A Roadside Stand

A ROADSIDE STAND

Answer with reference to context

I           The little old ………withering faint…

1          Where was the stand located? How had it been made?

The roadside stand was located at one side of the road. An old house had been extended and a new shed had been added to make the roadside stand.

2          What was the purpose of the stand?

The stand had been erected to earn some money from the city folk who passed them by.

3          Why was the ‘little old house’ extended towards the road?
The little old house, the roadside stand, existed on the roadside to make a living out of the city money. The owners of the roadside stand expected to attract the rich city men by extending the stand closer to the road.

4          Which traffic is referred to here? Why are they ‘speeding?’
The traffic referred to here is the cars and other vehicles of the rich people from and to various cities. These rich city men are in great hurry to make money by doing business in the city.

5          Why is the Stand’s existence said to be ‘pathetic?’
The roadside stand’s sole expectation is the flow of city-money into their hands. But their expectations are never fulfilled as the rich men are not considerate about them and hence a pathetic existence for the roadside stand.

6          Why is it unfair to say that these people are begging for a ‘dole of bread?’
One may think that the poor people at the roadside stand are beggars. But they are not. Unlike the beggars, who beg unconditionally, shamelessly and sometimes unreasonably, the people of the roadside stand have something to sell, some information to share and a noble reason behind their begging.

7          What do the poor people really expect from the rich?
The poor people expect a small share of the money from the rich people.

8          How do the poor people look at the city money?
For the poor people at the roadside stand money is very essential for growth and survival. It boosts the growth of the city and the city people.

9          What is the flower of the cities? How?
Prosperity/growth is the flower of the cities. As the flower is the crowning glory of a plant, growth becomes the flower of a city.

10        How is the money important for city life?

The flow of money saves and sustains all the best and beautiful things in the cities from ruin and wasting away.

II          The polished traffic passed with a mind ahead…scene

1          What do you mean by ‘polished traffic?
Polished traffic portrays the insensitive attitude and gentlemanly appearances of the city-men. They appear to be ‘polished’ outside but their minds do not understand the sufferings of the poor people.

2          Explain, ‘passed with a mind ahead.’
The city people who passed by the roadside stand were self-centered and their minds were restless with greed for money and ambitions for great profits in their business.

3          What are the usual complaints made by the city men when they stop at the roadside stand?
The rich people to and from the cities usually have the same sets of complaints. Having failed to see the wretchedness of the poor, they complain that the roadside stand, with its artless paint, ruined the beauty of the nature. Another complaint is that the letters are wrongly written.

4          How senseless do the rich men’s complaints sound to the poor people?
For the poor people of the roadside stand, the rich men’s complaints, that the landscape is distorted with their poor sense of color, that they sell poor quality fruits and that they have a low literacy level, sound to be childish and infuriating and senseless.

5          How did the poor people “mar” the landscape?
The poor people mar/ruin the beauty of the landscape by putting up stands on the roadside. Their houses are painted in the most unprofessional manner with the most mismatching paint.

6          What does ‘of signs with S turned wrong and N turned wrong’ convey?
The Roadside stand has an S and an N written incorrectly. The owner of the stand is illiterate so he has erected the board with wrong spelling with S and N inverted.

7          Why are the city people ‘out of sorts’?

‘Out of sorts’ means irritated. The city people are irritated to see the poor, discoloured and artless houses of the villagers. Moreover, some words have also been misspelt.

8          What articles are ‘offered for sale’ at the stand?
Wild berries in wooden containers, crook-necked golden squash with silver warts and paintings of mountain scenery are for sale at the roadside stand.

9          What qualities of the ‘offered articles’ make them unfit for sale?
The articles for sale at the roadside stand are wild and therefore lack the polished look of the similar articles available in the cities. Moreover these articles are not packaged properly and they are far expensive than those in the cities.

10        What does, ‘beauty rest in a mountain scene’ mean?
Beauty resting in a mountain scene is probably a scenic painting made by the inhabitants of the roadside stand meant for selling to the rich people.

III         You have the money, but if you want to be mean…unsaid

1          What do the poor people of the roadside stand feel when the citymen decline from buying anything?
When the rich city men decline to buy articles from the roadside stand, the poor runners of the stand feel dejected and angry. They ask the city men to keep their money with them and leave the roadside stand without further bargain or comments.

2          How do the rich people behave meanly in front of the roadside stand?

They criticize the look of the roadside stand and the goods being sold by them. They fail to understand the plight of these villagers and do not empathize with them.

3              What do you understand by ‘hurt to the scenery’?

The city dwellers complain that the ugly and clumsy roadside stand is a blot on the beautiful landscape or that it mars (destroys/ diminishes) the beauty of the landscape.

