POEM: 5

The Roadside Stand                                                                 Robert Frost

INTERPRETATION & ANALYSIS In this poem Frost presents the lives of poor deprived people with pitiless clarity and with the deepest sympathy and humanity.  The poet says that sub-urban people wish to get some city money but they don’t. The politicians befool them making fake promises. It seems that only death can provide them relief. The poet says that the roadside people append a shed to their houses near the road. It seems to be pleading to the passers-by. But they don’t expect any alms. They have self-esteem and they want the passers-by to purchase something from them so that they can have some money. This is the only way for them to survive. But the so-called refined people don’t caste even a glance at them and if, by chance, they do, it is not to purchase anything from them but because they get upset that the poor people have spoiled the beauty of nature with their wrongly painted sign-boards, sitting for selling squash or berries in wooden containers or they pause to enjoy the beauty of landscape. The poor people are ruffled by this attitude of the city people and they feel that even after having money if they want to be so cheap, they can keep their money. The poet says, he doesn’t complain of the scenery spoiled by them rather he is more concerned about their sorrow which lies in their heart. They make their stand in the hope of getting some city money thinking they would also be able to have a better life as shown in the movies which the party in power promised but didn’t fulfill.There is a rumour that all such people will be rehabilitated in some village and provided with all the facilities like theatre and store. They are convinced that there they won’t have to think about anything and everything would be showered upon them. The greedy people hover over them showing them to be their well-wishers but whatever they do, they do it to befool and trap them. Thus they assure the poor of an easy and cozy life but they snatch away all their ease and comfort.

Frost feels it intolerable when he finds the poor suburban people longing uselessly for the passers-by to stop and enquire about the prices of the things that they have. The sadness lingering on their faces praying all day to hear a squeal of brakes pains the poet. Though the passers-by do stop yet it is not to purchase anything from them but just to take a turn or to ask where the road is bound for or to ask for a gallon of gas. This irritates them who wait for the passers-by with a lot of hope. In the last stanza the poet says that it is quite difficult for the poor sub-urban people to have a prosperous life without any flow of money from the city people because the country money revolving in the country cannot uplift their lives and without prosperity there cannot be any enthusiasm in life. The poet feels that perhaps only death can relieve them from their grief but when in his senses, he feels that he would like them to tell him that they are now out of pain and this in turn would relieve all the pain of the poet.

GLOSSARY

Pathetically                              -           Pitiably, Miserably

Polished                                   -           Refined, Sophisticated

Squash                                     -           A vegetable

Warts                                       -           Growth, Tumour

Quarts                                      -           Bottles, Containers

Swarm                                     -           Flood, Flock

Beneficent                               -           Kind, Charitable

Prey                                         -           An animal hunted for food, Victim

Soothe                                     -           Comfort, Placate

Lurks                                       -           Hang around, Sneak

Squeal                                     -           Screech, Scream

Plow up                                   -           Pull up

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

1.         What do you understand by “polished traffic”?

Ans:     “Polished traffic” here refers to the city folk who think of themselves as refined people and the country dwellers as ignorant fools.

2.         What is meant by ‘out of sorts’? Why do the people in the cars feel ‘out of sorts’?

Ans:    ‘Out of sorts’ means to feel unhappy or annoyed. The people in the cars feel out of sorts because they do not like the badly painted sign boards and the people sitting with their wooden containers appear to be spoiling the beauty of landscape.

3.         What is up for sale in the roadside stand?

Ans:   The people are selling wild berries in wooden containers and crook-necked golden squash with silver warts.

4.         Why do the owners of the shed feel a sense of outrage?

Ans:   The owners of the shed feel a sense of outrage because the city folk are only critical; they don’t understand their difficult situation and when it comes to spending money, they go ahead with their head held high without purchasing anything.

5.         What is the plea of the folks at the roadside stand?

Ans:  The rural folks seem to be requesting the passers-by to stop at their stand and purchase something from them so that they can also have some city money in their hands to improve their lives.

6.         What is the ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to? Why is it ‘vain’?

Ans:    The ‘childish longing’ that the poet refers to is the strong desire of the rural folks that the passers-by should stop at their stand and purchase something from them so that they can also have a flow of money. It is in vain because the city folk don’t stop and even if they stop it is not to purchase anything from them but to ask the route or gas or pull up the grass.

7.         Where is the roadside stand built and why?

Ans:    The roadside stand is built by the rural folk on the side of the road with a shed appended to their house. It is built to attract the passers-by with the hope of getting some city money by selling fruits and vegetables.

8.         Who is ‘the flower of cities’? Why have they been referred so?

Ans:   The countryside people have been referred to as ‘the flower of cities’. They have been referred so because their lives are dependent on the city money. They live on the roadsides and their prosperity and hardships depends on the money they get from the passers-by.

9.         ‘The hurt to the scenery wouldn’t be my complaint’, says Robert Frost. What is his real complaint?

Ans:   The real complaint of the poet is the sorrows and sufferings of the rural folks. The distastefully painted and wrongly turned signboards do not bother him. He is more worried about the pitiable condition of the poor people who long for city money. 

10.       What is the news being spread around?

Ans:   The news is that the poor countryside people will be evicted from the place where they are living and will be rehabilitated in some village. They will be provided the facilities such as- theatre and store. All their problems will be solved and they will not have to think about anything.

11.       Who will soothe the rural poor ‘out of their wits’ and how?

Ans:    The greedy people who pose themselves to be the well-wishers and beneficent will soothe the rural poor ‘out of their wits’. They will hover over them showering all the benefits to convince them that they mean well for them. But ultimately they will make a fool of them.

12.      What will be a great relief to the poet? How can the problems of the rural poor be solved?

Ans:    The poet, Robert Frost seems to be worried at the plight of the poor people. It will be a great relief to him if the people are relieved of their pain and suffering at one stroke. Their miserable living is no better than death. The poet wants an immediate end to their suffering.

13.       What would not be fair to say?

Ans:    It would not be fair to say that the poor countryside people demand some alms. They have self-respect and they only want the passers-by to purchase something from them.

14.       Who does the poet accuse of having double standards?

Ans:    The poet accuses the politicians and welfare organizations of having double standards. They show themselves to be the well-wishers of the poor. But they serve their own interests using the poor.

15.       Name the poetic device used in ‘greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey’.

Ans:    The poet has used oxymoron in these phrases. The word pairs having contrasting meaning are called oxymoron.

16.       Name the poetic device in “the flower of cities.”

Ans:    The poetic device used in this phrase is metaphor. The poet has made a direct comparison between the countryside people and the flower of cities.

17.       What is implied by ‘teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day’?

Ans:    The poet means that the greedy politicians befool the poor countryside people. They shower benefits upon the poor people and convince them that they won’t have to worry anymore and all their problems will be taken care for. But as soon as they show faith, they are trapped.

18.       “Destroy their sleep the ancient way” Explain.     

Ans:    The greedy politicians take the poor into confidence and convince them that they don’t     have to worry anymore and all their needs will be taken care of. When they are convinced, they start exploiting them.