A Roadside Stand 2 marks Which lines bring out the complaining attitude of the city folk?

What did they complain about? then out of sorts At having landscape marred with the artless paint. Of signs that with N turned wrong and S turned wrong. Their complaint is that the casual and distasteful way of painting and the pointers painting in the wrong directions irritate them. What was the plea of the folks who had put up the roadside stand? The rural folks pleaded pathetically for some customers to stop by and buy some of their goods. City folks used to pass by on this road and hence the rural folk set up the roadside stand to attract their attention and sell their goods. What is the childish longing that the poet refers to? Why is it vain? The childish longing that the poet refers to is the strong desire of the rural folks to be recognized and they wait for customers to stop by at their stand to buy their goods. When they get no perspective customers, they become sad and all their efforts remain futile. Which lines tell us about the insufferable pain that the poet feels at the thought of the plight of the rural poor? The lines that express the feelings of the poet are I cant help owning the great relief it would be To put these people at one stroke out of their pain. The poet feels the need to remove all the pains, which the poor rural people suffer from. Where and how was the roadside stand built and why? The roadside stand was built by the rural folk on one side of the road. It was a little new shed, an extension of an old house. On the busy road, the fast moving traffic would pass in front of it. The stand had been set up to attract the city folk as customers. The idea was to bring in some cash after selling the farm products. Describe the value of money and cash for the flower of cities. The flow of money and cash supports the development in the big city. It supports the economy and helps in the progress. It also prevents things from getting destroyed. It was hoped that the roadside stand would get some of the money or the cash to be utilized for progress of rural folks. Why didnt the city folk traffic stop at the roadside stand? What annoyed the people who wanted to stop? The polished city folk did not stop at the roadside stand because they were in a rush to reach their destinations. If at all they did want to stop, they would get annoyed at the clumsy paint of the building. They also felt irritated at the signs N and S turned wrong. The hurt to the scenery wouldnt be my complaint, says Robert Frost. What was his real complaint? The real complaint of the poet was the sorrows and sufferings of the rural folks. The distastefully done paint on the shed, the wrongly turned signs did not bother him. He

was more worried about the pitiable condition of the poor people and that moved his heart. Why do the people who are running the roadside stand ask for some city money to feel in hand? The people at the roadside stand are poor and underprivileged. They do not have enough cash. They only wish that the city people should patronize them and buy some goods from them so that they too can earn cash. They hope to bring about changes in their lifestyle and make their life prosperous. What is the news being spread around? It is in the news that the pitiful kin are to be bought out and gathered in mercifully. They would be settled in villages next to the theatre and the store. Their places will be taken over by the rich and the cunning people. The villagers wont have to think for themselves anymore. The greedy and cruel exploiters will dominate them. Who will soothe the rural poor out of their wits and how? The greedy people will be the good-doers. They will dominate the lives of the poor rural folk. They will cunningly try to exploit them. These people are crueller than the beasts of prey. They only want to earn huge profits for themselves by exploiting the poor and innocent people. They will sleep comfortably in their beds all day but prevent the poor from sleeping peacefully. What will be a great relief to the poet? How can the problems of the rural poor be solved? 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. 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. Paraphrase - What hurts the farmer are those comments that remain unspoken. Trusting sorrow is a transferred epithet whereby the farmer feels that all his trust and faith in the urban generosity gives him nothing but unhappiness. Their only demand is that they want to feel some cash in their hands and far from the city they have built this stand just to earn some money. They want this money so that they are enabled to live a life of affluence as they see in Hollywood movies. The party in power gives false hopes and promises but does not fulfill them. 4 marks 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 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. What do you understand by polished traffic? The polished traffic refers to the affluent class of city people who passed by the roadside stand on the highway. What is meant by out of sorts? Why do the people in the cars feel out of sorts? 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 shed. Even the crooked road signs irritate them. What is up for sale in the roadside stand? The roadside stand offers wild berries and golden squash for sale. Why do the occupants of the old house and the owners of the shed feel a sense of outrage? The occupants of the old house and the shed feel annoyed with the passers by because they are only critical but when it comes to spending money, they do not do so and go on their way without buying anything. 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. Where was the stand located? How had it been made? The roadside stand had been located at one side of the road. It was just an extension of an old house and the new shed was made in front of it. Explain too pathetically pled. The owner of the shed begged the passer by in a most pathetic manner. What would not be fair to say? It would be unfair to say that the shed was set up for just a dole of bread. What was the real aim of running this roadside show? The real aim was to earn some money from the city people who passed from there. 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 wont have to think for themselves anymore. What does the news proclaim? The news proclaims that all the pitiful relatives of the city people will be assembled in the villages, close to the theatre and the stores and will be looked after by the

