Final answer:
Vahan's father believes his children should face life by upholding family duties, gaining an education, and respecting his leadership, while also acknowledging their individual ambitions and potential for personal success.
Step-by-step explanation:
Vahan's father believes his children should face life with resilience, education, and responsibility. In historical texts and literature, sons are often expected to inherit the family's property and debts, maintaining the family's reputation and prosperity. This traditional view is in contrast to the treatment of daughters, who might not have had the same opportunities or expectations.
Vahan's father's belief is reflected in the virtues of filial piety mentioned in Confucian philosophy, where a father's role is to educate his son, but the duty of the son is to respect his father by obediently abiding by his wishes. Respect and adherence to the father's will and conduct, even after his death, are crucial in determining the son's devotion and morality.
However, it is also evident that sons have the autonomy to chart their own paths, as seen in the passage where the boy, though sad, dedicates himself to study and learning with the goal of eventually making his true power felt in a foreign land. This demonstrates a duality where the expectation is to honor family duties, yet there's room for individual ambition and success.