A Roadside Stand

Introduction

Robert Frost, an American Poet, wrote the poem. One of the most famous poets, wrote about the rural life of the people of England, where the major themes he used in his works were isolation, everyday human life, struggles, and specifically, the connection of the human mind with nature. This tutorial will discuss one of his poems, ‘A Roadside Stand’ by Robert Frost.

Short Summary

This poem is about a farmer who puts a new shed in his house which was small and it was on the edge of a road. The poet says that the road was busy with cars.But not a single car is stopping at the roadside shop put up by the rural people. Even though no car stops at these shops and the poor are not benefiting from their shop , they still hold their hope thinking about a better future.

Some cars that stop at the shop ask for help to find a way to reach their destination .Some people stop to shop and are taken aback by the bad condition of the shop .They just say bad things about the condition of the shop and leave. They never find the time to help the poor.

The poet compares the life of these poor people who live in the rural areas with the people living in urban areas. The rich people who live in urban areas don’t even try to help the poor roadside stand holders.

Later in the news it was declared that the poor will be helped by the government soon. Their shops will be taken by the officials and they will be offered a home in their village . So that they can lead a better and happy life.

But the truth is that no one is going to help these poor. The officials who are responsible for their welfare just give them temporary hopes. They give promises to these people by acting that they want to help them. But in reality all they want is just to benefit by fooling these poor people. Even in the name of helping them ,the rich people find a way to benefit themselves. Thereby leading the poors to continue in their miserable life.

Through the poem , the poet requests his readers to help the poor. He shows us the awful life they are living and gives a wakeup call to our humanity.

Conclusion

The poet says that he feels bad and miserable at the sufferings of the poor village people. He passionately wanted to find a way to get rid of all problems of the poor to be done away with in one stroke in order to end their pain. But he knew that it was childish and of no use. So, that is why he desires someone who can relieve him of his pain by killing him.

 

Textbook Questions and Answers:

1.What did the poet think of the roadside vendor?

The poet is upset to witness the shed owners’ prolonged waiting period for potential bidders. He laments the folks who set up the roadside stand for their “childish longing in vain.”

2.What was the request made by the vendors of the roadside shops?

All these poor vendors wanted was to get some money to live a good life. They wanted the cars passing through the roads to stop and buy things from them. They wanted the rich people to consider shopping from them too and help them to have a good  living .

3.Despite their appearance of aiding the destitute rural residents, the public assistance organizations are useless. Pick out the phrases and words the poet chooses to demonstrate their hypocrisy.

Greedy good-doers, beneficent beasts of prey.

4.What does the poet mean by “childish longing”? What makes it “vain”? 

It is a childlike wish on the part of the man with the roadside stand to hope that some cars may pass by and make a purchase or at the very least inquire about the cost of the farmer’s produce. No cars pass past, hence it is useless or pointless. All day long, the poor people kept their shops open on the roadside hoping that some cars would stop and buy things from them. But nothing like that happened.

A Roadside Stand Extra Questions and Answers

1.What was the condition of the Roadside Stand?

The condition of the roadside stand is poor and deprived, compared to the people of the city.

2.Why do the rural people ask for money from the City people?

The rural people ask for money so that they too can lead a life of happiness and prosperity.

3.What was the purpose behind having a Roadside stand?

The rural people were expecting that the city people would stop for a while and buy things from their shop so that they would earn some money for a better life.

4.Did the government officials ever keep their promises?

No. The government officials never fulfilled the promises they gave to the poor people. They give hope to these people for temporary happiness. But all they want to do is to benefit themselves in the name of helping them. No genuine effort is made from their side.