Answer: The father helplessness is brought out very poignantly in the poem. The father and the son do not talk to each other and, so, only silence prevails. The father does not want his son to be separated from him, but it is in vain..
Hereof, how is the father's helplessness?
Answer : The father's helplessness is brought through lines like “Yet have I killed the seed I spent” where he is questioning about what went wrong. His desperation to have his son back is clear in the last line “Longing for something to forgive” where their closeness of relationship is desired but not achieved.
Also Know, what does the speaker say about father and son relationship? Answer: Actually, the father-son relationship is non-functional. The father does not understand the aspirations, longings or cravings of the son.
In this regard, what is the father's greatest wish for his son?
The father's greatest wish is for his son to be 'The Prodigal' son who will very soon return to his father's house; the home which he always knew. This is definitely the better alternative rather than to see his son move out into the world blindly on his own, by himself and fall into trouble.
What does the poet mean by silence surrounds us?
(a) 'Silence surrounds us' mean that there is no communication between father and son. (b) Tut poet wants his son to became prodigal so that he may came back after all his money is spent.
Related Question Answers
Why is the father unhappy with his son?
In the poem “Father to Son” by Elizabeth Jennings, the father is unhappy with the son because the son is unlike his father in most aspects and has his own thoughts and interests in spite of having been brought up in the environment and with the values that the father provided him with.Why does the father say that he knows nothing of his son?
They live like strangers in the same house. Complete silence surrounds them when they are each other's presence. That's why he says that he knows nothing of his son. He wants to build up the same kind of relationship as he used to have when his son was a little child.What is the theme of the poem father to son?
Elizabeth Jennings' “Father to Son” highlights the theme of the generation gap which crops up due to lack of communication, acceptance and change of views and ideas. The poem reveals the internal conflict that a father undergoes when his son grows up and has his own interests, ideas and perceptions.Does the poem talk of an exclusively?
The poem does talk of an exclusively personal experience. However, we can also call it fairly universal because a conflict like this is quite common in many households. It is also known as generation gap.Why is the father unable to understand his son in the poem father to son?
The father is unable to understand his son due to generation gap. It is a psychological and emotional gap between parents or elder people and the young ones. This creates misunderstanding and lack of attachment between the parents and children.What does the father miss what is his desire?
what does the father miss What is his desire. The father wants to build up the relationship between himself and his son that is now crumbling. He wants to try and understand his son better, even though he is constantly distancing himself from his father. He would rather have him living together than live independently.Why does the father want to build up a relationship with his son?
Father always wants the support of his son. The aim of the father was to start afresh with his son. He wanted to have his son beside him no baggage from any one of them. This will give prevent any sort of condition to occur with them ensuring their bond with one another.What do fathers want their sons to do?
The father wants his son to return home and he is ready to forgive him. He wants his son to initiate the conversation and bring things back to normal. He wants his son to understand him and give him love and respect.What is meant by I would have him prodigal?
In the Bible, the parable of the prodigal son speaks of how the extravagant son of a wealthy man returns home after squandering all his money. Similarly in the poem, the father is willing to forgive his son, if he comes back to him. The father is desperate to improve his relationship with his son.Why does the father wonder he has killed the seed?
The father thinks that he has killed the seed as he feels that it is him who destroyed the basic personality of his son. He thinks that the son belongs to a different generation. He cannot be moulded into his own generation.Why do both of them put out an empty hand?
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.What is the irony in the poem father to son?
* The poet has highlighted a sharp and contrasting relationship in the poem between father and a son. * The irony which a poet talk about in the poem is that they have lived for many years together yet he knows nothing much about son.What do the words an empty hand signify?
The words 'an empty hand' signify that neither father nor the son has gained anything from their state of estrangement. Both of them are empty handed.Why must Father and son live on the same globe and the same land?
"father and son we both must live on the same globe and same land. and son being the same flesh and the same blood but has nothing in common with the father. both have the grief of separation and both want to talk to each other but they both don't know why their grief and pain always tranforms into anger.Why anger grows from grief?
The inability to explain the reason for anger sprouting from grief has been expressed in the poem. Thus, anger can be seen as sprouting from the frustration regarding the troubled relationship. Both of them want to reconcile yet find it difficult to do so because of the lack of understanding which is very unsettling.What does shaping from sorrow a new love mean?
This line is from the poem 'Father to Son' by Elizabeth Jennings. In this line the poet is expressing his wish of forgiving his son for his mistakes and reestablishing a loving relationship with him. He feels may be out of this sorrow a new love will develop between them. What is the father problem in the poem father to son?
Answer : The father is unhappy. His problem is that he has no dialogue with his son. They do not understand each other and are like strangers.Why does the father feel he and his son are like strangers to each other?
Father feels that he and his son are like strangers to. They do not understand each other and are llike strangers . Though they live under the same roof , yet they have nothing common between them .What does the father think of his prodigal son?
Answer : The father is in a mood to forgive his son. He wants that his prodigal son may return to his father's house. And start living under the same roof with him. 
