A Roadside Stand
Have you ever stopped at a roadside stand? What have you observed there?
The poet believes that when we come upon anything lovely, even if it is only for a brief while, the joy lasts forever. It creates an indelible imprint on us, encouraging us to live our lives with hope and optimism.
Q1. The city folk who drove through the countryside hardly paid any heed to the roadside stand or to the people who ran it. If at all they did, it was to complain. Which lines bring this out? What was their complaint about?
Ans: The polished traffic moved forward, or if they paused for a while, they were out of sorts to see the scenery ruined by the artless paint. According to city residents, these stalls with inartistic signboards detract from the scenic charm of the environment.
Q2. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?
Ans: The rural residents begged piteously for some customers to come by and buy their wares. Because city people used to pass by on this road, the rural people set up roadside booths to draw their attention and sell their wares.
Q3. The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural people but do them no good. Pick out the words and phrases that the poet uses to show their double standards.
Ans: The poet attacks the government's and other social service agencies' double standards in promising to enhance the poor farmers' standard of living and show them the bright side of life. When it comes time to deliver on their promises, however, they either forget about them or keep them in mind for their gain. They are described as "greedy good-doers" and "benevolent monsters of prey" who swarm over their lives," the poet says. These selfish folks, according to the poet, make premeditated and well-thought-out smart actions, to which the innocent, unwitting farmers fall prey. These smart people have taken away the peace of mind of these humble and basic farmers. “.....enforcing benefits,” writes the poet. Those are meant to lull them out of their minds, and by teaching them how to sleep, they sleep all day, destroying their sleeping at night the old way.”
Q4. What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it ‘vain’?
Ans: The poet believes that the people who manage the roadside stand have a juvenile yearning. They are always on the lookout for new consumers and eagerly await their arrival. To attract them, they keep their windows open. When no one shows up, they grow depressed. They're always listening for the scream of brakes, the sound of a car coming to a halt. All of their efforts, however, are futile.
Q5. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor?
Ans: The poet, filled with empathy, is unable to bear the fate of the simple and innocent people of the countryside.
“Sometimes I feel myself I can not stand The thought of so much infantile longing in vain, The melancholy that lurks beside the open window there, That waits all day in practically open prayer,” he writes later.
A Roadside Stand with Difficult Words and Hindi Translation
Answer each
of the following questions in about 30-40 words A Roadside Stand
Que1. Why do the people who run the roadside stand wait for the squeal of brakes so eagerly? (2003 Delhi)
Ans: The “squealing of brakes” means that a car has stopped at their roadside stand. It raises their hopes that the city-folk have stopped there to buy something from their roadside stand and some city money will come into their hands.
Que 2. Explain: “soothe them out of them wits” with reference to the poem The Roadside Stand’. (2005 Delhi)
Ans: The powerful men approach the country folk with false promises of providing them with better living conditions and a better life. These innocent and simple rustics repose blind faith in their false claims and feel soothed and satisfied. They fail to see through their crookedness and selfishness.
Que3. Why does Robert Frost sympathise with the rural poor? (2009 Delhi; 2011 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Ans: Robert Frost feels an unbearable agony at the plight of the rural poor who are ignored and neglected by the rich politicians. The Government and the party in power are indifferent to their welfare. They fool them by making false promises and then fully exploit them to suit their own selfish interests.
Que 4. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? (2008 Delhi; 2011 Delhi; 2013 Delhi)
Ans: The folk who had put up the roadside stand pleaded to the city dwellers to stop and buy their wares so as to enable them to earn some extra money for a decent living. They wanted that the rich people who passed from there in their cars should stop there and buy some goods from them. The money that these folks would earn from the rich people would help them to lead a better life.
Que 5. What is the ‘childish longing’ of the folk who had put up the roadside stand? Why is it ‘in vain’? (2011 Comptt. Delhi)
Ans: The ‘childish longing’, the poet refers to, is the dreams and desires of the rural folk who have a child-like longing for a better life that they hope to live with the help from the city dwellers. Their longing is in vain because the city folk are not willing to help them and so their ‘childish longings’ are not likely to be fulfilled.
