ON CHILDREN

Khalil Gibran
Answer the following questions in a paragraph of 80-100 words:
1. Why does the poet categorically state ‘your children are not your children?
Ans: The poem ‘On Children’ by Khalil Gibran states the role of parents and responsibilities
of children in life. The poet makes a commentary on the possessive attitude of parents
towards their children as they do not have the powers of supreme creation. According to the
poet parents bring their children to earth, because God has chosen them as a vehicle.
Children are not lifeless things so they can ever be owned. So the poet categorically states
that ‘your children are not your children’.
2. What does the metaphor, bows and arrows signifies with regard to parent-children
relationship?
Ans: The poet tries to explain metaphorically the relationship of parents and children in
terms of bows and arrows. The poet compares parents as bows, children as arrows and of
infinite path and pulls the string of the arrow. As the archer pulls the string the bow bends,
that it has to sustain the pressure. The poet makes it clear that parents serve as tool to make
the arrow to fly to its destination. And the archer is the one who decides the path and
destination of the arrows, and the bending of the bow. So the poet says that parents are
chosen as vehicles to make the children reach their goal.
3. According to the prophet, what attitude should parents have towards their children?
Ans: The speaker of the poem advices that parents should not be possessive of their children.
And they are the life longing for itself. As the children are not by them but, they are by the
supreme creation of ‘God’. According to prophet the role of parents in bearing and looking
after children’s like looking after something which does not belong to them. Prophet says
that parents may give children their love but not their thoughts, as they have their own.
Parents should let the children to have their own thoughts. Parents should only be guiding
forces for their children. Children have their own life to lead and not as parents expect as
children below to future but not to past. Parents may try hard to be like children but parents
should never expect their children to be like them.
Answer the following question in about 200 words:
1. The poem does not focus merely on the lives of children, but also takes about the
responsibility of parents. Discuss?
Ans: The speaker of the poem advices that parents should not be possessive of their children.
And they are the life longing for itself. As the children are not by them but, they are by the
supreme creation of ‘God’. According to prophet the role of parents in bearing and looking
after children is like looking after something which does not belong to them. Prophet says
that parents may give children their love but not their thoughts, as they have their own.
Parents should let the children to have their own thoughts. Parents should only be guiding
forces for their children. Children have their own life to lead and not as parents expect as
children belong to future but not to past.
Parents may try hard to le like children but parents should never expect their children to be
like them. The poet tries to explain metaphorically the relationship of parents and children in
terms of bows and arrows. The poet compares parents as bows, children as arrows and of
infinite path and pulls the string of the arrow. As the archer pulls the string the bow bends,
that it has to sustain the pressure. The poet makes it clear that parents serve as tool to make
the arrow, and the bending of the bow. So the poet says that parents are chosen as vehicles
to make the children reach their goal.