Poem - A Roadside Stand Class 12 English Flamingo

Key Points of the Poem

• In ‘A Roadside Stand’, the poet Robert Frost describes the miserable condition of the people living in the countryside. 
• The city people who drive through the countryside hardly stop at the roadside stand nor do they care tor the people who run it. 
• If at all they do stop, they do so to criticise the place and the people. 
• Frost describes the lives of the poor people with pitiless clarity and with deepest sympathy and humanity.

Interpreting the Poem 

There was a small house with a new shed outside it. The road was busy with cars and other vehicles moving here and there. The shed was built to display items on sale and the owner expected the passing vehicles to stop by and buy the things or at least have a look at them. The condition of the shed aroused one’s pity because it displayed the sad feelings of the owner who was desperate to earn some money. They did not seek any favour or piece of bread from the city people but wanted some money because the flow of money helps everyone to use it and benefit from it. Just like the money with the city people helps them lead a better life, similarly, if it will flow from their pockets into the pockets of the shed owner, it will benefit his life too. The cars that pass by are sparkling but they never notice the shed. They are thinking of their destination only. If by chance they do stop at the shed, they just complain that the shabby paint of the huts and sheds there has spoiled the beauty of the landscape.

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

Here the poet says that as the people living in these sheds are poor their surroundings are not well-maintained. The signboards indicating directions of north and south are pointing towards the wrong directions. The sheds have farm produce on sale – wild berries, golden squash fruit with silver coloured marks on it, kept in wooden baskets. The place is beautiful and people should stop here and enjoy the mountain scenery. If they have money then they should buy some things but if they are selfish then they should keep their money with themselves and not stop there. The poet says that he does not complain that the sheds have spoiled the scenery of the place.

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. 

The poet says that these people who have opened the shed are keeping faith in a promise which was never done to them. Here, the promise is their expectation that the cars passing by will stop at the shed and buy some stuff from them. They have built this shed far from the city and they expect that the city people will flow some money out of their pockets into the hands of the shed owner. The shed owner wants to feel the money on his hands. Just like they see in pictures that the one who works hard achieves quick success and money, they have laid their trust on these ideas and expect to get some money. Frost adds that the political party in power has stopped the flow of cash from the city dwellers to the rural people.

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.

It is in news that soon all these sheds and huts will be bought by the government and these people will be relocated to the villages. Near their houses there will be movie theatre and grocery store. They will be so happy there that they will not worry about their future. The poet says greedy good-doers and beneficient beasts i.e. such people who show to be doing good deeds but are actually greedy and are animals of prey who show that they are benefitting the other persons but in reality, they destroy them. The rich people and politicians are described as greedy good-doers and beneficient beasts because they show that they are helping the poor shed owners but in reality nothing like that is done. Actually, they are encircling their lives and forcefully giving them such benefits which have been well planned and will put these poor people in a confusion. These people cannot decide what is good for them and what is harmful. These selfish people tell to the poor that now they can relax but in reality, they themselves sleep all day long. Also, they destroy their sleep at night too as has been happening since the past.    

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;

The poet says that this kiddish desire in the hearts of these shed owners is useless. He cannot tolerate their sadness which they go through when they open the window of the shed, waiting for a car to stop and buy something. They wait there the whole day and it seems that they are doing a prayer seeking a buyer for their goods. They pray for the vehicles to step on the brakes and want to hear a car stop by. There are many cars carrying selfish people but hopefully, some may stop by just to ask the prices of the produce grown by the farmers there. One car did stop there but just to disturb the grass when they back their car 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.

 Some stop by to ask directions of their destination. Some cars stop by to buy fuel for their cars. Poet gets annoyed and says that do they not have any idea that these poor people cannot afford to sell fuel. He adds that the kind of work these villagers do and the kind of things they sell, it cannot lead to the required upliftment. The resources are too less to help them get rid of their problem. Their situation demands such a solution which would be a relief to put them out of their problems in one go. The next day, the poet thinks that when he is realistic then he expects the rich to visit and help them get rid of their problem in one go, perhaps with death.

Summary

Robert Frost, a renowned American poet of the 20th century, is known for his exploration of human experiences, tragedies, and responses to life's burdens. "A Roadside Stand" is one of his poems focusing on the plight of impoverished individuals who struggle to make a living. Frost portrays their situation with vivid clarity and compassion, contrasting the indifference of city dwellers with the hardships faced by rural people.

The poem underscores the theme of societal neglect towards those who toil tirelessly without reaping any rewards. Frost depicts the desperation of rural vendors hoping for support from passing city folk, who often ignore their plight or offer only superficial assistance. However, Frost believes in the existence of individuals willing to selflessly aid the less fortunate, highlighting the stark divide between the wealthy and the impoverished.

Moreover, Frost suggests that a nation's progress hinges on equitable development across towns and cities. Through the struggles of roadside vendors, the poem evokes sympathy for the underprivileged, illustrating the stark contrast between the comfort enjoyed by urbanites and the harsh realities faced by rural communities.

Significance of the Chapter 

"A Roadside Stand" explores several powerful theme:

• Social Inequality: Frost's poem vividly portrays the disparity between the affluent passersby and the struggling roadside vendors, prompting reflection on societal inequities and the distribution of wealth.

• Rural Life Appreciation: Through the depiction of the rural stand owners' resilience and hard work, the poem underscores the value of rural life and the essential role of agriculture in sustaining communities.

• Loss of Innocence: The contrast between the carefree laughter of the children and the weary expressions of the adults suggests a poignant commentary on the loss of innocence and the harsh realities of adulthood.

• Observational Power: "A Roadside Stand" emphasizes the importance of keen observation and attentiveness to the nuances of everyday life, as these details often reveal profound insights into human behavior and societal dynamics.

Conclusion  

Literary Devices

• Transferred Epithet: (a) Polished traffic (b) Selfish cars
• Personification: 1) A roadside stand that too pathetically pled
• Metaphor: Trusting Sorrow 
• Oxymoron & Alliteration: ‘Greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent beasts’ of prey.

Difficult Words

• Pathetically - In a way that arouses pity, especially by displaying sadness
• Dole of Bread - a tiny portion of bread
• Marred - Spoilt
• Squash - here, a fruit
• Warts - A small growth on the outer surface
• Crossly - In an annoyed or angry way
• Kin - one’s family and relations
• Beneficent - generous or doing good
• Beasts of Prey - an animal killing other animal
• Out of their wits - their perplexed or terrified state
• In vain - without success or a result
• Lurk - be or remain hidden so as to wait in ambush for someone or something
• Plow  - move in a fast and uncontrolled manner
• Requisite - required / needed
• Sane - sensible / realistic