4              What is the real worry of the poet?

The poet is concerned for the poor and the hollow and false promises made by the rich for their upliftment.

5          What do you mean by the trusting sorrow of the poor people?
The poor people are instinctively sensitive and expectant to the promises of the rich and the mighty, the concerned authorities, media and public. They believe their hollow promises and wait for their realization. But finally their hopes give way to the miserable realization that the promises made by the rich are not meant to be fulfilled.

IV         Here far from the city……from us.

1          What do the people at the roadside stand expect from the rich? What for?
The poor people at the roadside stand expect the generosity of the rich city people. They hope to alleviate their poverty by getting money from the city people.

2          Who does ‘we’ refer to?

‘We’ refers to the poor rural people who run the roadside strand.

3          How is ‘feeling in hand’ different from the false promises of the parties?
‘Feeling in hand’ means possessing what the parties in power have promised, not owning mere promises. If one feels the promised money in hand, it means he has acquired it rather than being fooled by the parties that have given them the promises.

4          What is city money? How is city money expected to help the poor people?
Unlike the meager amount of money possessed by the poor villager, city money is considerably huge. The city money is expected by the poor villager not only to alleviate his wretched state of poverty, but also expand and develop their means of livelihood.

5          What are moving pictures? What kind of life is promised by the ‘moving pictures?
The movies the poor people have watched are full of promises for them. In those movies they saw people who progressed from poverty to prosperity.

6          What do ‘the parties in power’ ‘keep from the poor people?
The governments and the corrupted politicians keep the share and the allotted rights of the poor people away from them and use that for their selfish motives.

7          How are the rich politicians responsible for the misery of the poor people?
The rich and corrupted politicians keep the money assigned by the government for the poor people in their own malicious hands and make selfish use of them, thus depriving the poor people of their rights, happiness and all that they deserve.

V          It is in the news…..anymore

1                    What is the good news for the poor people?
The media keep on advertising that the governments are planning schemes for the welfare of the poor people for their welfare and rehabilitation.

2                    Do you think the ‘good news’ for the poor people’ ever come true? Why?
No, the promises of the governments for the poor people are not seriously meant and therefore most of them remain just promises and are forgotten. This happens because these promises are the election baits and the bureaucratic trick to exhort money in the name of the poor people.

3          Who are the pitiful kin? Why are they called so?

It refers to all the rural people who live in poverty and who wait for the welfare schemes to materialize.

4          What are the promises made by the politicians?

The politicians promise that they will be settled in better homes in the villages near the theatre and stores.

5          Why don’t they need to think for themselves now?

They have been promised by the greedy, cunning and selfish people that they will be taken care of. They have been told that they do not need to worry about their future now. These good- doers will control their lives now.

VI         While greedy good- doers …..ancient way

1          Who are the greedy good doers? What is the irony in the ‘greedy good-doers?’
The business class and the political parties and leaders are the greedy good-doers mentioned here. A greedy person cannot be a good doer. These good doers intend to make money out of the poor people by appearing beneficent to them but actually exploiting them.

2          What does ‘beneficent beast of prey’ imply?
Similar to ‘greedy good-doers,’ ‘the beneficent beasts of prey’ is also an indication to the greedy people who make money in the name of social and political and charitable works.

3          How do the rich ‘enforce benefits’ on the poor?
The rich business people convince the poor of the advantages of their new schemes and promotions and make them buy their products and be their customers.

4          What does ‘soothe them out of their wits’ mean?

It means fooling the rural people.

5          What sort of calculation is made to ‘soothe the wits of the poor?’ Does this calculation work? How?
The business minded city people attract the poor people with their well-planned promotional offers and promises. These promises and offers are such a way calculated that the poor people cannot escape the traps of the rich. The business man’s calculations work well as the simple minded and gullible rural people will be tricked by the rich and greedy and exploited.

6          Who teach the poor people to sleep? How?
The rich people through their alluring promises of peace of mind and prosperity in life teach the poor people sleep or relax and rest.

7          Are the poor able to sleep? Why? Who are really able to sleep?
The poor people are unable to sleep as promised by the rich as the promises were not meant to be. On the contrary the rich people are able to sleep peacefully with the satisfaction of making themselves richer by exploiting the poor.

8          How do the influential rich destroy the sleep of the poor? How is this done in the ancient times?
The influential rich people give the poor great promises and exploit them to make profit out of them. This destroys the sleep of the poor people. This method of the rich and mighty is as old as the human civilizations.

