both need each other, yet they pull apart due to an ego problem.
In simple words: (i) The poet deeply wishes to save his family bond and wants his son to return home. (ii) They are growing apart because they don't understand each other and struggle with pride.

Exam Tip: Analyze the contrast between the desire for connection ("empty hand") and the forces driving them apart (lack of understanding, ego).

Father To Son Summary In English

Father To Son Introduction:

Elizabeth Joan Jennings (July 18, 1926 - October 26, 2001) was an English poet. Her works deal with very personal topics in a direct, traditional, and objective manner, and her poetry often shows her strong Roman Catholicism and her affection for Italy.

Her first small book of poems, ‘Poems', came out in 1953, followed by ‘A Way of Looking' in 1955, which won her the Somerset Maugham Award. Some of her other works include: 'Song for a Birth or a Death' (1961), 'Recoveries' (1964), and 'The Mind Has Mountains.'

Father To Son Summary:

The father complains that he does not understand his own child. Even though they have lived together for so many years, since the son's birth, the father knows nothing about him. The father tries to build a connection with his son from the early years, when his son started to notice people around him, to crawl, and to walk in a difficult attempt.

The father wonders if he has ruined the potential of his child or planted it where the ground belongs to his heir and not to him. Both father and son continue to communicate like strangers now, and there seem to be no signs of mutual understanding between them. In traditional belief, the son is created and born according to his father's preferences and plans, yet in this instance, the father cannot relate to what his son loves.

Most of the time, quietness fills the space between them. The father's biggest wish is for his son to be 'The Prodigal' son, who will very soon come back to his father's house; the home he always knew. This is certainly a better choice than seeing his son go out into the world aimlessly on his own, by himself, and get into trouble.

The father is prepared to forgive him no matter the cost, as long as he can transform him from long-held sadness into a new love. Both father and son everywhere must learn to coexist on the same earth and in the same land. The father finally admits that there are moments when he cannot understand himself or why his anger grows from sorrow. However, they have learned to reach out with open hands and with hearts that long for reconciliation.

11th Std English Questions And Answers