Question Bank — Father to Son

NCERT Class 11 English · Chapter 13 · CBSE Board Pattern

Class 11 English Chapter 13 Question Bank CBSE Board Pattern

Section A — MCQs (10 questions, 1 mark each)

  1. The poem is narrated from the perspective of the:
    a) Son b) Father c) Mother d) Narrator
    (b)

  2. The phrase “We speak like strangers” suggests:
    a) They are polite b) Emotional distance c) They are not related d) They live apart

  3. Assertion (A): The father feels he has no connection with his grown-up son.
    Reason (R): They have lived in the same house for years but share no understanding.
    a) Both A and R true, R explains A b) Both true, R does not explain A c) A true, R false d) A false, R true

  4. The father compares himself to a sower when he says:
    a) “the seed I spent” b) “the land is his” c) “silence surrounds us” d) “empty hand”

  5. The father wishes his son to be “prodigal, returning”. This alludes to:
    a) The Prodigal Son parable b) A soldier returning c) A traveller d) A student

  6. Assertion (A): The son also experiences inner conflict.
    Reason (R): He cannot understand why anger grows from grief.
    a) Both A and R true, R explains A b) Both true, R does not explain A c) A true, R false d) A false, R true

  7. The dominant mood of the poem is:
    a) Joy b) Anger c) Sadness and longing d) Humour

  8. “We each put out an empty hand” symbolises:
    a) Greeting b) Desire for reconciliation c) Begging d) Fighting

  9. The rhyme scheme of the poem is:
    a) abab b) aabb c) abba d) Free verse

  10. The central theme of the poem is:
    a) Generation gap and failed communication b) Father’s authority c) Son’s rebellion d) Financial dispute

Section B — Reference to Context (3 extracts, 4 marks each)

Extract 1

“I do not understand this child / Though we have lived together now / In the same house for years.”

  1. Who is the speaker?
  2. What does the extract reveal about the relationship?
  3. Identify the literary device in “I do not understand this child”.
  4. What does “lived together now / In the same house for years” imply?

Extract 2

“Yet have I killed / The seed I spent or sown it where / The land is his and none of mine?”

  1. Who is the speaker and what does “the seed I spent” refer to?
  2. Explain the meaning of the lines.
  3. Name the figure of speech used.
  4. What emotion does the speaker express?

Extract 3

“We each put out an empty hand, / Longing for something to forgive.”

  1. Who are “we” in the extract?
  2. What does the image of the “empty hand” convey?
  3. Identify the literary device.
  4. What is the final feeling expressed in these lines?

Section C — Short Answer (5 questions, 3 marks each)

  1. How does the father try to build a relationship with his son?
  2. What does the line “This child is built to my design / Yet what he loves I cannot share” tell us about the father?
  3. Why does the father feel he has “killed the seed”?
  4. How is the son’s helplessness also brought out in the poem?
  5. Explain the significance of the title “Father to Son”.

Section D — Long Answer (2 questions, 6 marks each)

  1. The poem presents a universal experience of the generation gap. Discuss with reference to the text.
  2. Draw a character sketch of the father as revealed in the poem.

Section E — Language and Writing (2 questions, 4 marks each)

  1. From the poem, pick out two examples of each:
    a) Metaphor b) Alliteration

  2. Write a short diary entry (80–100 words) as the father on the evening he realises he and his son “speak like strangers”.

▶ Answer Key Attempt all questions first,
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Section A

  1. b 2. b 3. a 4. a 5. a 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. a

Section B

Extract 1

  1. The father 2. Emotional distance despite physical proximity 3. Paradox / direct statement 4. They share a house but not a bond.

Extract 2

  1. Father; his effort to raise the son 2. He wonders if his parenting has failed or if the son now belongs to a different world 3. Metaphor 4. Regret and helplessness.

Extract 3

  1. Father and son 2. Both desire reconciliation but cannot initiate it 3. Symbolism 4. Mutual longing for forgiveness.

Section C (Key points – 40–50 words)
1. He recalls how the son was when small and tries to recreate that bond.
2. He shaped the son but cannot share his interests; shows emotional gap.
3. Feels his efforts at upbringing may have been wasted or rejected.
4. The son cannot understand his own anger growing from grief.
5. Highlights failed communication between father and son despite blood relation.

Section D (Key content points)
1. Universal experience – same house yet strangers; desire for understanding; both suffer; common in modern families.
2. Loving yet helpless; regrets failure; wants forgiveness; willing to accept son’s world; sorrowful but hopeful.

Section E

  1. Metaphor: “the seed I spent”, “the land is his”; Alliteration: “silence surrounds”, “empty hand”.
  2. Diary: Format (Date, Dear Diary), content (realisation of distance, sorrow, hope for reconciliation). Marking: Format 1, Content 2, Expression 1.
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All questions are answerable from the NCERT chapter text. Reviewed by GFIS faculty.