Is Gibran a product of his childhood?

As a child, Gibran was said to be brooding and soulful. His mother encouraged this by allowing him to do as he please, and by advising others to leave him alone. His father was an alcoholic and a gambler, who was jailed for tax evasion, leaving the family distitute. Thus, we can infer that many of Gibran's childhood experienced served to mold the man he became.