Que 6. Why didn’t the ‘polished traffic’ stop at the roadside stand? (2012 Delhi)
Ans: The ‘polished traffic’ conveniently overlook the roadside stand and do not stop there as their mind is focused only on their destination. Moreover, they were critical of the poor decor of the stand, its artless interior and paint.
Que 7. What news in the poem ‘A Roadside Stand’ is making its round in the village? (2013 Outside Delhi)
Ans: The news making its round is about the resettlement of the poor, rural people who will be resettled in the villages, next to the theatre and the store. They would be close to the cities and will not have to worry about themselves any more.
Que 8. Why do people at the roadside stand ask for city money? (2013 Comptt. Delhi)
Ans: The rural people running the roadside stand are poor and deprived, unlike the people of the city. They thus ask for city money so that they too can lead a life of happiness and prosperity. This much-needed city money can give them the life that had been promised to them by the party in power.
Que 9. What does Frost himself feel about the roadside stand? (2011 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Ans: The poet is distressed to see the interminable wait on the part of the shed owners for their prospective buyers. He is agonised at the ‘childish longing in vain’ of the people who have put up the roadside stand.
A Roadside Stand with Difficult Words and Hindi Translation
Read the
extract and answer the questions that follow A Roadside Stand
Question 1.
The little old house was out with a little new shed
In front at the edge of the road where the traffic sped,
A roadside stand that too pathetically pled,
It would not be fair to say for a dole of bread,
But for some of the money, the cash, whose flow
supports
The flower of cities from sinking and withering faint.
- Where was the new shed put up? What was its purpose?
- Why does the poet use the word ‘pathetic’?
- Explain: ‘too pathetically pled’
- Who are referred to as ‘the flower of cities’? (2009 Outside Delhi; 2010 Comptt. Delhi; 2012 Comptt. Delhi)
Answer:
1. A little house at one side of the road was extended and a shed was added to
it to put up a road stand. It was set up to attract passersby to buy things
from them so that they could earn some money.
2. By using the word ‘pathetic’ the poet emphasizes on the fact that the
condition of the shed was most humble and that it presented a rather pitiable
sight.
3. It was as if by putting up the shed the owner was desperately pleading to
the rich city folks to stop by at his roadside stand and buy things from there
so that they could earn some extra money.
4. ‘The flower of the cities’ here refers to the rich and wealthy city-dwellers
who can afford the best things.
Question 2.
The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead,
Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
At having the landscape marred with the artless paint
Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned
wrong
Offered for sale wild berries in wooden quarts,
- What does the poet mean by ‘with a mind ahead?
- What are N and S signs?
- Why have these sings turned wrong? (2010 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer:
1. The phrase ‘with a mind ahead’ suggests that the people who pass the
roadside stand in their polished cars conveniently overlook the roadside stand
as their mind is focused only on their destination.
2. The N and S signs stand for the North and the South direction.
3. These signs have turned wrong because they have been painted in the wrong
way and so these signboards are wrongly presented.
Question 3.
Or beauty rest in a beautiful mountain scene,
You have the money, but if you want to be mean,
Why keep your money (this crossly) and go along.
The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint
So much as the trusting sorrow of what is unsaid
- What attraction does the place offer?
- What should one do if one wants to be mean?
- What does the poet not complain about?
- What do you think is the real worry of the poet? (2010 Outside Delhi)
Answer:
1. The place offers a scenic view of the beautiful mountains.
2. If one wants to be mean he can keep his money and move on ahead.
3. The poet does not complain about the landscape which has been spoilt because
of the artless painting done on the building.
4. The poet’s real worry is the unexpressed sorrow of the people who have put
up the roadside stand.
Question 4.
It is in the news that all these pitiful kin
Are to be bought out and mercifully gathered in
To live in villages, next to the theatre and the store,
Where they won’t have to think for themselves
anymore,
While greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey,
(2000; 2007, Delhi)
- Name the poem and the poet.