VII        Sometimes I feel ……open prayer…

1          What is the childish longing? Why is it in vain?
Children long to achieve things beyond their reach; but never get them. The poor people’s expectation that the rich people would give them money is their childish longing. it is in vain because the hard-hearted rich people never give them a penny.

2          Who is ‘I’? Why can’t he bear the childish longing of the poor people?
‘I’ is the poet, Robert Frost. The poet is a true humanitarian who is genuinely concerned for the poor people’s misfortunes. He wants a solution for their poverty. But seeing how childish their longings are, the poet feels it unbearable.

3          What sadness remains at the window of the roadside stand?
There is a sadness of helplessness, of unfulfilled promises and of being fooled by the parties in power remaining near the roadside stand

4          What is the prayer of the ‘open window’?
The ‘open window’ or the roadside stand owner  is praying for a generous traveler stopping at the stand to buy something and paying a generous amount to alleviate the distress of the poor people.

5          Why does sadness lurk near the open window?

The sadness points to the disappointment of the owner who has lost hope of getting any help or generosity from the city dwellers.

VIII       For the squeal of brakes …didn’t it see?

1          How do the poor people react to the squeal of brake in front of the roadside stand?
At the sound of the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, the poor people at the stand feel their spirits cheered at the possible arrival of a customer to buy their things.

2          Why are the cars called ‘selfish cars?
The cars are selfish because the people who travel in them are self centered. They only think about their life and their journey.

3          What do you understand by ‘farmer’s prices?’
Farmer’s prices refer to the earnings of a poor farmer. Farmer’s prices can also refer to the prices of the berries, squash and paintings displayed at the roadside stand for sale.

4          How do the city men plow up grass in the yard of the roadside stand?
The insensitive and selfish city men drive their cars into the yard of the roadside stand to back and turn it around, leaving a huge cloud of grass plowed up.

5          What is the most unusual demand of the rich man at the roadside stand? How is it queer?
The insensitive city man demands a gallon of gas at the roadside stand. This is absurd because the city man is not aware of the fact that the poor man cannot provide him with expensive items such as gas.

6          Why are the poor people angry with the city men when they ask for gas?
The roadside stand has the store of wild berries, squash and paintings which are never bought buy the city men. On the contrary the city men require a gallon of gas and the roadside stand does not have it for sale. This helplessness make the poor people angry.

7          Why do people stop in front of the roadside stand?

People stop in front of the stand to use the yard to back and turn or to ask for directions or to buy some gas/ fuel.

IX         No, in country,....  pain

1          How is money important for the village people?
The village people think that money is important for growth in the village. They hope to make improvements in their wretched state of life.

2          How does money become the ‘requisite lift of spirit for the country men?
Money is the most important requirement for man in the modern world. The villagers lead a miserable life. Their spirits can be lifted if they get money. Their lives will become better and their confidence and desire for good life will also increase.

3          What is the voice of the country complaining about?
The cries of the poor villagers say that the rich people have no concern for them, and that they are being exploited, cheated and given false promises by the parties in power, and that there is no end for their miseries.

4          What kind of a relief does the poet dream for the poor people?
The poet dreams of a supernatural help for the poor people, a touch of magic or the like, so that the poor people will be redeemed from their state of poverty and misery instantly.

5          Why does the poet seek an unrealistic solution for the poor people’s distress even though he himself blamed them earlier for their ‘childish longing in vain?’
The poet, unlike the greedy good-doers, genuinely wishes to get the poor people out of their pain, poverty and endless miseries but he is sad and helpless to see that there is no one to help them come out of their poverty. This helplessness drives the poet to seek an unrealistic solution for the poor people’s misery.

6          What does the poet see when he comes back into his senses?
The poet sees the city cars still passing without feelings, the helplessness of the poor people and the endless misery of the people at the roadside stand.

7          What does the poet want his readers do for him?
The poet is greatly distressed that the poor people are not helped by the government and rich people. He finally resorts to some heavenly help for the poor by which their poverty would be removed. But soon he realizes how childish his dreams are seeing that the poor haven’t improved. At this point the poet wants his readers to promise him to help the poor.

8          What is the poet’s pain?
The poet’s pain is that the poor people are still waiting for the rich people’s generosity and that the rich people never help the poor people.

9          How can his readers remove the poet’s pain?
The readers can get the poet out of his pain by offering to help the poor people.

10        What passionate plea does the poet make for the proper relief and rehabilitation of the rural poor?

The poet draws our attention towards the pathetic and miserable living conditions of the rural poor. The apathy and selfishness of the rich, the false promises of the mighty and powerful are clearly pointed out. The exploitation by the greedy good doers fools the simple and gullible rural people into a false sense of wellbeing. The poet wants these people to be liberated of all their pain with one stroke.