government or authorities. What are the pitfalls of this course of action in the poets opinion? The poet feels that the so -called generous and beneficent city folks will only end up exploiting the poor and innocent rural people. Explain pitiful kin. 'Pitiful kin' refers to poor relatives deserving sympathy and pity. Explain the last line of the given extract. The poet says that the rural folks might be given some facilities and privileges and they may not have to think about their pathetic life anymore. While greedy good-doers, beneficent beats 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. Who does the poet accuse of having double standards and why? The so-called politicians and the welfare organizations who claim that they are helping the poor people are being accused by the poet for their double standards. Name the poetic device used in greedy good doers, beneficent beasts of prey Alliteration and Oxymoron What is implied by teaching them how to sleep they sleep all day? The city people are able to relax and be restful after teaching the rural folks how to be complacent about their situation. It implies that as long as the rural people do not understand that they have been exploited, they can be peaceful. What is the ancient way of sleeping? Peacefully sleeping is implied here by the poet. Paraphrase 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. What hurts the farmer are those comments that remain unspoken. Trusting sorrow is a transferred epithet whereby the farmer feels that all his trust and faith in the urban generosity gives him nothing but unhappiness. Their only demand is that they want to feel some cash in their hands and far from the city they have built this stand just to earn some money. They want this money so that they are enabled to live a life of affluence as they see in Hollywood movies. The party in power gives false hopes and promises but does not fulfill them.

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 wouldnt be my complaint The poet describes a small shed that has been put up by the farmers family on the roadside near a busy highway. The house in front of which the shed is set up, is small and insignificant but the shed is new and is on the edge of the road where traffic speeds by. The roadside stand pleads to the passer-by pathetically not for food but for some money, which supports the city folk and their gleaming lifestyle and prevents the cities from decadence and deterioration. The affluent city people keep driving past the shed with great speed and if they do stop aside for a few moments, they become annoyed at seeing the landscape spoilt by the shed which had been painted shabbily. They also feel annoyed at the road signs which are crooked and point in the wrong direction. Everything is in a state of neglect. Farm products like wild berries are packed in wooden quarts for sale or farm-made squash in packed in crook-necked bottles or some mountain scene painted beautifully. The rural folks seem to be telling the urban folks that they have the money to buy their products so why should they be mean and not spend their money. The negative comments about distorting or spoiling the scenery do not hurt the farmer. 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 wont 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. Robert Frost then moves on to show an optimistic note that there is a strong rumour or maybe true news that these poor country cousins of the rich urban folk will be given promises of growth and progress and put together in a village near a theatre or a big store. This is a reference to some urban progress, and then they wont have to worry about themselves for the government will look after them. But on the contrary their greedy good doers (politicians who are greedy for money and beneficent beasts of prey) will only fill their own pockets with funds meant for the poor people. Greedy good doers and beneficent beasts are alliterations and oxymoron. These people or hungry politicians pretend to be helping them but each of their move is calculated or

manipulated to show that they have sympathy for the underprivileged ones but these people only sleep peacefully themselves while they destroy the sleep of the farmers, which they are used to. Hence, there is lopsided division of facilities and funds. Their motives are just an eye-wash. 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 farmers 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 couldnt (this crossly); they had none, didnt it see? The poet feels that it is hard to bear that despite so much of natural and spontaneous desire for happiness, all goes in vain. The open window, through which the rural farmer peeps out in the hope to see some customer stop by to buy something from him, only makes the poet feel sad at the farmers predicament. The farmer hopes to hear the sound of brakes, the sound of stopping of a car, or he hopes that of all the thousand selfish cars that pass, at least one could stop to enquire the prices of the goods on sale. One car did stop but only to plough up the grass because it was reversing in the yard to go in the opposite direction. It had only stopped to ask the direction of its destination. Another car stopped only to ask if the roadside stand also sold gas for the car. The farmer is annoyed and asks that the car driver cant see that there is no gas available for sale. 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 cant 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. The poet comments that in terms of cash, the country people have never had any gains which are an essential thing for lifting of spirits. The voice of the country people seems to be complaining about absence of cash from their lives. The poet admits that it would be a great relief for him if these people could be given some margin of profit or some privileges so that they can ease out their pain. But he also realises that next day when he views the situation calmly and logically, he is in a dilemma and wonders how he would like the rural folk to come to him and help him out of his pain. In other words, he feels that the misery seems to be deep rooted but some effort has to be made by the government authorities to bring the poor people out of their misery.