- Explain why merciful have been called ‘greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts of prey’?
- Why won’t these poor people have to think for themselves any more?
Answer:
1. The poem is ‘A Roadside Stand’ by Robert Frost.
2. The merciful are the crooked politicians, greedy people pretending to be
good, who only pose as beneficiaries. These powerful men are actually beasts of
prey in the guise of beneficiaries who ruthlessly exploit the common people.
3. These poor people are now in the hands of the so-called ‘merciful beneficiaries’,
who will actually do them more harm than any good, so they will not have to
think about themselves any more.
Question 5.
Sometimes 1 feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
That waits all day in almost open prayer
For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car,
Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass.
- What cannot be borne by the poet and why?
- What is the ‘childish longing7?
- Why the longing has been termed as ‘vain’?
- Why do the people driving in the cars stop sometimes? (2004 Delhi; 2011 Outside Delhi)
Answer:
1. The poet cannot bear the thought of how these country folks are lured with
false promises which are never going to be fulfilled because he feels genuinely
sad about so much deprivation to these innocent people.
2. Like children, these country folk have many unfulfilled wishes and desires.
So they keep their windows open expecting some prospective customers to turn up
so that some good fortune can fall into their share.
3. The longing has been termed as ‘vain’ because it will never be fulfilled.
4. The people driving in the car stop sometimes either to just inquire about
the way to their destination or to ask for a gallon of gas if they ran short of
it.
Question 6.
Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear
The thought of so much childish longing in vain,
The sadness that lurks near the open window there,
- Why is the longing called childish?
- Where is the window?
- Why does sadness lurk there? (2012 Comptt. Outside Delhi)
Answer:
1. Like children, these rural folk nurture many unfulfilled dreams and desires
which might never be satisfied. They crave in vain like children waiting for
their wishes to be fulfilled.
2. The window is a part of their roadside stand where they wait expectantly.
3. Sadness lurks there because no car halts there to buy anything from their
roadside stand and the rural folk are unable to earn some extra money.
Question 7.
The sadness that lurks near the open window there, That waits all day in almost
open prayer For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, Of all the
thousand selfish cars that pass,
Just one to inquire a farmer’s prices are.
- Which open window is referred to? Why does sadness lurk there?
- What does the farmer pray for?
- Is the farmer’s prayer ever granted? How do you know? (2012 Outside Delhi)
Answer:
1. The open window is that of the roadside stand where they wait expectantly
for a car to stop by. Sadness lurks there because no city dweller halts there
and thus the hopes of the country folk are belied as no customer stops there.
2. The farmer prays that the city folks apply the brakes of the car and halt at
their roadside stand to buy something from there.
3. The farmers’ prayers are not granted. The poet tells us that even if city
folk do stop at the roadside stand it is only to inquire about the prices of
the goods.
A Roadside Stand with Difficult Words and Hindi Translation
Central Idea of the poem: A Roadside Stand
Introduction: Robert Frost (1874-1963) was an American poet known for his traditional style and use of rural imagery in his works. He was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed poets of the 20th century, winning four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
The poem highlights the frustration of the country people towards the city dwellers who seem selfish and indifferent. Frost emphasizes the harm of charity and encourages empathy towards others' struggles. The poem reveals the callousness of the city dwellers, as seen through the poet's own desire to eradicate the country people to put an end to their complaints.
Central Idea
Robert Frost's poem, 'A Roadside Stand,' portrays the struggles of rural people trying to improve their lives by setting up roadside stands to sell their goods. Despite their efforts, the urban population ignores them or views them as unsightly. The poet conveys the frustration of the country people towards the indifferent and selfish city dwellers, while the rural folks aspire to achieve the standards of living they have seen in movies, which the government denies them. Frost criticizes charity and urges donors to recognize that their actions cause harm to rural people. He highlights the need for empathy towards others' struggles and the harmful effects of charity. The poem also reveals the callousness of the city dwellers, as seen through the poet's desire to eradicate the country people to end their complaints.
A Roadside Stand with Difficult Words and Hindi Translation
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