“father william” by lewis carroll

“you are old, father william,” the young man said,
“and your hair has become very white;
and yet you incessantly stand on your head—
do you think, at your age, it is right? ”

“in my youth,” father william replied to his son,
“i feared it might injure the brain;
but, now that i'm perfectly sure i have none,
why, i do it again and again.”

“you are old,” said the youth, “as i mentioned before,
and have grown most uncommonly fat;
yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door—
pray, what is the reason of that? ”

“in my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
“i kept all my limbs very supple
by the use of this ointment—one shilling the box—
allow me to sell you a couple? ”

“you are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak
for anything tougher than suet;
yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak—
pray how did you manage to do it? ”

“in my youth,” said his father, “i took to the law,
and argued each case with my wife;
and the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,
has lasted the rest of my life.”

“you are old,” said the youth, “one would hardly suppose
that your eye was as steady as ever;
yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose—
what made you so awfully clever? ”

“i have answered three questions, and that is enough,”
said his father; “don't give yourself airs!
do you think i can listen all day to such stuff?
be off, or i'll kick you down the stairs! ”

use the poem to answer the question.

think about the dialogue between father william and his son. in a paragraph, discuss what this poem has to tell the modern reader about youth and old age. in making your points, cite three details from the poem.

This funny poem, a parody of “The Old Man’s Comforts and How He Gained Them” (1799) by famous English poet Robert Southey, tells the modern reader that older people, like the mischievous Father William, may have aged, but they can still have a sharp, optimistic, and witty attitude - or they may develop it precisely as they age. For instance, when asked how, being old and fat, he has done a somersault, Father William replies to the irreverent young man by saying that maybe he should try the ointment that has been keeping his limbs in good shape since he was a young fellow. Furthermore, it also tells the reader that it is precisely at an older age when people may become more self-confident, carefree, wise, humorous, spontaneous, and definitely more knowledgeable. The young man reprimands the old man for standing on his head, and the old man says that as a young man he was afraid of injuring his brain, but now that he is old and is certain that "he does not have one," he is determined to do it again and again. Finally, it also tells the modern reader that, often, young people are arrogant, prejudiced, and disrespectful to older people, and they underestimate, and often marvel at, their abilities. The young man vainly tells the old man that his jaws may only be good to eat suet, yet he has eaten a whole goose, and the old man replies to him by saying that the strength of his jaw is the result of endless discussions with his wife as a young adult. In addition, the young man marvels at the old man's balance, which allows him to keep an eel on his nose.

To sum up, older people are happier, more patient, they have more sense of humor, and they play down simply because they have lived more and know "how life works," so to speak. Young people, on the contrary, tend to have preconceived, usually negative, notions of old people, they underestimate them, and they often address them rudely and arrogantly. And this poem is a wonderful lesson to teach us, or to remind us of, that.

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