A Roadside Stand : Robert Frost

A Roadside Stand 

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.

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,
Or crook-necked golden squash with silver warts,
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:
Here far from the city we make our roadside stand
And ask for some city money to feel in hand
To try if it will not make our being expand,
And give us the life of the moving-pictures’ promise
That the party in power is said to be keeping from us.

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,
Swarm over their lives enforcing benefits
That are calculated to soothe them out of their wits,
And by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day,
Destroy their sleeping at night the ancient way.

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,
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 what a farmer’s prices are.
And one did stop, but only to plow up grass
In using the yard to back and turn around;
And another to ask the way to where it was bound;
And another to ask could they sell it a gallon of gas
They couldn’t (this crossly); they had none, didn’t it see?

No, in country money, the country scale of gain,
The requisite lift of spirit has never been found,
Or so the voice of the country seems to complain,
I can’t help owning the great relief it would be
To put these people at one stroke out of their pain.
And then next day as I come back into the sane,
I wonder how I should like you to come to me
And offer to put me gently out of my pain. 

Summary 

Presented poem describes the living condition of roadside people. They have old houses on the edges of highways. They open their shops at early morning and sells wild berries and homemade squash. Thousands of cars pass from their but no one stop. These small shopkeepers look desperately for some earnings to survive.

If a person stops there for a moment, he frowns upon them. He considers these poor people artless. The poet describes that these poor people are cheated by politicians. Poet considers them as beneficent beasts.  They enforce benefits on poor people and destroy their lives. They promise to relocate them into good villages with the assurance of economic development. But, none of this happens. Instead, the politicians create comfort and luxury for themselves. The poet is completely disgusted by the actions of these politicians.

The poet expresses his distress while explaining the endless wait of shed owners for buyers. There is  sadness all over the place.  Sometimes a car stops but that is to enquire about the price or stop just want to make use of the backyard. One of the cars stops for a gallon of gas. The poet says that the countryside is still far from money and gain. The voice of the country complains of their condition and lack of money but all of it goes in vain since their voices are never heard. He realizes that it is impossible for him to put their sorrows away. He realizes how can someone out of the blue take away all the pain they deal with in their lives.

Solution:

1. 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 passed with a mind ahead,

              Or if ever aside a moment, then out of sorts
              At having the landscape marred with the artless paint"

Above lines show that city people do not pay attention to the roadside stands and have complains. According to city residents, these stalls with inartistic signboards detract from the scenic charm of the environment.

 3. What was the plea of the folk who had put up the roadside stand?

Ans: The rural people expects piteously for some customers to come and buy their goods as city people used to pass by on this road. They set up roadside stands to draw their attention and sell vegetables and wild berries.

4. 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 governments 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 they forget about them. They are described as "greedy good-doers" and "benevolent monsters of prey". These smart people have taken away the peace of mind of simple people “.....enforcing benefits,” writes the poet.

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

Ans: The poet believes that the people who run roadside stands have childish longing. They always look for new customers and wait for their arrival. They keep their windows open to attract them and when no one comes they get sad.

6. 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 cannot 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.

 Extra Question

 1.      What does the term childish longing refer to in the poem A Roadside Stand?

Ans. In the poem, poet reflects that people running a roadside stand often suffer from childish longing. The term here means expectation, which roadside people have from city people. They expect that people will stop and buy some fruits, vegetables. They keep their windows open to attract the people passing by. When no one stops, they get sad. Thus, the poet refers to their expectation as a childish longing. 

 2.      What was the request made by the rural people who had put up the roadside stand?

The rural people expects from city people to stop and buy something from them. Unfortunately, only a few customers show their interest in buying even if rural folks’ plea pathetically. 

 3.      What is the message of the poem a Roadside Stand?

This beautiful piece by Robert Frost sends a strong message about the society we live in. He highlights the existing disparities in wealth and lifestyle and the woes of the less fortunate. He signifies the intricate characteristics of the poor section of society and their inability to strive for a better future despite their struggle and work and how this is a sentimental topic. He also emphasizes the need for equity in terms of monetary resource distribution.

4.      What troubles the poet in the poem, a Roadside Stand?

The poet is troubled by the fact that the exploitation of rural people and the sorrow bestowed upon them. The efforts that have a sheer possibility of going in vain and the attitude of the rich people, all these add to the worries of the poet.

5.      What is the untold sorrow of the owners of the Roadside Stand?

The longing and the efforts of the rural people go in vain as they strive for survival and the attitude of the rich people who pass by the roadside stand without actually helping these people or buying from them is the untold sorrow mentioned by the poet.

6.       Why does the poet call the car selfish?

The car, here, is a representation of the selfish people who pass by the roadside stand lost in their own world of self-centered vision. They just zoom past these country folks and even by any chance they stop, they do so only to inquire the prices rather than lending a helping hand and actually buying something. All these are represented by the poet using the car as a symbol as well as emphasizing its literal meaning.