A Roadside stand

A Roadside Stand by Robert Frost is a poem deals with the

consequences of urbanization, and the impacts on those that live
in the countryside. It shows a clear picture of the rich versus the
poor and the dependence that the poor have on the charity of the
rich. However, the poem also represents the uncaring nature of the
city-dwellers, and the struggles thus faced by the people living in
less urbanized areas.
The poem begins with a description of the scene that the poet sees.
He sees the country house start a new roadside stand, situating it
right near the road so that it is visible to the people that drive by.
This stand was small, and it was set up in order to gain some kind
of profit. It would be unfair to assume that the stand was set up for
charity, as a “dole of bread” is referring to donations or an
unemployment allowance. The stand asks for money that usually
goes toward the development of cities, to instead support the
development of the countryside.The poem also represents
the uncaring nature of the city-dwellers, and the struggles thus
faced by the people living in less urbanized areas. The “flower of
cities” juxtaposes the characteristic of the natural countryside with
the industrial city. This flower that requires care and support for its
growth is used as a metaphor for the development of industry and
urbanization. Nature, which was highly valued before
industrialization, now plays a secondary role to the growth of the
city.
Here, contrast is used in the very first line “The little old house…a
little new shed”. This shows that the house had been there for a
long time and can mean that the shed is either brand-new or
refurbished. According to the context of the poem, we can see that
the shed would be brand new, as the farmers are forced to find new
sources of revenue and turn to selling their produce using roadside
stands.
Alliteration is used in “pathetically pled”
The farmers sell their berries, their vegetables, and fruits, and in
some cases, their art. They do whatever they can to find sources of
revenue, and this combined with the deteriorating signs show that
the people are reaching a state of desperation. The rich that pass by
have the money to spend on these little things but are more miserly
than forthcoming.
The interjection of “(this crossly)” shows that the responses of the
rich that drive by lack any sort of elegance and politeness. In fact,
they are outright rude, as they place more value on the beauty of
the scenery than the livelihood of the people who live there. This
is hypocrisy, as the industrial cities destroy nature in order to grow,
and thus they have no basis to lament about a slight break in the
beauty of the countryside.
The poet who watches all of this unfold does not bemoan the lack
of scenery but instead thinks about the situation of those who are
forced to depend on these roadside stands, and their sorrows. They
live far away from the clusters of people in the city and set up a
stall to earn some money. They ask simply to feel a connection with
the rest of the world, for some “city money to feel in hand”. This
money that can be so easily given by those that pass by will make a
significant impact on the lives of the sellers and let them dream
about the kind of lives that are shown in movies. They have heard
that the powerful people, the ones who represent the cities and
make the decisions, are sidelining the farmers knowingly. This sort
of life is kept from them, and all the sellers have are dreams and
promises for a more comfortable, luxurious life
The farmers realize that all these people are gathered together in
one place, and live lives that take all thinking out of the equation.
The farmers refer to these people as “pitiful kin” because, though
they may have more physically comfortable lives, it slowly saps
away their mental acuity. They live in places where everything is
easily accessible, and this again is a condemnation of urbanization
from the side of the poet. All the benefits of this modernized world
involve removing the man from humanity and replacing it with a
mindless being.
Alliteration is used in “greedy good-doers” and “beneficent beasts”.
In these lines, the poet directly sympathizes with the farmer,
putting himself in their shoes. The poet cannot even handle the
thought of living a life of such deep longing, knowing that the
yearning will never be fulfilled. This yearning is for recognition, for a
feeling of accomplishment and the relief of earning the day’s bread.
The farmers spend all day with eyes and ears perked, waiting for
the car that stops to buy something, praying for a sale and some
profit. Still, the cars that pass spare nothing, and are “selfish”. They
think only of themselves, and thus, all their stops are for self-
serving reasons. The farmer wants a car to stop and at least ask the
prices of his goods, but the cars that stop do so to use the space to
make a turn or ask for directions. Some do ask for goods, but not
goods that the farmer sells. They ask for fuel when it is clear that
the farmer sells none. Day in and day out, it is a charade that the
farmer is forced to participate in, always hoping for that one car
that stops for a good reason, to buy his produce.
Here, again, “(this crossly)” is repeated as an interjection, but in
this case, it is in reference to the sellers. Their anger is in response
to the nonsensical requests made of them and the total ignorance of
their actual produce. The rich do not care for them, and the poor
feel this anger as a reaction to it. A place that sells berries clearly
does not sell fuel, and it is crazy to even ask for such a silly thing.
These infuriating experiences lead the farmer to feel cross.
Alliteration is used in “sound of a stopping car”.
Anaphora is used in the repetition of “And another” in lines 41 and
42, which emphasizes the fact that these frustrations are never-
ending, and all these cars still do not spend any of their money to
buy the goods that are actually available.
The countryside, in reality, never earned the profits that they
needed nor deserved. They never felt the strong connection between
them and the faraway cities, and their spirits remained dampened
and alone. The poet felt as though he could hear the countryside
making this complaint loud and clear, saying that they have not
been able to achieve what is really needed. The poor are left to get
poorer, while the rich pass by in their comfort
Knowing this, the poet wonders whether it would be better to take
all these people out of their tangible misery and give
them eternal relief from the suffering of the world. In essence, he
wonders whether mercy-killing was ethical in this situation and
whether this painless process would benefit them far more than the
pain they feel every day of their lives. However, after some proper
thought, he again puts himself in the same situation. He asks
a profound question of himself, whether he would appreciate being
taken out of this world by someone else. He wonders what he would
think if someone offered to painlessly kill him. The poem ends with
this question left open, prompting the reader to think of it
themselves. The tone, however, portrays a feeling of pity, and the
knowledge that such an offer would not be appreciated, as life is
more valuable than a release from suffering to him

