Question

The Oilman and His Sons There was once an oilman with five sons and they were all married and lived jointly with their father. But the daughters-in-law were discontented with this arrangement and urged their husbands to ask their father to divide the family property. At first the old man refused, but when his sons persisted, he told them to bring him a log two cubits long and so thick that two hands could just span it, and he said that if they could break the log in two, he would divide the property. So they brought the log and then asked for axes, but he told them that they must break it themselves by snapping it or twisting it or standing on it. So they tried and failed. Then the old man said, “You are five and I make six; split the log into six.” So they split it and he gave each a piece and told them to break them, and each easily snapped his stick. Then the old man said, “We are like the whole log: we have plenty of property and are strong and can overcome attack; but if we separate we shall be like the split sticks and easily broken.” They admitted that this was true and proposed that the property should not be divided but that they should all become separate. But the father would not agree to this for he thought that people would call him a miser if he let his sons live separately without his giving them their share in the property as their own. So as they persisted in their folly he partitioned the property. But in a few years they all fell into poverty and had not enough to eat nor clothes to wear, and the father and mother were no better off. Then the old man called all his sons and their wives and said, “You see what trouble you have fallen into? I have a riddle for you, explain it to me. There are four wells, three empty and one full of water. If you draw water from the full one and pour it into the three empty ones they will become full. But when they are full and the first one is empty, if you pour water from the three full ones into the empty one it will not be filled. What does this mean?” And they could not answer and he said, “The four wells mean that a man had three sons, and while they were little he filled their stomachs as the wells were filled with water; but when they separated they would not fill the old man’s stomach.” And it was true, that the sons had done nothing to help their father and they were filled with shame and they agreed that as long as their father lived they would be joint with him and would not separate again until he died. Using evidence from the text, explain in detail the theme of “The Oilman and His Sons” and how it develops over the course of the passage.
>>Your response should be at least two complete paragraphs.<<
Answer:

Answer 1

Answer:

Unity and taking care of each other is what keeps us alive

Explanation:

In this story about the Oilman and his sons, there is a description about how every young man wants to separate and live his or her own life, as it is stated in the beginning:  But the daughters-in-law were discontented with this arrangement and urged their husbands to ask their father to divide the family property. Firstly, the old man was tried to explain to his sons that they are much stronger if they are united together, which is represented by the metaphor with the log: “We are like the whole log: we have plenty of property and are strong and can overcome attack; but if we separate we shall be like the split sticks and easily broken.”

Other important lesson from this story is that on the way of becoming independed, we absolutely mustn't forget to take care of the people who supported us throughout our lives, primarily parents. They raise us since we are born until we become capable of taking care about ourselves. One day, the time comes when our parents become old and fragile and that is when they need us to help them grow old same as they helped us growing up, which is described in: “The four wells mean that a man had three sons, and while they were little he filled their stomachs as the wells were filled with water; but when they separated they would not fill the old man’s stomach.”