Page No 102:

Question 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?
ANSWER:

The relevant lines are:

“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”

According to the city folk, these stalls with inartistic signboards blemish the scenic beauty of
the landscape.
 Page No 102:

Question 1:

Discuss in small groups.

The economic well-being of a country depends on a balanced development of the villages

and the cities.
ANSWER:

The economic development of a country cannot stand independently on the shoulders of

the cities. The villages play an integral role. Besides, the cities and villages are
interdependent. The agricultural products grown by the farmers like the vegetables, cereals,
oil, etc. bear importance for everyone, irrespective of the place they live in. On the other
hand, the factory made products and employment avenues provided by the cities play their
role in economic well-being of a society. In the poem, ‘A Roadside Stand’, the poet
emphasises on the balance needed for a systemised growth. The poet feels that the
villagers are unassuming and simple, and consequently, they are exploited by the politicians
and other social agencies. The poet wants to remove these frauds and make the rural folk
retain their self-respect and peace of mind.

Page No 102:

Question 2:

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

ANSWER:

The poor farmers requested the passerby city dwellers to stop at their roadside
stalls and buy something so that they too get a chance to earn their living, not just
to make their ends meet but also to be able of afford some comfort in life.
Page No 102:

Question 2:

Notice the rhyme scheme. Is it consistent or is there an occasional variance? Does

it indicate thought predominating over sound pattern?

ANSWER:

Although the poem is not in free verse, the rhyme scheme used by the poet is
very inconsistent. The poet caters to a serious issue in this poem. His thoughts are
oscillating between sympathy and rage. This seems to have affected the rhyme
scheme of the poem as well. The differing rhyme scheme also shows that his main
concern while writing this poem was to portray the plight of the villagers rather
than merely beautifying his poem. Thus, his thoughts seem to predominate over
sound pattern.

Page No 102:

Question 3:

The government and other social service agencies appear to help the poor rural
people, but actually do them no good. Pick out the words and phrases that the
poet uses to show their double standards.

ANSWER:
The poet criticizes the double standards of the government and other social
service agencies who promise to improve the standard of living of the poor
farmers and show them the rosy side of life. Yet, when the time comes to deliver
their promise, they either forget them or fulfill them keeping in view their own
benefits. The poet calls them “greedy good-doers” and “beneficent beasts of
prey”, who “swarm over their lives”. The poet says that these greedy people
make calculated and well thought-out shrewd moves, to which the innocent,
unaware farmers fall prey. These humble and simple farmers are robbed of their
peace of mind by these clever people. The poet says,
“…..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.”

Page No 102:

Question 3:

Notice the stanza divisions. Do you find a shift to a new idea in successive stanza?

ANSWER:

The poet has divided the poem into four parts. Every stanza focuses on a different
facet of the predicament of the poor villager running a roadside stall. In the first
stanza, the poet introduces the character, the reason behind his setting up a
roadside stand and his plight. The second stanza focuses on how these poor
farmers are exploited by the government and other social agencies. The poem
explains the child-like waiting of these farmers and the attitude of the rich in the
third stanza. In the last stanza, it focuses on the efforts required to change their
lives.

Page No 102:

Question 4:

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

ANSWER:

The poet refers to the farmers’ longing for customers at their roadside stall as
“childish longing”. This is because no one stopped and even if they did, it was for
asking direction or to buy gas. Hence, this child-like wait is ‘vain’.

Page No 102:

Question 5:

Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought
of the plight of the rural poor?

ANSWER:
Filled with empathy, the poet is unable to bear the plight of the unassuming and
innocent rural people. The lines below show his insufferable pain:
“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”